Day 18 + A Bonus "Healthy" Rant

Today, I'm still feeling good...

It's my day off from CrossFit, so that's nice!!! 

I love CrossFit, but I love my days off too!!! 

Can you believe that I'm already on Day 18??? 

It is going by so fast now!!!

And I don't plan on changing this life style anytime soon!!!

**********RANT TIME**********

It is unbelievable how uneducated our country really is regarding what is healthy! Myself included! Seriously, I always am looking things up.

The fact that you can get carbs from veggies was MIND BLOWING!!!

I've said it before and I'll say again. I do not judge people who are trying to better themselves. I think that any effort people make is so great! I do, however, think that it's unfortunate that the media and society puts almost everyone at an immediate disadvantage against "the bulge". 

When you think of "healthy", what do you picture? 

Try this... Google "healthy woman" and look at the images. 

What do almost all those ladies have in common? 

THEY'RE SKINNY!

So, if healthy is skinny then we should all just cut down our calories to 1500 and exercise 2 hours a day. Then we'll all be skinny and healthy! Right?

FYI: That's called anorexia. Not healthy.

I'm not saying skinny is bad, just like I'm not saying fat is bad. 

What I am saying is that there is a difference between skinny and healthy. There is also a difference between fat and unhealthy. 

Take myself for example. 

I'm overweight...

According to the BMI (which is bull shit) I'm about 70 pounds overweight. 

However, I had my blood taken a few weeks ago, and I am healthy as can be. 

My cholesterol is normal, my blood pressure is normal, my blood sugar is normal, etc.

I guarantee you can find "skinny" people of the same age who have more health problems.

That being said, I definitely know that if I don't lose weight those will likely all become problems. The point is that weight does not have a direct correlation between what is healthy and what isn't healthy. 

There are a lot of different paths that lead people to the land of the healthy as well. I have chosen CrossFit, because it helps that people are there to hold me accountable  I feel like I belong there. I have friends there that want me to succeed. Every single day I go there I accomplish something, and that just plain feels good. I honestly chose Paleo, because everyone else was doing it. I will continue to eat Paleo because I feel awesome. The longer I eat Paleo the easier it gets, and I have no desire to eat food that is bad for me. I needed to make a big change. The theory behind Paleo makes sense, and the food I'm eating has awesome affects on my body. (More on that later). 

Every person that I know that lost weight and kept it off either had gastric bypass (I went to a presentation on that. That is definitely necessary for some BUT if you can lose weight without it you should. It is definitely an extreme measure.) OR they have changed their eating habits and started exercising. 

When it comes to changing your habits I recommend doing is researching how different foods affect your body. 

An example of this are legumes, which are not eaten by people who follow a strict Paleo diet. I know, I'm talking crazy talk now. Beans and peanuts are healthy! They give you protein! Everyone says to eat them! What is wrong with beans and peanuts? (Yes, peanuts are legumes) Well this dude explains it a lot better than I can, but basically legumes hold onto nutrients so your body can't absorb them. So, if you eat a whole plate of salad, the beans will still some of the nutrients from your vegetables.

SCREW THAT SHIT!!! 

If I'm going to eat veggies, I WILL get all the benefits. 

How many people actually knew that about legumes? I was completely surprised.

I have a sneaking suspicion that, there are a lot of foods like this. Foods that we're told are "healthy", and they probably aren't bad... BUT we are never really told the affect that these things have on our body. That makes eating healthy a little harder.

You have to research what you're eating. Don't just eat because you're told to.

My guess is that you'll reach your goals a lot sooner if you know exactly what is going into your body and how your body reacts.