I have a confession to make. I’m a stalker. I stalk out message boards, tumblr, twitter, instagram and every other possible avenue on the internet to learn what teenagers are talking about. There are many topics and discussions that blow my mind, (adults read: there is a lot of pain out there in the 13-18 year old age group), but for the sake of sticking to what I know and not going too deep, let’s talk weight. From the many posts on message boards about wanting to drop a few pounds to the mission:skinny tumblr blogs, my heart hurts knowing that so many people do not like their bodies.
I get that young people want to be “thin”. Heck, old people want to be thin too. (However, I prefer “strong” over “thin,” but that’s another post entirely.) But teenagers, oh young ones who get brainwashed by the ridiculously unrealistic media, I have another confession to make. I too struggled with this during high school and still to this day, certain unnecessary thoughts creep their way back into my mind. Why oh why can we be so mean to ourselves?
But the goal of this post is not to tell you how we are all beautiful in our own way. Or how the media creates a false reality every time they show an airbrushed model. There are enough articles out there about that and I strongly encourage you to go read a few. My point is to tell you how to get healthy, realistically, with a very normal, positive approach to eating and exercise. Healthy is not difficult although somehow we are led to believe it is.
So here you go… My top 10 things to getting healthy this summer and to starting out the next school year with a positive mindset. Now #gomakeithappen:
1. Eat food. Yes, EAT! And eat FOOD!. Now there is a very big difference between real food and that stuff that gets packaged and labeled as food. One gives you energy, keeps your metabolism going strong, clears your acne (yes, certain foods cause acne), boosts your brain capacity, makes your hair shiny, makes your eyes glow, and heals your body from the inside out. The other makes you sick, causes your face to break out, makes you tired and lethargic, decreases your ability to think clearly, and ultimately makes you pudgy around the middle. There is a ginormous difference between real food and packaged food. Real food comes from the earth. It’s fresh, it’s colorful, full of vitamins and minerals (naturally), and your body knows exactly what to do with it. Processed food is basically the (and forgive my language), the shittiest fuel you could ever put inside your body. It causes you more health issues and weight problems than you could ever imagine. Unfortunately, you probably won’t learn this in school and most adults don’t even know this. But the thing I love most about teens, is they are open to new ideas. Check out this post about real food eating. Approach real food eating as, wow, look at all I get to eat!. Not, crap, look at all that I can’t eat! Your mindset will make the world of difference.
This is REAL, delicious food! Recipe here.
2. Cook! Yes, you need to learn how to cook. Now you don’t have to be a grand chef to cook a healthy meal, but what point is real food if you don’t know what to do with it? Scrambled eggs, baked chicken, quinoa (look it up), fruit salad, vegetarian lasagna, so many options! And none of these dishes are difficult to make. Venture out on a ledge and tell your family you are going to cook for them. Invite a friend over and test out your skills. If your parents say no because they’re afraid you’ll burn down the house, beg. Then ask for their help. Honestly, it’s to everyone’s advantage if you learn how to cook. Approach cooking as an experiment. You can be as creative as you’d like and who knows, you may just find your calling in life.
Salmon is SO easy to cook! (Please forgive my hair in this pic.)
3. Do NOT buy diet pills. There is a reason they say patience is a virtue. Patience is hard, but when you can have patience with your life and with yourself, your rewards will become instantaneous. Diet pills are a scam, a waste of money, and hazardous to your health. Sure, you may drop a pound or two in a week, but diet pills are completely unsustainable and you’ll be right back where you started in no time. Once, during my freshman year of college, I took some diet pills which have since been taken off the market. I was at the movie theater watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico and I thought I might leave on a stretcher. My heart was beating so fast and I was sweating like a hot mess. It was an awful feeling and I swore to myself that if I ever made it out of the theater alive, I would never take another diet pill. I haven’t and it’s been one of the best things I could have ever done of my health. Diet pills are lame and they have no place inside your body.
4. Start small. Often times, it’s so much easier to see the bigger picture than the step-by-step process we need to take in order to get there. Losing 10 pounds is a great goal, but if you don’t start out with the small steps and achieve small successes, that 10 pound goal might be a little harder to achieve than you thought. When changing your approach to eating, start small. Perhaps tackle breakfast for a few weeks. It you mess up a few times, it’s no big deal. Recognize it and move on. The important thing is to create a new habit and when you start with small changes, you set yourself up for greater success. Brainstorm a few areas you want to address and then start with one. Creating new habits, and especially eating habits, can be difficult. But if you start small, you’re much more likely to stick with the plan.
5. Food is your friend, not your enemy. I tried starving myself once. I did whatever I could to eat as little as possible, and you know what? I was a mean B***H. It wasn’t fun for anyone around me and it ultimately led to the end of a three year relationship. For some reason, I had this sick idea in my head that if I ate more than 1,000 calories I would gain 10 pounds and be “fat.” Oh how warped my mind was. Truth be told, there are foods you can eat that turn your body into a calorie burning machine. There is a saying that says calories in equals calories out. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Some foods, such as processed breakfast bars, are loaded with sugar which inevitably turn into fat around the middle. Other foods, such as an avocado, which is high in fat, ramp up your metabolism and burn calories for you while you scroll through Instragram. Don’t be afraid of food (at least real food). It does so many good things for you and if you just give it a chance, you’d be surprised at what your body can do with it. (Side note: ever since I started this real food approach to eating, I eat more than ever and my weight is exactly where I want it to be. And I don’t spend hours upon hours at the gym like I use to.) (Another side note: you can and should be afraid of Pop Tarts, diet soda, sugar free anything, Takis, anything with Red #40, and I’ll stop here. This stuff = poison.)
I ate all of this amazingness. Twice. Food is good for you! (Real food that is.)
6. Exercise. Yes, you need to move. But luckily, you don’t have to spend hours at a gym. Find an activity you enjoy doing. Perhaps it’s a fitness class, running, swimming, playing basketball, dancing, anything that involves movement and do that thing. Exercise doesn’t have to be boring and it shouldn’t be. It should be enjoyable. It’s even more fun with a workout partner so enlist the help of your friends or a family member. Maybe after dinner you can go out for a nice walk instead of watching television. The great thing about summer is the sun is out until almost 9:00pm. Maybe yoga is your thing and you can start the day out with a short yoga video while watching the sun rise. (This is a personal favorite of mine.) There are so many ways to get in a little exercise. Find something you enjoy and go for it! The body was meant to move.
I’d run all day, every day if I could. What’s your favorite way to get in a little exercise?
7. Develop a routine. The most successful people in the world have a solid routine and if you want to get fit this summer, you too should develop a routine. With a solid routine, you’re more likely to get in that workout and eat that healthy breakfast than you would be if it were an afterthought. Here’s an idea: wake up early in the morning (around 7:00am), stretch, set the timer on your phone for 30-45 minutes and then go for a walk, do a yoga video, dance around your room, lift weights, or anything else your heart desires. Once that timer goes off, stop. Then head downstairs for a healthy breakfast and #bam, you’re read to start the day. By doing a little exercise before breakfast and making it a routine, you’re pretty much guaranteeing success. Figure out a routine that works for you and then give it a go. If something isn’t working, tweak it and try again. You’ll never know unless you try.
8. Reflect. Times goes by ridiculously fast. You may think you’ll remember how you felt and what you did last week but pretty soon, it’ll become a distant memory that you can’t quite recall. Write about your progress. Write about how you’re feeling, what went well, what didn’t go so well, what is helping you be successful, what is keeping you from being successful, and anything else your heart desires. Along with developing a routine, reflection is one of the key components to getting better at anything. It’s okay if something didn’t go right. It’s okay if you indulged in a few too many cookies a few too many times last week. Figure out what went wrong and that puts you directly on the path to doing better next time. When you find a meal you like or an activity you like, make note if it. Why did you like it? Why does it work well for you? When you can understand a little more about yourself, you understand how to make yourself a little better.
9. Reward yourself. It’s super important that you take the time to reward yourself for your hard work. It gives you something to look forward to and it keeps you moving in the right direction. Set a few goals for yourself at the beginning of each week or month and make note of what your reward will be when you reach that goal. That reward can also be your motivator when you just want to eat Pop Tarts for breakfast instead of eggs and a piece of fruit. Rewards can be anything! A long afternoon nap, a relaxing bath, your favorite movie, a trip to the mall, an afternoon laying out in the sun while reading trashy magazines, anything! Taking the time to indulge yourself with a little extra love will make all of the early mornings and yoga poses worth it.
10. Be nice to yourself. I actually think this one is the most important. For some reason, people can say the meanest things to themselves. I’m fat. I’m ugly. My skin is wrinkly. My thighs are too big. Why am I not the cool one? What the heck is up with all this negative self-talk people!?!? There is nobody in the world who deserves your love as much as you do and when you say bad things to yourself, you definitely aren’t loving yourself. Confucius writes that (yes, I’m getting philosophical on you), your life is shaped by what you think. Think great things about your life and about yourself. Become aware of any negative self-talk and try to eliminate it from your daily mind chats. Come up with a daily affirmation, such as I am freakin’ amazing! and if you find yourself thinking bad things, tell yourself that affirmation. You have the ability to create your own life with the things you think and do. Create something amazing and love yourself along the way.
Show yourself a little love!
If you have any questions about any of these in particular just leave a comment or email me at mstrod23@gmail.com. Getting healthy is a process and it is just as much mental as it is physical. Now go get moving this summer!!
Peace, Love, and Awesomeness,
Ms. T.Rod
Lessons from T.Rod 