If you could run your car for 52,000 miles off cheap grade oil & fuel, and it breaks down often, or you could run it for 84,000 miles off a slightly more expensive high-grade oil & fuel; the car maintains performance and output. Which would you choose?
Our bodies are designed to withstand an incredible amount of hardship, we push ourselves to our limits often. But not always in the right ways.
I want to put out there that I wasn’t always an advocate of a healthy lifestyle. In fact, quite the opposite. I was 14 1/2 stone, very unhealthy, I smoked, I drank, ordered in the majority of my meals and totally disregarded the fact that I was abusing my own body daily.
And I’m not saying that we all shouldn’t have things we like to treat ourselves with, now and again; we all have our vices. I do enjoy a gin, and I eat biscuits most days. But the difference is, now, I take care of my body more than I abuse it.
I fear it’s now a societal norm to treat your body with disrespect. And that if you’re a person who treats yourself well, you’re viewed as the outcast.
There are a multitude of reasons why, but I want to discuss, what I think, are the main three.
NUTRITION
The lack of actual nutritional knowledge given to us throughout childhood is astounding. And the abundance of incorrect knowledge we are brainwashed with is even more. Many of us develop very unhealthy relationships with food, and in turn, end up abusing it. In 2017, the majority of adults in England were overweight or obese, 64% of the population according to NHS statistics. This is frighteningly high and was almost 12% lower 20 years prior.
Looking back on my own childhood and upbringing with food, I can see why this happens. Having to eat the portion sizes given to me, despite hunger levels. The promise of further treats if I did so. Sweets being eyeline in every shop I entered with my mum, and me having a meltdown if I didn’t get any. Being given whatever I wanted, whenever I was at my grandparents’ house. I could go on. But I realise now that all these things actually damaged my relationship with food. The lack of knowledge given to our past generations, created habits that were then passed down to us.
I had to break the cycle to rectify this. I had to pay for a personal trainer, who in turn got me interested in nutrition, and helped me realise that food was fuel for our bodies. He helped me understand that eating wasn’t just something you did when you were bored. I researched macronutrients, their roles within the body and how many specific MY BODY needed. It isn’t the same for all! Who knew?!
But the food knowledge we’re actually given is just as damaging. The ‘Eatwell guide’ is a government produced guide to food, from the Public Health Organisation. It recommends specifics for your diet for a ‘healthy, balanced, lifestyle’, but doesn’t give you enough information on what that actually means. It recommends things that can be horrific for your health if consumed in excess, regularly.
For example, the guide tells women to eat 2000 calories a day. But that woman may only burn a total of 1500-1600, for a multitude of reasons. This would lead to an overconsumption of calories, eventually, leading to obesity. Why wouldn’t the guide recommend you find out the specific number of calories you need PERSONALLY, daily?
It isn’t as simple as to just change though; I think society has taken it too far. We are a culture who thrives off eating, drinking and encouraging others to do the same.
ALCOHOL
Excessive alcohol consumption over a lengthy time period can lead to brain damage. Yet many people regularly exceed the safe unit limit. As with food, alcohol has now ingrained a very important role within our society. No statistics will express the amount of which I mean, but I’m suggesting that a lot of people in Britain, drink more than they would care to admit. It’s seen as something you do to unwind, a ‘treat’. But, if it’s damaging your body, I struggle to understand why you’d want to do it regularly. Maybe, because it’s ingrained in us, that this is just something we all do together? Go out. Drink. Abuse our bodies. Because you can’t see the damage, it isn’t there, right?
Alcohol consumed regularly over a lengthy period of time, causes chemical changes in the brain. It physically changes your brain cognition. Surely, knowing that, is enough to steer anyone away from binge drinking.
EXERCISE
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Exercise is the most underutilised tool for mental health and physical health. It’s vital, in my opinion, for our bodies. We aren’t designed to be stagnant masses. Our bodies were designed to move. Our ancestors had to hunt, run and swim regularly to stay alive. Chairs were man made. It’s not a natural thing to be sat on your glutes for 8 hours each day hunched over a computer.
Exercising can be anything; walking, jogging, swimming, cross training, etc. As long as it gets your heart rate up for more than 30 minutes each day, you’re killing it. If you’re not giving your organs and muscles the stimulus they need regularly, you’re abusing your body. You’re robbing yourself of the chance to remain independent later in life.
I can confidently say too, that exercise increased my mental health tenfold. Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins are a group of hormones which are secreted within the brain and nervous system. They activate the same receptors as morphine. Which in turn give you a ‘high’ or ‘euphoric’ feeling. Having sex and meditating also does the same thing. Exercise makes you happy! What more do you need to know?
So, do you choose the cheap low-grade oil & fuel, or the high-grade?
コメント