Health, Fitness, Nutrition, And Me Discussing Things That I Don’t Know

As I was jogging yesterday I decided that my definition of a basically healthy person was someone who could safely and efficiently exit a building if there was an emergency. If the person had children, he or she should also be able to help those children to safely and efficiently exit a building during an emergency.

Then my mom was telling me (complaining) about her new aerobics/strength training class. I wasn't listening. She called me on it. And I went into my health manifesto to prove that I was actually kind-of listening:

First, nutrition is the key to being healthy. If you eat crap, you will not be more than basically healthy. Proper nutrition is a constant struggle for the vast majority of Americans. It isn't society's fault. It isn't a cultural problem. Society and culture contributes, but it is about making difficult choices. Food that tastes good is usually not good for you. A person who eats food that tastes good (especially in my family) usually eats too much. One has to make a habit out of eating low calorie-low fat-low sugar food (most of the time). One has to make it a habit to watch his portions (most of the time). But remember my definition of basically healthy, it is better to eat crap and be heavy than be an alcoholic who is too drunk (or not there to) to get his kids out of his burning house.

Second, exercise is about activity habits. My mom can go to aerobics/strength training once a week, but if she wants to progress, especially during the aerobics portion, she has to increase her activity levels throughout the week. A power lifter has to lift heavy weight. A runner has to run. If my mom wants to keep up with her aerobics instructor, she has to do aerobics. You have to establish habits, because the exercise itself doesn't burn that many calories. It is the gradual boost in metabolism that really leads to weight loss. It is that confidence and bad-ass feeling that comes from pushing yourself past your pre-conceived limits that allows one to do more. But again, exercise has very little to do with achieving my definition of healthy. If you're on crutches because of a torn ACL or a knee replacement, you aren't making it out of the building.

The word that keeps being repeated is habits. If you want to move past basic healthiness, you have to develop nutritional and activity habits. But the thing to remember is that all habits generate opportunity costs and tradeoffs. In other words, being healthy isn't simple, and I can understand when people decide that it isn't worth it.