An Apple A Day...

As the saying goes, a single apple keeps the doctor away, but there’s more to nutrition than just one apple. It’s a fad diet, something that doesn’t work and typically shown on the infomercials on repeat from 2 am until the morning news.

So what is a fad diet? It’s a product or nutrition plan that promises drastic results.

And who could blame them?! People are always looking for a “get skinny quick” plan.

But there’s more to health than curves and small pants sizes. People of all shapes and sizes can be healthy. Before we talk about diet, let’s talk about exercising: the most essential activity to becoming healthy.

Exercising, like dieting, should depend upon your intended outcome. There are many different ways to exercise and many outcomes to achieve: first and foremost, weight control (there’s more to exercising than weight loss), training for sports, and muscle toning are just a few. There are also suggestions for a minimum level of exercise to maintain a healthy heart. The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 days per week. And again, I’m not saying that everyone needs to go run 5 miles at an 8-minute/mile pace.

Exercise should be personalized, not a one-sized-fits-all! Exercise isn’t even a one-sized-fits-most, and I can’t stress this enough!!!

But I digress.

The American Heart Association is a great resource to learn about how to stay healthy. But it’s more than exercise.

Dieting is a term that many have come to mean “cutting down on food.” But in its very definition, a diet is one’s eating habits, regardless of what those habits are - again, not a one-sized-fits-most. Yes, there are fad diets that give false promises to the masses. The people on the infomercials are less than 1%. Wake up people!!!

For changing your diet, there are many myths, but if you stick to recommended portion sizes and cut out junk food, you’ll be A-Okay! Personalize a plan for yourself, depending on what your exercise outcomes are, and there’s a simple way to do that. The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) determines how many calories that you would burn in a day of laying in bed or sitting on the couch: basically zero-activity.

So check it out: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Paired with that is the Harris Benedict Equation. I’ll wait while you check that out too: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

Are you back? Good. Now here’s how it works. Plug in your personal information into the BMR and figure out how many calories you’d burn flipping through Netflix all day. After you get that, use the Harris Benedict Equation to determine (based on your level of exercise) how many calories you should be eating every day. None of this “2000 calories a day” fad diet (unless that’s what you got in the Harris Benedict formula). There’s also a couple of links for gaining weight and losing weight.

So, let’s recap. If you get nothing out of this article, take away this: don’t do fad diets! Ever!

Also, take the time to learn about what healthy means, not fit, not skinny. Because in the end it matters how your insides work, not how your outside looks. So plan an exercise routine that fits your schedule, one that works for you, and plan a diet that fits your needs that doesn’t involve wearing a funny contraption or drinking some kind of miracle water. Being healthy isn’t always about weight loss, and being skinny doesn’t always mean healthy. Look past the myths and break down the stereotypes.