In today’s society, there are so many false connotations and stereotypes of what it means to be healthy.  Let’s start with the most common belief. Being super skinny is not necessarily healthy.

Everyone’s bodies are built differently. We don’t really know what’s going on in other people’s personal lives, what they eat on a daily basis, what health problems they have, and what their fitness level is.  We can’t see these things. The chubby girl may very well be a professional athlete. The skinny girl might be suffering from an eating disorder.

Eating only healthy foods or following extreme diets is not healthy either. Being healthy means having a happy and balanced lifestyle, and eating from all the food groups. There is a good reason why they exist, our bodies need them all to function properly. The popular trend of cutting out carbohydrates from our diets completely can cause more problems than good. It’s all about moderation. And your all fruit diet? News flash, fruits have got carbs too.

Skipped breakfast to save calories? Where did you leave you at lunchtime? Probably not in a place to make the smartest, most health-conscious choices. Think that all those diet sodas and Splenda’s in your coffee are making you healthy? Maybe you’re saving on daily calories, but when did the health and calories become so synonymous? The body was not designed to digest chemicals and false versions of natural foods that can cause all kinds of internal problems. Do calories mean energy since when did having none become healthy?  

That girl that workouts seven days a week, morning and night? She’s not any healthier than you are. We always think the more the better, no pain, no gain, but this is not always true. The body needs time to rest and recover to really get to where it wants to be. Even running marathons and triathlons are not the healthiest thing, with so much pressure on the body, it’s like being in a car accident. It’s a huge struggle on the heart and on the knees.

Working out with no rest is also not healthy for the soul. As much as we may love the adrenaline release, and saying all the fitness motivation quotes of no excuses, it can be seriously emotionally draining to never give our bodies a break and can lead to serious burnout.

So what does it mean to be healthy? There is no one definition. But it’s not what we think, it’s not about killing ourselves and suffering. It’s loving yourself, enjoying life, knowing when to treat yourself, to relax, to find moderation, and doing good for your body because you love it, not because you hate it.