Do you ever get the feeling… that sometimes when you begin to talk or write about a topic of interest that you feel really strongly about, you simply cannot stop?
In response to Lizzy’s post on issues surrounding health-consciousness, self-perception, and dieting, I would like to say the following:
In my humble opinion: “healthy” is not defined by a clothing size — but, instead, by not only one’s overall physical well-being and regard towards the choice of food and exercise, but also by one’s perceptions of life, oneself, and others.
Being “health-conscious” certainly does not mean dieting — in other words, restricting oneself of calories and not having sufficient energy for one’s bodily metabolic processes (as a matter of fact, doing so would be “health-unconscious”) — but, simply, means the need for one to be aware of one’s internal bodily reactions to the external world and making adjustments accordingly and appropriately.
For example, choosing to avoid the clogging of one’s arteries of the heart by avoiding foods high in saturated fat; choosing to maintain the strength and well-being of one’s cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems by exercising regularly; choosing to live a happy, fulfilling, and loving life by being in touch with not only others, but also one’s “spiritual” self.
Sincerely yours,
Eastwood @ 1:39 AM
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Thanks for the thought-out response Eastwood.
Writing that post kind of brought up another issue altogether, which is that, as many topics as there are that can fascinate me to no end, I kind of wish I was taking classes on them or something so that I could have the “authority” to research and write on them further. Ever feel like that?
Obviously, I have yet to master the aspect of healthfulness that is maintaining a sleep schedule. Sigh.
You put it in a good way definitely. There are just people who may use the terms in a different way. IE I know people have probably called “dieting” simply making changes to their diet, but still meeting their needs. Although yes it might make more sense just for them to say that they’re changing their diets…
@Lizzy, after all, isn’t that what drives us to learn? “Authority” + new discoveries.. in a sense. I’m gonna try to get up at 8 tomorrow!! (by tomorrow, I mean today
)
@Andrew, yeah I guess to a certain degree it’s a matter of perspective and personal beliefs + interpretations. I wonder: if there ever was the diet to end all diets, why do new diets keep on popping up? Hmm.. that probably says a thing or two about the effective nature of these things
Being healthy means living well, being happy with yourself and your body. Clothing size is does not determine if your are healthy and there are may people who are dangerously underweight and not in good health.
I agree–too often is health defined using clothing sizes. Much more needs to be taken into consideration when defining “healthy”
I totally agree with what you have to say. Being healthy and losing weight are not necessarily the same. In fact, a lot of the lose weight diets that people do can be potentially bad for them in the future.
Being healthy definitely involves the awareness of considering your body as a special vessel (for lack of a better word) and taking care of it not only in terms of the physical aspect but the spiritual aspect as well.
Very good post