Minimalism: Health

I discovered minimalism right in the middle of Colton and I making positive changes for our health. It’s amazing how the two things actually work together. Used to, I had a lot of excuses when it came to my health. Healthy food is more expensive, I don’t know how to cook healthy recipes, the gym is too far away, I can’t do jumping jacks in my second-story apartment, wah wah wah. But what I realized is even though I thought I couldn’t afford the time and money and effort to put into my health, the truth is, I can’t afford not to care about my health. I have diabetes on both sides of the family. I have high cholesterol. According to Wii Fit, I am obese. I am sedentary for most of my day. And I want children and grandchildren and I want to be around and active for many more years. No more excuses, it’s time to make a change.

Ok, so I’ve worked through the excuses, but now what? There is a lot of speculation about what people should and shouldn’t be eating and doing to stay healthy.

Colton and I like to tag each other in the latest news that is wildly different from the last news like: red wine is good for your heart and red wine is a leading cause of cancer. Chicken is one of the healthiest meats you can eat but it also causes cancer. Diet cokes are healthy because there is 0 sugar and yet aspartame will kill us all. Many of my family members swear by the Keto Diet and yet many doctors are against it. Now there’s an intermittent fasting fad and yet I thought breakfast was the most important meal of the day. There’s Paleo and Weight Watchers and veganism and carnivorism and they all have different rules and pros and cons.

Similar things have been said of exercising as well. Running is the best thing for you but also people have heart attacks at the end of marathons. CrossFit has a lot of negative flack, but I got a lot of positive things from it. Weight-lifting doesn’t help with weight-losing. There are spin classes and Insanity and goat yoga and full-body workouts in 7 minutes and they are all amazing and they are all horrible, depending on who you talk to.

Oh my gosh there are so many controversies regarding health and fitness. But here’s a minimalism take on it: keep it simple. Even small changes can make a big difference. Most doctors and nutritionists can agree on some things: sugar, processed foods, and overindulging are bad. Easy enough, right? So Colton and I came up with a plan to not eat any added sugars, to limit our carb intake, and to eat more non-processed foods. We don’t have to follow some strict diet plan with hard-to-remember rules. This is a lifestyle choice that can stick with us for years. Yes, we can treat ourselves on occasion with a cookie or a piece of pizza, but the key is on occasion and in moderation. As for fitness, build yourself up slowly without overdoing it. And find an exercise you really enjoy so it doesn’t feel like work. I found rock climbing to be a full body workout that leaves me sweaty and out of breath, but I love it so much. In the moment, I’m not thinking about how much my fingers or my core hurts, I’m just thinking about getting to the next rock. 

People try to get all technical and scientific when it comes to what we eat and do to get healthy, but it really is so simple: eat well and in moderation and be more active in a way you truly enjoy.