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Day’?s Verse:
So God created man n his own image in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. …God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Genesis 1:27, 31
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This is another routine vent-about-diets blog that is more for my benefit than for any of you readers. Once again, one of my coworkers has decided to go on a diet — “It’s scientific, based in science, not like some ‘don’t eat any carbs’ diet” — and I really have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. How can you get excited about losing two to 10 pounds in one week if all you’ve done is changed the way you ate? She’s intentionally avoiding having to go to the gym because it’s awful having to do that whole working out thing. Controlling weight solely by changing what you eat is not a healthy option! Cutting your carbs isn’t necessary or healthy, either, so long as you maintain at least 30 minutes a day of exercise. It’?s really all about exercising and eating healthy portions of reasonable foods: No magical diets necessary. Just common sense.

Once again, I want to go over and evangelize for the tried-and-true, non-fad, sweat-drenched style of body-shape maintenance: Get lots of exercise every day. Eat moderate amounts of food when your body says it’s hungry; avoid gigantic meals thrice a day. Get fiber in the morning. Take vitamins. Eat more spinach (OK I just say that because I’ve fallen in love with it) and greens generally. Obviously it’s smart to cut out the chips, desserts, meals out, and pop if you consume lots of that every day, but (as I’ve found) a few cookies or some ice cream in a day won’t be an issue if you get plenty of exercise.

In short, just adding exercise to a sedentary lifestyle will make a huge difference in body shape, tone, and image. You’ll feel better about your body if you take time to exercise it, you’ll feel more energetic, and you’ll sleep better at night. You won’t get any of those things if you ax your food consumption or change it radically. Plus, if you can find a cardio exercise you like enough, it will simply become an integral part of your life and you won’t have to worry about diet.

Everything in moderation, I suppose, applies as much to diet and health as anything. We just don’t know what moderation looks like when it comes to food. Stop worrying about calories, I want to tell my coworkers, and think more about getting out and moving around.