How should I start this? How about a blazing "Be happy, be healthy!" headline? Or, "Make over your life this year!" What about my personal favorite: "New year, new you!" My guess is that if I started my first health and fitness column like that, it would probably be my last. People would be throwing their papers into the sky, groaning and cursing my name with raving fervor.
Why, you ask?
Because it's all been done before. Millions of articles have been written on health and fitness; dozens of magazines are devoted to the topic. We're tired of being told what to eat, what not to eat and how and when to eat it. Who really wants to eat rice with a teaspoon of peanut butter for lunch? Who really wants to deprive themselves of what they like?
Well, lucky for all of you, I don't. I'm not going to write out a meal plan for you to follow. I'm not going to tell you to add a salad or to cut bread and french fries out of every meal. I'm going to help you see that what you eat can be made healthier with a few modifications, not give you a complete overhaul of your diet.
Quick example: We all love dessert. And dessert at TDR is often the only edible thing available. But instead of loading your ice cream with every available topping and snagging a piece of apple pie, make a few changes. Substitute regular ice cream with frozen yogurt. It has fewer calories and the taste is basically the same. Then, cut up some fresh apples or bananas and add them on top. You'll still have the sweetness of an added topping, but now you're also getting a fruit serving, served with ice cream. How can you go wrong?
Fitness can be the same way. You don't need to be extreme to be healthy. If you love going to the gym, good for you. For many of us, though, we either don't have the time or don't want to make the time. Luckily for us, there are millions of other ways to get exercise and still enjoy it. Who wants to run on a treadmill staring at the wall for 20 minutes when you can take a brisk walk to Tenleytown?
Given the choice between riding a stationary bike and taking a bike tour of the monuments, which would you choose? We live in a big city that offers so many more exciting and different opportunities than any standard elliptical machine can offer.
When it comes to fitness, it's about making it fun. It's about creating your own expectations and not fulfilling someone else's. It's about making exercise a part of your daily life without making it bland and uninspiring.
That said, I'm not a nutritionist. I'm not a future gym teacher or the next celebrity personal trainer. I just know that I like to feel good about myself, and I feel good when I'm making healthy choices.
I won't just be spouting my uninformed health and fitness ideas to any and all who will listen. I'll be talking to people from Bon Appetit, Jacobs Fitness Center, the Student Health Center and the Counseling Center. I'll try different types of exercise, research healthier eating options in D.C. and experiment with ways to modify those meals we just can't give up.
If you have great meal tips, recipes or fun fitness routines, e-mail me at healthandfitness@theeagleonline.com and I'll try them out or post them here. If you're interested in an exercise program but don't want to try it just yet, let me know. I'll give it a shot and report back.
What's most important to remember about living a healthy lifestyle is that it has to be personal. It shouldn't restrict you from enjoying yourself.
Try some new things and start examining your eating and fitness habits. Think about what's best for you - that's when you'll be able to make changes that last.
