I’ve written a lot about the craziness of the health and fitness world. It’s a world that’s choc full of potentially harmful ideas and practices, many of which are entrenched in our culture.
Some of these ideas are actively promoted by people in the industry. Some ideas seem to be subconscious thoughts. Others are merely unintentional errors in our thinking.
In no particular order, below are some of the bad ideas I feel are most prevalent. My hope is that you can recognise them and work to protect yourself from them.
Here goes:
- The idea that being healthy requires lots of exercise and a rigid diet
- Cutting too many calories in an attempt to starve yourself thin
- Judging people by their body
- Judging yourself by your body
- Categorising foods as ‘good’ and ‘bad’
- Restricting foods that you enjoy eating
- Using exercise to punish yourself
- Associating food with shame or guilt
- The idea that a workout must last certain period of time
- Attempting to willpower your way to a better diet/exercise regime
- Categorising every food by it’s perceived ‘healthiness’
- Telling other people how they should eat (without being asked)
- The whole concept of a ‘detox’
- The idea that you are addicted to sugar
- Unquestioningly accepting that being famous makes someone an authority on fitness or nutrition
- Lifting light dumbbells in an attempt to tone muscles
- Neglecting sleep, recovery and stress management
- Ignoring hunger
- Intentionally skipping meals
- Describing any food as “toxic” or “poison”
- Liquid diets
- Shaming or bullying overweight people in an attempt to facilitate change
- Getting health and nutrition information from mainstream media
- Black and white thinking
- Dieting harder when it didn’t work (over the long term) last time
- Agonising over every food decision
- Attempting to spot reduce body fat
- Being elitist and judgmental towards other people’s diet or exercise choices
- Letting the scales dictate your happiness
- The idea that if something is ‘natural’ it is good, and vice versa
- Sacrificing your social life for the sake of your diet
- The idea that carbs are somehow fattening
- The idea that any food is inherently fattening
- Taking a short-term approach to health and fitness
- Prioritising intensity of effort over consistency of effort
- Trying to make a friend or family member change their habits
- Taking an all or nothing approach to your health
- No pain no gain
- Doing complex things before simple things
- A low carb diet + lots of intense exercise
- Expecting different results from the exact same approach
- The idea that it’s somehow immoral to be a little overweight
- Using age as a reason not to start improving your health and fitness
- Taking your body for granted
- Thinking or speaking poorly of yourself
- Spending your life sat on your backside
- Waiting for the perfect moment to get started
- Sacrificing normal eating behaviours in pursuit of a body image ideal
- Chasing perfection
- The idea that you – or others – should look a certain way
- The idea that being thin = being righteous
- The idea that more is better
- The idea that you’ll be happy when you get ‘there’
- …Do you have any you could add to the list? Comment below!
Always Keep Reaching!
Mike
