Hello, my friends! It’s Griff Neilson, and today I want to discuss a topic that is rather disturbing to me. As a Health Coach, my clients often tell me that “I am healthy because I am skinny,” or that someone else is healthy “because they are skinny.” Additionally, I cannot tell you how many times I have heard younger guys tell me, “Yeah, I am just lucky right now because I can eat what I want, and I will never gain weight.” One of my personal favorites comes primarily from women (usually overweight) speaking of skinny women who work out. They will often point to them in disgust, and say, “You don’t need to work out; look how skinny you are!”
The incorrect assumptions of all these sentiments are obvious. Just because someone is skinny does NOT make him or her healthy! In fact, did you know that 20% of skinny people have metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes due to their lifestyle choices? The belief that “skinny” is equivalent to “healthy” is a very damaging myth that still pervades our culture.
Today, I want to give you a brief list of lifestyle traits that PROVE exercise alone and being skinny does NOT make you healthy! These traits are typically NOT lived by those claiming to be healthy.
Lifestyle Trait #1: Getting Adequate Water
Did you know that your body requires water for EVERY metabolic function? Yes, water is necessary for literally EVERY metabolic function that your body performs! To make sure that you are getting enough water, be sure to drink HALF YOUR BODYWEIGHT IN OUNCES! The average American typically falls 25% short of this.
If your body needs water for every metabolic action and reaction, and if you are not adequately hydrated, then how can you claim to be truly healthy? And by the way, water means pure water: Not juice, coffee, tea, soda, or a sports drink! All of these other sources require water to be processed in the liver, so at the end of the day, if you depend on them for water, you often times become even more dehydrated.
Lifestyle Trait #2: Getting Adequate Sleep
I challenge you to research our sleeping patterns over the last 100 years. What you will find is shocking. We have continually been sleeping less, a trend that has negatively impacted our health and fitness in untold ways. Yet, we persist in convincing ourselves that we are too busy for 8 hours of sleep, and we rationalize this crucial part of our life away.
Did you know that sleep is DIRECTLY tied to your metabolism, hormones, moods, digestion, elimination, ability to lose weight, and a myriad of other health concerns? Probably not, because you have likely fallen into the modern day trap of “burning the candle at both ends.” The truth is this: You cannot consider yourself to be healthy if you do not get adequate sleep.
Lifestyle Trait #3: Eating WHOLE Foods
This one is a no brainer, or is it? A whole food is a food that is unprocessed and kept in its natural form, the way that Mother Nature intended it. I wish I could say that it is a no brainer, but that is hard to claim when 70% of the American diet is composed on processed food. This habit is literally saturating us with health problems that we continue to treat with drugs and other “Band-Aid” approaches.
Well, there you have it, my friends! The next time you find yourself looking at that “skinny fit person,” you will have to ask yourself, are they really healthy? After all, even skeletons are skinny, but they are also dead! If we recharge our “life batteries” through the aforementioned practices, then you must ask yourself honestly, are you the walking dead?
Life is good my friends and always remember . . .
“Never Excuse Away Your Inner Greatness!”
Griff