Self Esteem

There are several things that have struck me since I began doing PFCs (personal fitness consultations). One is the number of people who eat spaghetti for supper. I swear I have not met a single person who doesn't have spaghetti enough to claim it as an example of a typical supper time meal. Spaghetti is amazing, and now I have anecdotal evidence to support my own spaghetti infatuation. Here's a recipe for some really good, low sodium spaghetti sauce courtesy of Jamie Oliver: Spaghetti sauce, yum! Even just a pinch of sea salt for taste is enough. Whole wheat pasta is definitely recommended!

The next thing that I've noticed is the number of people who say steak is part of a typical dinner for them. I suppose it's not that surprising considering this is the land of Alberta beef, but steak is not necessarily the leanest meat and probably should be limited to a maximum of once a week - at most. It would be even more ideal, if steak was more of a "treat" meat for special occasions (once a month?). No wonder there is an obesity epidemic when people are eating steak every night. Find out some nutrition facts about steak here.

Lastly, I am not surprised, but worried about the number of people who state that their main reason for joining a gym and beggining an exercise program is so that they look good. "well isn't that the whole point of 'getting in shape'?". Looking good will always be A motivator, but it shouldn't be your main reason. When people tell me they want to look good, I hear "I have low self esteem and need to gain self confidence. I think that by looking better to others I will be liked/respected more and therefore will feel better about myself". Obviously not everyone is wondering around worrying about what their friends think if they wear a size 8 instead of a size 6, but there are many people who do. They are not to blame because everyday we are bombarded by media saying we should look this way or that. Unfortunately, people are comparing themselves to media images and starting a work out routine based on these images - not because they want to be healthy and improve their quality of life.
Being motivated by looks can have negaive affects: a person could get caught in a cycle of always trying to maintain or get to a certain standard of beauty, developing a negative relationship with food and unhealthy exercise habits to reach this goal. Ultimately they are so focused on their appearance they forget about themselves - who they are, their great personality qualities, their talents, their relationships - which eventually takes a toll on self esteem. Those that don't reach their goal to look a certain way, get frustrated and turned off exercise jeprodizing their health and feeling like they failed.
While looking more attractive may be a happy consequence of exercise, it should not be the goal. The most successful exercisers are those that have on going fitness goals, or maintance goals that are part of living a healthy balanced lifestyle. Motivations for exercise SHOULD be to maintain the integrity of your cardivascular and respiratory system, functional strength, flexibility, stress management, injury prevention, and weight/disease management. All of these objectives are important for your health realted quality of life. Try and change your perspective. Start exercising for the health of your "inside" and the outside will follow along. Healthy is beautiful.