Being healthy is on you, nobody else
By: Ryan Scott
Perhaps it is just a matter of perspective, but it seems that this country is becoming more health conscious as of late.
Unfortunately for me, I’ve been a little late jumping on that particular bandwagon, if you can even call being healthy a bandwagon.
The fact of the matter is that for most of my
life, and even still now I suppose, I’ve had a pretty bad diet.
I eat a lot of fast food, frozen food and MSG saturated instant goods.
The word vegetable might as well have been a dirty word to me up until recently.
It’s not that I have an objection to eating healthy, it’s just that junk food happens to taste really good, and I’ve been a do-what-makes-you- happy kind of guy for as long as I can remember.
As I look back, I think the biggest issue is that
my family wasn’t exactly health conscious at all when I was growing up.
I was never forced, rarely even encouraged to eat healthily growing up.
The phrase “finish your vegetables” was foreign.
So I took that with me as I grew up and especially once I moved out on my own at the age of 18.
I rarely cooked for myself and if I did, the odds are it was in a pan full of fry grease.
These habits remained in place until a few years ago when I was diagnosed with chronic heartburn
and was forced to change certain things.
No spicy foods, no more deep frying pizza rolls and a lot less citrus.
It all had to go.
At that point I began to evaluate things and realized that, just because I’m not obese, it doesn’t mean that I’m healthy.
I am by no means a model for a good diet, but I’ve cut back on some things and at least acknowledged my bad decisions. I am fully
aware of what is bad and am doing my best to make adjustments.
I think that’s an important step.
The point is that I had to be the one to take responsibility for this.
No one else.
I could easily
blame my habits on my upbringing and point fingers, but what good does that do?
People are far too unhealthy and I think
they need to take personal responsibility for their health.
Don’t point fingers and wait for a solution to smack you in the face.
It won’t come.
Take it upon yourself and try to at least practice moderation.
Any change is better than none.
Have some peas with that bacon
