Fitness magazines: RANT ALERT!

And now for another episode of  “What grinds Jill’s gears”!  Also known as, things that really piss me off.  Aren’t you so excited?!  Don’t let my bubbly and annoyingly happy personality fool you, I can get pretty ragey for a small person.

So there is a certain fitness/health magazine that I have been a loyal reader of since I was 13.  I even have a huge binder full of recipes, exercises, good articles etc. that I have kept adding too all these years.  I have always loved this magazine.  Except for the last 2 years, I think I have maybe saved 5 articles total.   It seems now that it is filled with fads, fluff articles and is loaded with advertisements.  In the July Issue I just received yesterday,  they had the “2013 Snack Awards” where they research what good snacks are on the market right now and make a running list of ones they have approved.  The qualifications for a good snack in this article are:

200 or fewer calories
No high-fructose corn syrup
0 grams of trans fats
No more than 3.5 grams of saturated fat
No more than 400 milligrams of sodium

Okay, this is fine.  But what really pisses me off is most of these snacks are PACKAGED AND PROCESSED.  I mean really, these are the “BEST” snacks?  Apparently fresh fruit and veggies are no longer considered good snacks?  Or maybe they are too obvious to put in a “best snacks” article, I think they at least deserve an honorary mention?

It also pisses me off that they give us no ingredient lists on these (yes I know I could look them up individually) but knowing what is IN the food you are putting in your mouth is important enough to share in this kind of article.  In the few that I checked out, the ingredient lists are monsters.  Just because it says “all natural” or “healthy” on the label does not mean crap.  No really,  it is all a marketing ploy.  Healthy food is not granola bars and packaged crackers that are under 200 calories.  I dare you to eat one serving of these things and be satisfied,  DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU.  Things like this will almost never fill you up.  So then what, oh I will have another serving it won’t hurt.  Then before you know it you have eaten a whole meals worth of calories on crackers, or granola bars.  But they are healthy right?  No.  Real food is healthy.

Don’t worry, I am not going to go all Paleo on you and I will not yell at you for eating bread.  But what I will tell you is that if you stick to CLEAN eating, you will see results.  Food that has less than 6 ingredients in it is considered clean, food that does not have words in the ingredients that you cannot pronounce.  I have always been into healthy eating but since I have become a strict clean eater a few years ago ( I allow cheats mind you, I am human)- my skin is clearer, my weight is more stable, I am leaner, my workouts are better and my energy levels have gone through the roof, THROUGH THE ROOF.   The proof is in the pudding, friends.  Stop getting your snacks in the middle of the grocery store and stick to the outside aisles or go to the Farmer’s Market for goodness sake.  THOSE are where the best things to eat will be.  You will be fuller, you will be more satisfied and you will be taking better care of your body.  Don’t fall into the “all natural” packaging, take a look at the ingredients, it is the only part of the package that will speak the truth. 

Sadly, just because a “health” magazine or a package tells you something, does not mean it is so.  Common sense= stick to food you prepare yourself.  There are of course exceptions here and there.  However I must warn you, these are the things that might happen when you become truly serious about clean eating:

• You will be the minority.  Sad but true.
• You will need to order off the menu sometimes and people will think you are ridiculous.
• When you go to parties, celebrations, BBQs etc.  half the food there will not be healthy for you, if not all. Cheese dips, Nachos, mini-subs, things with lots of mayonnaise seem to be popular.  So be prepared and be the one who brings the good stuff.
• Most people do not understand portion sizes, so when they look at yours they might think you have an eating disorder ( I am pretty positive number of people that eat around me think this)
• On the times where you DO treat yourself to some ice cream, birthday cake, greasy burger etc.  You are going to appreciate it and savor it so much more.

You have to remember, this is not a commonality.  Again, it is sad but it is true.  Most people have no idea what eating good is like (hence why obesity is an epidemic) but they will be the first to rag on you for trying to make good choices.  It is a constant commitment that will be challenged every single day.  Let people judge, let them scoff at you for being “one of those healthy people” because you know what?  If you keep it up, you will feel better, look better, become better at everything you do and they will be jealous.

We see articles all the time about “How to lose 10 pounds this week!” or “Bikini ready in just 10 minutes a day!”- LIES LIES LIES.  If I could get a bikini body in ten minutes a day I think I would be considered some kind of  circus freak.  Doing crunches before bed is not enough, having a healthy and active lifestyle is.  Don’t fall into the fads.  Feed your body good things and exercise 3-5 days a week.  It really is that simple.  I did not say it was easy, I just said it was simple.

Rant over:)