Beauty from the Inside Out

Eat less.  Move more.  

Got it.

It's calories in versus calories out.  A calorie is a calorie is a calorie.  And 3,500 of them amount to a pound of fat.

I hear you, i think.

You should do cardio five times a week for about 30 minutes at moderate intensity...

We know this.  We know this because we grew up female in the United States.  We know those wonderful numbers and the basic math that makes it all work out on paper.  We have been force-fed these numbers from a young age and we can regurgitate them with the ease of a bulimic Heather in 1987.

We have been given so much information... but so little guidance about what it all means, what it can do for us, and how to work it into our lives.  We have  been given this information and misinformation for the wrong reason.  That reason being that we are trying to fix everything from the outside in. 

Flip that thought around and let's take a look at healing ourselves from the inside out.

Some of you reading this likely have the thought in your head to get skinny.  We will begin there as long as you allow me to change that thought to get healthier.  

Although it cannot be denied that lower amount of body fat (between 20-25% in females) is associated with good health, body fat alone is not an indicator of general healthiness.  Excess subcutaneous body fat (that fat that is easily seen) can be linked to a number of conditions... as can a deficit of subcutaneous body fat.  There is also the more recently popularized definition of the "skinny fat" person (rather, the metabolically obese normal weight person- MONWP)- wherein a person may appear thin, but they have excess visceral fat (that fat which is around the organs)- which is just as, if not more, unhealthy.  

How someone goes about maintaining a healthy-for-them body fat percentage is highly individual.  Some do it with exercise alone.  Some by diet alone.   Some are blessed genetically (and cursed by the rest of us).  Most do it by a combination that breaks down into 10% exercise, 80% diet, 10% genetics.

Where am I going with this?

Where I am going is forward from fads that leave you sick, tired, with sallow skin and brittle hair and hating life.   I want to share a basic understanding of what it takes to have a simple, healthy lifestyle.   One that is a series of simple steps that will not only move your body to a healthier size, but will have the added benefits of de-stressing parts of your life, clearing your mind (and your skin), and leave you feeling more energetic and ready to take on the crowds at a Sephora sale.

No quick fixes.

And no excuses.

Beauty stems from health.  Health stems from honesty.

Let us get honest....