The Secret to Building Your Best Body — Naturally

The Culture of Beauty — Part 4

Consistently investing in your personal health and fitness is ideal for transforming and maximizing your natural body.

We have all seen and heard hundreds upon hundreds of advertisements that claim to provide the perfect health, diet, and fitness solution for your body. However, there truly is not one perfect plan, solution, or diet. The health and fitness industry is highly profitable because many people care about their appearance and believe in quick fixes. Still, the best solution to achieving optimal health and fitness, in addition to looking your best, is consistency. Consistently engage in healthy habits, and your body will give you the results you desire.

Fitness

The fitness industry for women focuses more so on having a lean and toned body. Often, you do not hear much about becoming physically stronger or building muscle mass. On the other hand, men are usually taught to focus on being physically strong and building muscle mass.

On the contrary, I believe that weightlifting is superb for women to engage in — despite it being a less popular choice amongst women than cardiovascular exercise.

Resistance Training

Weight lifting helps your joints, muscles, and body to become stronger. Resistance training also enhances your metabolism, allowing you to eat more of the foods you want to eat without them negatively affecting your physique.

In addition to cardio, incorporating weight lifting will not get you “big” but provide you with more confidence, strength, and a well-defined physique. You will also be able to do more things on your own without the help of someone else because you will be physically stronger, which leads to you becoming a more independent person (which is always a plus).

Health & Wellness

The most important step to living a healthy lifestyle is to eat a healthy and balanced diet; you can discover what this means for your body through trial and error. Everyone has a unique body that responds differently to various types of foods.

In my opinion, diets are a short-term solution. However, incorporating balanced eating habits is something that you can do for the rest of your life.

You most likely are aware that new diets are always coming out; this is proof that there is no single diet that works for everyone.

I enjoy eating healthy, but I do not always eat perfectly healthy. I do my best to eat more healthy foods than less healthy foods, but I still give myself some leeway.

The 60/40 or 70/30 Rule

A good rule of thumb you can live by is the 60/40 or 70/30 rule; overall, 60–70% percent of the time I eat healthily, and 30–40% percent of the time I eat less healthy (or regular) foods.

You want to ensure you do not feel deprived of the foods you love because deprivation leads to relapses and binging. It is best to execute a plan that is doable, interesting, easy (for the most part), and enjoyable; your plan should make you feel good within yourself emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Food Elimination

There is no need to eliminate food groups (unless, of course, that is the best decision for your body and you have food sensitivities) because eradicating complete food groups from your daily diet is not a balanced habit.

Tangent

Avoiding carbs and fats because they seem bad for your physical body is not the best long-term approach. Many people fear carbs and fats, but these nutrients are not bad for your body; certain carbs and fats are less beneficial for your body, and there are better times in the day to eat these types of cards. But you do not need to avoid fats and carbs altogether.

Dissatisfaction With Body Weight

If you are currently not satisfied with your current weight, analyze what you are eating, and determine what changes you can implement. You can decrease many things in your diet to help you live healthier and feel better (e.g., fast food and sugar).

It is consequential that whatever healthy changes you make are for you.

If you live healthy for yourself, you will stay consistent. If you incorporate healthier changes to look better for others, your results will most likely be short-lived.

Love yourself enough to take care of yourself internally and externally because you are worth it.

The Culture of Beauty Series

• What Is The Culture of Beauty?
• Are You Interested In Plastic Surgery?
• The Perilous Cosmetic-Beauty Industry
• The Secret To Building Your Best Body — Naturally
• What’s the Deal With Hair Texture & Shaving?
• Women: Race, Skin Color, Exoticism

Destiny S. Harris is a writer, poet, entrepreneur, teacher, and techie who offers free books daily on amazon. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, or @ destinyh.com