Swedish Fitness Expert, Journalist and Writer Shirin Djavidi is guesting my blog and here is what she has to say, Enjoy! 

I’m not really the worrying type, but I do worry about a few things. Besides the regular motherhood things like will everything go well for my two girls Luna and Stella and worries like that. Forever and ever I’ve been wishing that I could protect them twenty-four seven, but hey, with kids comes worries you never thought you had. Your family is a lifetime commitment and it is just like the commitment I’m about to talk about now.

Ok, let’s talk about the important stuff. This doesn’t only worry me, it actually make me mad as hell. Why do so many people in the world become so fat that they can hardly move? And I’m not talking about the looks, because this is all from a health aspect. What is it that is so hard to understand? If you eat more than you burn, you will gain weight. When you gain more than your body can handle you will develop heart problems, diabetes type 2 (it’s not a disease you just fix with some pills, this is serious stuff), back and knee problems, problems with your breathing and with all your vital organs that keeps your body alive and kicking. If you don’t help your body to function in every possible way, your body will mess with you, and there is no one else but YOU that is responsible for your health.

If you don’t have time for your health now, you will sooner or later have to take time to stay home, sick, and you might even die… Think about that and read it again. You might even die. You see; your body is like a car or any other machine. You need to take care of it. Otherwise it will stop functioning. It needs your full attention. All of these things that I’ve just mentioned are actually pretty simple stuff right? But still the sodas keep getting larger just like the potato-chips bags. The portion on your plate grows for each year. The amounts of red meat that we eat are enormous (thanks to Atkins diet when we know its bad for you), junk food in general is taking over our lives and so are lazy people. And again, WHY? When we know what is bad for us, why do we keep torturing ourselves? Is it really necessary to eat junk every day? Is that the best treat you can give yourself? So, who is responsible for all this? Well, the government has some part, but it’s always YOU as an individual who is responsible for yourself. Always, always and always. The recipe is so simple but yet it seems so difficult for so many people in the world. Eat less crap and get your body moving! Activate your body it will activate your mind. The benefits you’ll receive by living a healthy life are so many and I think you all know them. If you don’t even try to treat yourself better, you’ll never experience the good things. Don’t ever expect anyone else to take care of your health; your health is in your hands.

In my family we have chosen Fridays and Saturdays for extra sweets or just extra fancy food. That can include a three-course meal, with a glass of wine, with a extra yummy desert. But the desert can also mean a fresh fruit salad with natural yogurt, peanuts and honey on top. It is really tasty and my kids love it. And that is because that’s what they are used to. We never drink soda. It’s poison. But we drink lots of water and sometimes put fresh berries in for extra taste, and it looks nice to. Ok, we do eat popcorn, chocolate and other sweets sometimes, but it’s for special occasions, and the kids know it and It’s never a problem. They do what we do, not what we tell them to do. It always comes back to you. Whatever happens in the world, junk food will never be good for you. All–you-can-eat red meat, whipped cream and bacon will never be good for you. Don’t let all the trendy diets; commercials or the fat free labels trick you. The only way to stay lean and healthy is by getting active and eating less than you burn. Think clean, simple food with lots of vegetables, fruits, fish and chicken, and move every day. Get active with whatever you like. Just get active. You’ll live a much longer and healthier life than you can ever imagine. Live life the best possible way you can, don’t mess with it.

// Shirin Djavidi - Swedish journalist, fitness expert and writer.

Read Shirin’s blog here (It’s in Swedish). 

Photo: Andreas Lundberg

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 7th, 2012 at 10:49 am and is filed under Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.