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In theory, most of us know that exercise is good for us. Were aware that it can help us lose weight or maintain our current weight. But if youve ever struggled with the motivation to workout (*raises hand*) then you might need a reminder that although weight-loss is great its not the only reason to exercise.

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Plus, in todays crazy world, (read: pandemic) we could all use a little inspiration to make our health a priority.

Sports medicine physician and sports psychiatrist Thomas Mick, MD, shares seven benefits of exercise that go beyond losing weight. Keep a few of these in your back pocket, so that the next time youre thinking about ditching your workout, you have all the more reason to do it.

The current guideline for physical activity for adults is to get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every week. But we all know that exercise and making it to the gym is easier said than done.

Dr. Mick offers these suggestions and tips for incorporating exercise into your life:

Also dont forget, always consult with your healthcare provider before embarking on any sort of new exercise program.

If we could bottle up exercise, itd be the best selling pill in the world, says Dr. Mick.

So until then, its important that we put in effort to move our bodies. In the end, were the only ones who can make the decision for ourselves, but the benefits are long-lasting.

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7 Benefits of Exercise (Other Than Weight Loss) Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

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Our lives run on the basis of daily cyclic changes and humans are among the many organisms who have developed intrinsic 24-hour cycles called the circadian rhythm that enables us to perform all activities to their full potential. This sleep-wake cycle affects everything from your metabolism to your immune system, and theres more to it than just sleep. Believe it or not, food intake or nutrition has a huge role to play in this circadian clock.

How meal timings affect your circadian rhythm

Just think back to the days when you ate too late after waking up or skipped breakfast and got too busy to get lunch while at work. Your energy levels drop down, your body feels a lot more stressed, and youre bound to feel much more exhausted by the end of the day. This delay in nutrition disrupts your circadian rhythm, slows down your metabolism, induces lethargy, tends to accumulate fat in the body and has a high chance of leading to weight gain and obesity. The fact that weight gain and obesity are high-risk factors for many diseases, including heart disease, is well known.

And this is the reason why proponents of Ayurveda and ancient Chinese medicine have paid such focus on following precise meal timings every day as a means of staying healthy and fit. The Ayurvedic concept of dincharya or daily routine highlights the necessity of the body to be in complete balance with the rhythmic cycles of the day and promotes fixed timings for everything from meal times to exercise, sleep and other activities. In Chinese medicine, every part of the body has its own rhythm, and the chi (vital energy of the body as a whole) can only be maintained if you lead your life according to this rhythm.

What is chrono-nutrition?

Based on these two ancient systems of medicine, Dr Alain Delabos - a French nutritionist - developed chrono-nutrition in 1986 with his colleague Professor Jean-Robert Rapin. Chrono-nutrition involves sticking to specific meal times daily to ensure your metabolism synchronises with your biological or circadian clock.

A study published in Current Nutrition Reports in 2014 suggests that humans have some core clock genes, like Bmal1, Per1/2 and Cry1/2, which play a role in determining the circadian clock of the body through the regulation of the master clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), of the body. If you fix your meal timings as dictated by these clocks, your metabolism, hormone secretion and immune response work perfectly. If theres desynchronization among the clocks, it can result in the development of metabolic disorders, obesity, chronic diseases, psychiatric disorders and even cancer.

Benefits of chrono-nutrition

Following the chrono-nutritional diet is very easy - all you need to do is ensure you eat the same quality and quantity of food at the same time every day. Ideally, you should have your first meal (breakfast) an hour after waking up and your last meal (dinner or supper) should be had two hours before bedtime. The following are the benefits of following a chrono-nutritional diet:

For more information, read our article on Weight loss.

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Chrono-nutrition: How Eating By the Clock Can Help You Lose Weight - News18

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Slimming World consultant Lillian Drummond

Lillian Drummond, 74, joined Slimming World in the mid 1990s when she decided she needed to lose some weight.

And after shedding five stone on their programme, she decided to help others and became a consultant in September 1995.

Over the course of 25 years, Lillian has helped countless people improve their health and self confidence through Slimming World and says she has loved every minute of it.

Now, a quarter of a century later, Lillian is reflecting on her time supporting various groups but has no desire to stop just yet.

She said: If you had told me when I first joined Id still be doing this 25 years later I would have never believed you. I suppose its just because I simply enjoy helping others. Over the years Ive seen some amazing results and seen how lives can change for the better.

"I have no plans for slowing down. I want to continue doing this and continue helping people until my body stops letting me.

Lillian, who is a great-grandmother, runs her classes every week at the Millenium Centre in Washington and currently has over 150 members on her books.

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The Washington great-grandmother who has been helping others lose weight for 25 years as a Slimming World consultant - Sunderland Echo

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A chunky cat named Lasagna is in need of a forever home in order to help her lose weight, a local animal shelter said.

A spokesperson with ACCT Philly said someone left Lasagna outside their shelter in Philadelphias Hunting Park neighborhood on Sunday with a woman who was looking to adopt. The woman considered adopting Lasagna but ultimately passed due to the cat being much larger than what she was looking for.

Lasagna the cat.

ACCT Philly then took Lasagna in. Staff members said shes very sweet and appears to be generally healthy though her weight has made her stiff when she walks and unable to properly groom herself.

Obese cats can develop a lot of significant health issues, so she really needs a home where someone can help her lose the weight and be a healthy cat," Sarah Barnett of ACCT Philly said.

After photos of Lasagna went viral, the company Stouffer's stepped in and offered their popular lasagna brand for free to whoever adopted Lasagna the cat.

CLICK HERE to learn how you can adopt Lasagna and other shelter animals.

ACCT Philly dealt with budget cuts of nearly $900,000 from the city to their contract. To donate, CLICK HERE.

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Chunky Cat Named Lasagna' Needs a Forever Home to Help Her Lose Weight - NBC 10 Philadelphia

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Following the Noom program takes just five to 10 minutes per day.

If there's one universal truth about weight loss, it's that there are a lot of different diets out there. And since there is no singular approach that works for everyone, trial and error is inevitable which can lead to frustration.

"When diets 'fail,' people tend to turn on themselves as they start to feel inadequate or see themselves as the failure, despite starting something that was inevitable to fail," says Andreas Michaelides, PhD, chief of psychology and head of coaching at Noom. "People can be very hard on themselves when this happens, berating their failures, and feel guilty when they fall back into old habits."

To avoid this, it's important to find a plan that makes you feel empowered and educates you on the most effective weight-loss methods like Noom, Michaelides says. "Noom isn't a diet in the traditional sense; it's a program that empowers users to make changes by equipping them with the right tools to do so," he says. The Noom toolkit includes a science-backed curriculum, a personal coach and a fully-loaded app with resources to help you monitor your progress when it comes to food and exercise.

And while there is no one right way to lose weight, there are a few wrong (either unsafe or ineffective) ways to go about weight loss. Here, Michaelides breaks down three common misconceptions.

Misconception 1: Weight Loss Is a Linear Process

Even if you're sticking to a diet religiously, your weight likely won't decrease consistently. "Plateaus are completely normal and frustrating, but they do not mean you are doing anything wrong or not making progress," Michaelides says. "Plateaus are multi-faceted and can be dependent on numerous factors, so the key here is to hold strong and focus on the non-scale victories you are achieving, like having more energy or feeling more confident in your favorite pair of jeans."

As part of the Noom plan, users weigh themselves every day in order to overcome scale anxiety and to get used to seeing slight or no fluctuations in their weight, Michaelides says. That way, if the number ticks up slightly, they won't be tempted to throw in the towel, and if it hasn't changed in a while, they can chat with their Noom coach for encouragement.

Misconception 2: Fad Diets Work

"Despite the widespread trend, we know it can be dangerous to cut out certain food groups," Michaelides says. "It is actually more important to focus on portion size rather than depriving yourself of a specific food or food group."

Beside not being sustainable long term, restrictive diets can be damaging both physically and psychologically, he says. Noom encourages users to make small changes over time and equips them to learn how to deal with setbacks.

Misconception 3: Weight Loss Should Happen Quickly

"Chances are, the weight you'd like to lose didn't appear overnight losing it won't happen overnight either," Michaelides says. "At Noom, we encourage clients to focus on their holistic health, and celebrate small victories off the scale as well as on."

He suggests making thoughtful, attainable goals and thinking of each goal as a small building block over time all your small successes can lead to big changes.

"If you're looking for a quick fix, or something extreme/restrictive, Noom might not be the place for you," Michaelides says. "Though extreme diets might result in faster short-term weight loss, that weight is often gained back just as quickly. Noom's focus is on creating a lifestyle change, so while the results aren't overnight, they are much more likely to stick." And that's the ultimate goal, right?

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The 3 Most Common Things People Get Wrong About Weight Loss, and How to Avoid Them - LIVESTRONG.COM

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As a teenager, Dominic O'Connor played rugby at a national level, where his larger frame was counted as an advantage.

"I didn't have a huge belly, but at the same time I didn't have a six-pack," he says in a new episode of Brand New Me. "When I was playing rugby I used to think 'oh yeah, it's OK, I need to be big, I need to be strong.' But then as soon as rugby stopped, it became a lot harder, and I realized I'm not a rugby player any more, I'm just an overweight guy."

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That difference became apparent once he moved away to college at 18, and his lifestyle changed as he started to drink alcohol and eat junk food regularly. "Before university, I was living the life of an international rugby player; training camps every weekend, no house parties," he says. "Then all of a sudden I came to university, to Leeds, which is a huge party city... I kind of just went wild. There were so many red flags that I was living an unhealthy, unsustainable life."

At his heaviest, he weighed at least 240 pounds. "I don't have an exact figure for my heaviest weight, because I was too scared to step on the scales," he says.

It wasn't until he got away from that party environment during the third year of his degree, while studying abroad in Hong Kong, that he began to lose weight. "I didn't really know what the best way to train was, or what I wanted to be doing in the gym, I just knew something was better than nothing," he says. "Over the course of a year, I created a bunch of new habits and changed my lifestyle."

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After losing a total of 70 pounds, Dominic began to put on weightthis time in the form of muscleand eventually started competing in (and winning) bodybuilding events in the classic physique category. Now aged 25, he's been doing it for three years, and is currently preparing for his fourth competitive season. His daily workout consists of an hour of weightlifting, however during the pandemic, he's switched that for a lot of resistance band training in the absence of gym equipment.

"I was really miserable and I wasn't happy when I didn't have this healthy lifestyle; I didn't have any drive or ambition," he says. "A lot of people say bodybuilding is a vain sport, but they don't realize you get a lot of positives from bodybuilding. It teaches you how to be accountable, to work for yourself, to be your own source of motivation."

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This Guy Shared the Story of How He Lost His Beer Belly and Became a Bodybuilder - menshealth.com

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Since the pandemic officially began in March, we've been told staying home is the best way to avoid catching COVID-19. And it is. But life in confinement can cause physical ailments on its own.Being homebound for so long contorts the body, weakens the heart and lungs and even impairs brain function. The effects of life in isolation may stay with us beyond the pandemic's end whenever that may be.This is what half a year of isolation, staying home and staying sedentary can do to your body.You start losing muscleA week homebound, whether you're working, eating or sleeping, may feel comforting and necessary. But all the inactivity can undo hard-won progress.That's because it can take months to build muscle and just one week to lose it. Humans, for all of our hardiness, also lose muscle more quickly the older we get, said Keith Baar, a professor of molecular exercise physiology at the University of California-Davis.When you lose muscle, you're not necessarily losing bulk, but you are losing strength, which Baar said is one of the "strongest indicators" of how long you'll live."The stronger we stay, the easier it is for us to maintain our longevity."Your heart and lungs get weakerIf you're not exercising, you're not raising your heart rate. And when your heart isn't pumping as hard, it gets weaker, Baar said.The same thing happens to your lungs when you're inactive, said Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, a pulmonologist from Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He said many of his patients have felt their breathing function deteriorate because they're no longer conditioned to exercise.People with poor lung health are already considered more susceptible to coronavirus because it's a respiratory illness, so they're likely staying home to reduce their risk of infection. But if they're not moving and increasing blood flow to their lungs, then their preexisting condition might harm them anyway.Exercise is the only key to improve both heart and lung function "Not a single medication can do that," Galiatsatos said. If it's not safe to leave the house, Baar recommends dancing or finding household objects for home strength training think milk jug deadlifts.You gain fatIf you're home all day, every day, you're likely feet away from your pantry. Depending on your perspective, that's either convenient or dangerous.With such easy access, your "feeding" window, or the period of time during which you eat most of your meals, might widen from 10 or 12 hours every day to 15 hours a day more than half the day, which could cause your insulin levels to spike. Insulin encourages fat storage and converting other fat molecules to fat, said Giles Duffield, an associate professor of anatomy and physiology at the University of Notre Dame who studies circadian rhythms and metabolism, among other subjects.Excessive eating is also an issue because, at the beginning of the pandemic, many people stocked up on nonperishable foods in case of supply shortages, Duffield said. Many nonperishable foods are highly processed and rich in sugars and starches.Weight gain during periods of intense stress is normal, and 2020 has been unrelentingly stressful. Weight gain becomes dangerous, though, when it turns into obesity. Then, your body might start to resist insulin, and chronic health issues like metabolic illness or diabetes may develop, Duffield said.Your posture is affectedWe all have a seated position we subconsciously sink into slumped forward, shoulders hunched; spine curled, neck bent; on your chest, elbows up.But sitting and lying down all day can seriously affect your posture and strain your back, neck, shoulders, hips and eyes, said Brandon Brown, an epidemiologist and associate professor in the Center for Healthy Communities at the University of California-Riverside.Brown suggests getting up from your seat once an hour, walking around and stretching for a moment. You might even lie on the floor and "let your back readjust," he said.Your sleep suffersAt least half of all Americans are skimping on vitamin D, which sustains bone density and keeps fatigue at bay. You're definitely one of them if you spend most of your day at home, curtains drawn, Duffield said.Getting enough sunlight in the morning helps synchronize your body's circadian rhythm, Duffield said. So if you're shut in all week or working in the dark, your sleep might suffer, too.Brown said as long as you're going on walks or exercising, doing yard work or other activities that drag you outside for a bit, you won't need to worry about getting enough sunlight. If you're unable to get out of the house or the weather won't permit you to, an artificial bright light can help your body retune in the morning, Duffield said, as can avoiding blue lights at night.Your brain slowsA sedentary lifestyle can slow your brain, too.Exercise produces certain chemicals in the brain that break down toxins in the blood and even prevent them from going to the brain, where they can kill brain cells, Baar said.Not exercising means you won't as efficiently break down amino acid byproducts that wind up as neurotoxins in the brain.The effects of isolation are insidious like the pandemic, the physical symptoms after months of seclusion often aren't obvious until they become harmful or extreme.It's possible, too, to stave off those symptoms before they set in for good.Prioritizing your mental and physical health while staying home requires some work, but it's a healthier coping mechanism for uncertainty than staying stationary until COVID-19 is no longer a threat, health experts say. And when it's safe to live fully again, you'll be prepared.

Since the pandemic officially began in March, we've been told staying home is the best way to avoid catching COVID-19. And it is. But life in confinement can cause physical ailments on its own.

Being homebound for so long contorts the body, weakens the heart and lungs and even impairs brain function. The effects of life in isolation may stay with us beyond the pandemic's end whenever that may be.

This is what half a year of isolation, staying home and staying sedentary can do to your body.

A week homebound, whether you're working, eating or sleeping, may feel comforting and necessary. But all the inactivity can undo hard-won progress.

That's because it can take months to build muscle and just one week to lose it. Humans, for all of our hardiness, also lose muscle more quickly the older we get, said Keith Baar, a professor of molecular exercise physiology at the University of California-Davis.

When you lose muscle, you're not necessarily losing bulk, but you are losing strength, which Baar said is one of the "strongest indicators" of how long you'll live.

"The stronger we stay, the easier it is for us to maintain our longevity."

If you're not exercising, you're not raising your heart rate. And when your heart isn't pumping as hard, it gets weaker, Baar said.

The same thing happens to your lungs when you're inactive, said Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, a pulmonologist from Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He said many of his patients have felt their breathing function deteriorate because they're no longer conditioned to exercise.

People with poor lung health are already considered more susceptible to coronavirus because it's a respiratory illness, so they're likely staying home to reduce their risk of infection. But if they're not moving and increasing blood flow to their lungs, then their preexisting condition might harm them anyway.

Exercise is the only key to improve both heart and lung function "Not a single medication can do that," Galiatsatos said. If it's not safe to leave the house, Baar recommends dancing or finding household objects for home strength training think milk jug deadlifts.

If you're home all day, every day, you're likely feet away from your pantry. Depending on your perspective, that's either convenient or dangerous.

With such easy access, your "feeding" window, or the period of time during which you eat most of your meals, might widen from 10 or 12 hours every day to 15 hours a day more than half the day, which could cause your insulin levels to spike. Insulin encourages fat storage and converting other fat molecules to fat, said Giles Duffield, an associate professor of anatomy and physiology at the University of Notre Dame who studies circadian rhythms and metabolism, among other subjects.

Excessive eating is also an issue because, at the beginning of the pandemic, many people stocked up on nonperishable foods in case of supply shortages, Duffield said. Many nonperishable foods are highly processed and rich in sugars and starches.

Weight gain during periods of intense stress is normal, and 2020 has been unrelentingly stressful. Weight gain becomes dangerous, though, when it turns into obesity. Then, your body might start to resist insulin, and chronic health issues like metabolic illness or diabetes may develop, Duffield said.

We all have a seated position we subconsciously sink into slumped forward, shoulders hunched; spine curled, neck bent; on your chest, elbows up.

But sitting and lying down all day can seriously affect your posture and strain your back, neck, shoulders, hips and eyes, said Brandon Brown, an epidemiologist and associate professor in the Center for Healthy Communities at the University of California-Riverside.

Brown suggests getting up from your seat once an hour, walking around and stretching for a moment. You might even lie on the floor and "let your back readjust," he said.

At least half of all Americans are skimping on vitamin D, which sustains bone density and keeps fatigue at bay. You're definitely one of them if you spend most of your day at home, curtains drawn, Duffield said.

Getting enough sunlight in the morning helps synchronize your body's circadian rhythm, Duffield said. So if you're shut in all week or working in the dark, your sleep might suffer, too.

Brown said as long as you're going on walks or exercising, doing yard work or other activities that drag you outside for a bit, you won't need to worry about getting enough sunlight. If you're unable to get out of the house or the weather won't permit you to, an artificial bright light can help your body retune in the morning, Duffield said, as can avoiding blue lights at night.

A sedentary lifestyle can slow your brain, too.

Exercise produces certain chemicals in the brain that break down toxins in the blood and even prevent them from going to the brain, where they can kill brain cells, Baar said.

Not exercising means you won't as efficiently break down amino acid byproducts that wind up as neurotoxins in the brain.

The effects of isolation are insidious like the pandemic, the physical symptoms after months of seclusion often aren't obvious until they become harmful or extreme.

It's possible, too, to stave off those symptoms before they set in for good.

Prioritizing your mental and physical health while staying home requires some work, but it's a healthier coping mechanism for uncertainty than staying stationary until COVID-19 is no longer a threat, health experts say. And when it's safe to live fully again, you'll be prepared.

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This is what happens to your body over months in isolation - WXII The Triad

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With Tom Brady at the helm in New England, there were conversations constantly surfacing about the TB12 diet. Jokes about avocado ice cream and his refusal to eat strawberries became a funny topic to touch on.

The Patriots bring in a new MVP quarterback in Cam Newton and the diet conversations continue. This time, its about the vegan diet that fuels a 6-foot-5, 245 pound athlete. Newtons overpowering presence on the field doesnt reflect the diet that so many people believe is unsustainable.

Newton turned vegan in 2019 and has spoken highly of eating this way. On Thursday during his press conference, Newton put down one stigma on the topic.

Just because Im vegan doesnt mean I just go outside and pick up grass and, you know, put ranch on it, Newton said, via Nicole Yang of The Boston Globe. Well, I guess thats not vegan. Or put balsamic on it and eat it. I still love good food.

Newtons choice of diet didnt prevent him from rushing for four touchdowns over the span of two games so far this season.

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Vegan diet isn't just grass and dressing, Cam Newton explains - Patriots Wire

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I stood in front of my fridge, eyeing the vegetable drawer. I was about 6 years old.

It was me versus a carton of mushrooms.

I remember very clearly thinking to myself, I dont want to eat that, but Im going to teach myself to like it.

At that young age, I was already aware of the importance of healthy eating and already semi-obsessed with the idea of mind over matter.

Today mushrooms are my favorite vegetable.

I have another memory of my adolescent self sitting at a booth in an Elephant Bar with a few friends from my junior high school dance team. A platter of fried food had just arrived on the table. I struggled against the urge to eat while the other girls dug in.

One of my fellow dancers turned to me and said, Wow, youre so good.

I smiled awkwardly with a mixture of pride and embarrassment.

If she only knew, I thought.

The desire to be good is something thats driven me since my earliest days. I couldnt understand why no one seemed to agree on what it really took to be good.

I remember taking a Bible off of my parents bookshelf one day, thinking I might find some answers.

I opened it, read a few pages, and quickly understood why everyone was so confused. I had expected a neat list, not allegory.

Later on in my teen years, I decided to become a vegetarian. I had been a staunch adherent of the standard American diet for most of my upbringing, but ethical considerations and my newfound interest in yoga were quickly sweeping me toward change.

A year of vegetarianism turned into full-blown veganism. I thought Id finally found the right way to eat. I was tight about my food choices, ready to debate food ethics at a moments notice, and frankly, pretty self-righteous.

I wasnt that fun to hang out with.

I persisted in my veganism after finding out I was iron-deficient, reasoning that government standards for nutrition were likely skewed by the meat and dairy lobbies.

This may at least in part be true, but not when it comes to iron.

About 3 years into veganism, I accidentally ate a sauce with shrimp in it at a buffet. I had a full-blown panic attack, launching myself into a labyrinth of ethical and gastrointestinal what-ifs.

In yoga, I had picked up the idea of eating Sattvic, which translates from Sanskrit as goodness or purity. Unfortunately, my interpretation of this principle wasnt a healthy one.

It also didnt help that I was a philosophy major at the time. I was basically Chidi from The Good Place, the high-strung ethics professor who becomes completely paralyzed whenever he has to make a choice about what appear to be inconsequential things.

It wasnt until I started seeking treatment for anxiety, a seemingly unrelated issue, that I realized something was up with my relationship to food.

With effective treatment, I felt like the whole world literally opened up to me. It had only been off-limits before because I was so focused on controlling, judging, and assessing everything I did.

I still chose to be vegan and eat healthy food simply because it aligned with my values (while happily supplementing with iron). The difference was there was no longer a sense of pressure that I had to get it right or of self-judgment, and no more anxiety attacks over what to eat.

Food felt joyful again.

Eventually, I went to Europe and decided to be freegan, or to accept any food I was offered. This was both to be gracious and respectful to my hosts from other cultures, but also to flex my newfound freedom in making conscious, ethical choices without self-torment.

Not long after, I encountered the word orthorexia for the first time.

Orthorexia is a term first coined by American physician Steve Bratman in 1997. It comes from the Greek word orthos, or right.

When I learned this, alarm bells were going off in my head. I saw myself in this word.

If Id never sought out treatment for anxiety, I wouldnt have had the opportunity to step outside of my obsession with making the right food choices and see it for what it was. To everyone, including myself, it just looked like I ate really, really healthy.

This is how healthy eating can hide an unhealthy pattern.

Orthorexia isnt technically a diagnosable condition, though its starting to gain attention in the medical community. Not surprisingly, it often shows up in individuals who experience anxiety, perfectionism, and preoccupations with purity. *raises hand sheepishly*

As the years have worn on, Ive loosened up my eating habits quite a bit.

After my pregnant body wouldnt have it any other way, I started eating meat again. Eight years later, Ive never felt better.

I also go out of my way to intentionally bring joy into my food choices with the strategies below.

Thanks to pregnancy cravings, I rediscovered foods I hadnt eaten or even thought about since childhood. One of those was fried chicken tenders with honey mustard.

Every so often, I intentionally take my inner child on a food date (usually my actual child comes, too). We really make a big deal of it, go all out, and get exactly what we want, not what we should get.

For me, its very often chicken dipped in honey mustard, just like I used to get every time I ate out at a restaurant as a little girl. If Im feeling fries, I go for those, too.

And I enjoy it, in all its deep-fried glory.

Ritualizing eating in this way isnt just fun; it can also be healing. By not only giving yourself permission, but actually celebrating the food and your pleasure in it, its a reminder that we dont have to be perfect and that food is about more than just nutrition.

The container of ritual creates a sense of appropriateness and sacredness. It also curbs the guilt that might come up from eating unhealthy foods in a less conscious or intentional way.

So find the food (or foods) that does it for you. Is it mac n cheese? Bagel bites? Whatever it is, make yourself a date to enjoy the heck out of it.

Sometimes when Im busy, I can wolf down a meal and feel like I havent even eaten. Considering how delicious and awesome food is, it can be really disappointing.

Its a habit I try to avoid if I can.

Instead, I make an effort to sit down with my food and spend at least 20 minutes savoring it. If Im really on it, Im cooking my food, too. That way I can smell it sizzling in the pan, see the colors swirling together, and make it a full-blown sensory experience.

At the same time, its not about making rules. Its simply about finding the pleasure in a basic act thats not only meant to be nourishing, but to be enjoyed.

While it might not show up on a nutrient-density profile, I firmly believe that eating food cooked by someone who loves you nourishes in a way that vitamins and minerals cant.

Not only do you get to relax, smell the scents, and enjoy the anticipation of a home-cooked meal that you didnt make (as a single mom, this is big), you get to receive the love and care that went into making that meal.

Best case scenario, you get to enjoy the meal with your loved one, or two, or three. It can be a friend, a significant other, a parent, or even your kiddo. Of course I love hot dogs and ketchup, sweetie!

All that matters is that somebody loves you enough to cook for you.

There are positive sides to caring about what you eat. One of them is that youre likely to be open-minded enough to try new things.

Eating as an exploration is a great way to break out of the confines of what you should eat. In this sense, eating can be a means of discovering new cultures and experiencing new flavors.

If youre dining out, you can seek the most authentic cuisines in your area or have fun comparing different options. You may even be exposed to art and music from another culture at the same time.

I still care about the health and the ethical considerations of my food. But with all the information out there, care can easily become despair.

Theres always another news piece or investigative documentary about the state of our food supply, and its enough to make your head spin.

Eventually, I decided that I was going to keep it simple. In The Omnivores Dilemma, writer Michael Pollan distills healthy eating into a short maxim: Eat food, not much, mostly plants.

When I notice Im getting hung up on minutiae, I remember this little piece of advice.

We humans have to eat, and were all just doing our best. These three simple principles are a pithy way to remember whats important about what we eat.

A very wise friend once told me, Standards are the objectification of your principles.

I really needed to hear it.

What this means is that when your principles become codified, dogmatized, and inflexible, theyre no longer principles. Theyre just rules.

We are creative, adaptable, ever-changing human beings. We arent meant to live by proscriptions.

As a philosophy student, I was always trained to re-examine the obvious and commonplace.

When we use this as a way to free ourselves from the confines of ideology instead of reinforcing binding, limiting beliefs, were allowing ourselves to be the dynamic human beings that we really are.

Food goes beyond calories. Its been the cornerstone of cultures and the focal point of celebrations since the advent of civilization and before.

It brings people together.

It touches on what it truly means to experience deep sustenance, the kind that involves all the senses and even the heart.

When you make food a form of love, its hard to be bothered by doing it right.

Crystal Hoshaw is a mother, writer, and longtime yoga practitioner. She has taught in private studios, gyms, and in one-on-one settings in Los Angeles, Thailand, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She shares mindful strategies for self-care through online courses. You can find her on Instagram.

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When Healthy Eating Isn't Healthy: Letting Go of the 'Perfect' Diet - Healthline

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If youre prone to digestive distress after a meal (like uncomfortable amounts of it), you might want to look into the low residue diet, which has become popular as a dietary lifestyle for those struggling to find relief.

The low residue diet is a low-fiber diet where you minimize that amount of "residue" left over after you digest food. If that sounds strange, it kind of is (more on the inter-workings later), but the strategy isn't all that complex.

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A low residue diet basically means that youll swap high fiber foodssuch as whole grains, beans and legumes, and producefor non-fibrous foods, such meat, eggs, dairy and refined carbs like white bread or rice.

For anyone who has paid even the slightest bit of attention to nutrition research in the last several decades, you'll note that, yes, this is the exact opposite of what good eating instructs you to do.

Fiber is good for you, after all, and a low residue diet can restrict your fiber intake to as little as 10 grams a day.

But a low residue diet is more a diet to deploy for a set of specific symptoms than it is a cure-all.

Approach with caution, armed with the expert advice that follows.

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Low residue diets are usually prescribed by a doctor for those with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's and Colitis, as well as diverticulitis, and it is also used for people recovering from bowel surgery or preparing for a colonoscopy, says Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN and author of The Protein-Packed Breakfast Club.

So your average weight-loss diet this is not.

Fiberand soluble fiber in particularslows the movement of food through your digestive tract. This creates a longer transit time for the digestion of food, which may result in more residue in the gut.

However, insoluble fiber, which promotes regular bowel movement is also limited as some people experiencing IBS symptoms such as frequent cramping, frequent bowel movements and diarrhea may benefit, says Kelly Jones MS, RD, CSSD, LDN.

The low residue diet is meant to be temporary only, as it significantly limits fiber-rich foods like whole grains, many fruits and vegetables, legumes, beans, nuts, and seedsall of which youd ideally like to eat long-term and incorporate back into your diet.

These foods are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals that help to prevent lifestyle diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer, Harris-Pincus says.

There is no nutritional benefit to a low residue diet other than providing relief to those experiencing gastrointestinal issues, she says.

If done well though, the low residue diet can help you if you have severe and painful gastrointestinal problems.

Again, this is not a diet for weight loss or to provide any health benefits other than to alleviate gastrointestinal issues.

So, if your doctor doesn't recommend it to you, don't do it.

Well, "effectiveness" depends on the individual and their condition, as well as potential food intolerances that may trigger their IBS symptoms.

If the low residue diet can be tailored to specific needs and followed closely, it is definitely safe in the short-term if you meet the recommended daily intake of all other nutrients except fiber, says Harris-Pincus.

And you still need to eat enough calories too to keep energy and your metabolism high and to keep your body well nourished.

Drawbacks, especially if this is not the right type of diet for someone, include fewer regular bowels, lower satiety levels at meal and snack times, along with faster blood sugar responses, and ultimately a less favorable balance of bacteria in the lower digestive tract, which we know is important for immunity, mental health, and more, says Jones.

It's also important to note that the foods allowed include refined grains like white bread and cereal made from corn and are more highly processed and the lack of fiber may increase blood sugar, adds Harris-Pincus. That may mean eating more sugar in your diet.

It also takes more preparation and planning as most allowed fruits and veggies need to be well cooked or canned and cannot have any skins, peels or seeds, Harris-Pincus adds.

If you dont have time to meal prep during the week, it might not be the best diet for you in order to meet your nutrient macros.

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The Truth About the Low Residue Diet and Digestive Issues - menshealth.com

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