For fitness: Stop detailing yourself to death!

Ugh! I just read Women's Health magazine today, which I happen to love. I was so annoyed though! The magazine reports on the latest research, and I really felt like they crossed the line with relevance this month. There was this clip about how research shows that when you eat a meal high in trans fats, eating some walnuts with it could be beneficial. What?!?!

What the heck is the world supposed to do with that information? Stash a baggie of walnuts in their glove compartment just in case they go out for a really greasy meal? I suppose they're suggest that on top of eating a really greasy meal, ingesting about 200 calories worth of high fat walnuts would somehow improve the situation. With information like this being published, I'm not surprised the average Joe is totally confused on how to go about getting fit and staying healthy.

Folks, it's really not all that confusing. Make the great majority of your meals and snacks nutritious and low in fat. Enjoy lots of fruits, veggies, lean meat, and some starchy carbs. Sweets and fried foods should be a rarity. Avoid using oil, butter, grease, or fattening sauces. Exercise most days of the week. Huff and puff when you do cardio, grunt when you train for strength, and wince just a little when you're working on flexibility. Carrying nuts around just in case you go overboard on the birthday cake would be majorly OCD.

Constant daily reports that say "eat chocolate!", "don't eat chocolate", "have wine", "never drink wine" are just made to be sensational and eat up space on the evening news. I suggest you ignore most of that and just stick with the basics. Fitness is truly not that complicated.