Poll: Appearances vs. Health
Day 22 of the 100 Reps Challenge
25 calf raises with bicep curls
25 jumping jacks
Do this set 4 times to complete 100 calf raises with 100 bicep curls, plus 100 jumping jacks!
Fitness Tip: Switch up the bicep curls with hammer curls to engage different muscles in the arms. With the jumping jacks, bring your legs out as far as they can go and try to touch your hands together over your head for maximum effect.
Last month’s poll
It’s been nearly a month since our last poll and the results are once again in! We had three questions regarding health inspections:
1. 87% of us believe that health inspections are under-played in the media and should receive more attention, but 12% don’t want to know what’s going on in those restaurant kitchens (33 total voters)
2. 39% weren’t aware that health inspection information was even available to the public, 35% supposed it was out there but didn’t bother to look for it, and 25% were fully aware that the information is out there and check into restaurant inspections before going! (28 total voters)
3. 34% say that the restaurant review is the most important part about choosing a restaurant, 7% say that the health inspection is their priority, 38% are concerned with both the review and the inspection, and 19% don’t really care either way (26 total voters).
That seems like an awful lot of us who weren’t aware that all of this information is available to us and can easily be found on the Internet, yet nearly all of us want to see the health inspections having more attention. But even though we want to see that information, it won’t necessarily sway our judgments and deter us from going to those restaurants that don’t pass inspection. Bottom line, for the majority of us, it seems that we want to be aware, regardless of whether that information will have an affect on our decision in which restaurant we go to.
This month’s poll
The holiday season, a time when we are surrounded by loved ones but also a stressful time of year in which we are likely to let our good exercise and eating habits slide, is when we really start thinking about what matters to us and why we do the things we do. Physical appearance is prized very highly in our society and it is something that we are all, I think, often working to improve- after all, why else would we spend so much money on the fashion and beauty industry?
This article shows where women’s priorities in particular lie between our health and our looks. What drives us to make lifestyle changes? Is it to ward off cancer that we eat certain foods, or is it to hopefully clear up our skin? Do we exercise to make ourselves stronger and build up our immune systems, or do we do it to tone our trouble spots? Are we trying to lose weight to prevent health problems in the future or are we doing it in an attempt to achieve a supermodel body? And is there anything wrong with placing a certain value on our appearance- especially if it causes us to become healthier in the process?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on all this. Don’t forget to answer the poll!
What has had the most influence for your reasons behind eating nutritiously and staying active?
( surveys)
This is hard for me! I voted for aesthetic over health, but really my reasons run much deeper. It’s about control, and I think this is true for a lot of people to a greater or lesser extent, as well as the other things. So complex!
TA x
I voted to be healthier. I think the beauty years are gone now and want to make sure that I’m around longer to just embarrass my kids. It’s payback time.
I totally agree with TA! It is about control for me too!! Thanks for the thought provoking post!
TA is such a smart cookie! I gotta go with her answer on this one. Although thankfully exercise is good in so many ways; we don’t have to choose!
Is there no stopping you!! The energizer bunny would have given up the challenge by this time 🙂
TA- definitely very much about control for me too. There’s so many underlying reasons- but its interesting to look at the reasons why for a wide variety of people!
Tom- I think that that’s what drives most parents. The difficulty comes when your kids catch on and start doing their best to embarrass YOU instead:D
R- its tough to look inward and start thinking about the real motivations, isn’t it?
Charlotte- she is! Heart the exercise for all of his many many benefits.
Dr. J- yes, but the energizer bunny doesn’t have the same motivation that we cookie monsters do! (and nope. No stopping me. You’re all stuck with the challenge for another week or so:)).
Great poll…I voted to prevent health problems, mostly because I live alone and am not getting any younger. I like to look good but your priorities do change over time!
For me it’s a mix, but being older and happily married, health is a lot more important than how I look. I got my gal already and she’s stuck with me, even if I were to gain a few pounds.
Being able to fit in my jeans is nice, but it’s really just a bonus. My main concern is feeling good and living a long happy life.
If you train and eat in a “health-first” paradigm, the physique will follow. After all, your outward appearance is inextricably tied to your inner wellness.
So if you are healthy, you will look healthy. That doesn’t mean that we all can (or should) look like fitness models, but we can look and feel naturally lean and healthy without neglecting health.
Hope that makes sense.
Cheers,
Adam
Thanks for sharing the restaurant review and inspection info. I’m all about learning something new.
I just figured out that phenylalanine is the amino acid which is in aspartame. If you’re a Phenylketonuric (person with PKU) that is can cause serious mental problems in you and especially in an unborn child. Yikes! I need to do more research. I know even Dr’s say use it sparingly but I had no idea how dangerous it could be.
I chose “For both health and aesthetic reasons.” I also really love exercise. I’ve run several marathons, done ironman twice, so getting a little sweaty is no bother. Besides, who wants to buy bigger pants. 🙂
Missicat- and our different experiences in life can change our priorities, too.
Crabby- feeling good and being happy is a wonderful way to live!
Adam- makes perfect sense. We don’t have to be crazy fitness and nutrition machines for our health to show in our looks. Once you’re healthy, you’re going to look the part too. Which means that we can’t really get away with being unhealthy, because that’s definitely going to show, too!
Fitness Surfer- wow, thanks for that info. Even tiny doses of things like aspartame and hydrogenated oil can be terrible for our bodies.
Squawkfox- several marathons AND 2 ironmans?! That’s so impressive! Anyone who does that must really love exercise:)
Both!! I think being healthy is very important (you only get one life, right?), but also leads to aesthetically appealing results which are motivating as well!
im totally not surprised by the results of your poll b/c i had no idea that information was even available to the public!
I voted for a mix. My goal was to feel comfortable and happy in my own skin, which I (correctly)expected would take a mix of feeling healthy and strong, working to accept my body as it is, and changing my body to a slightly svelter version of itself.
In the end, I wanted to learn to love the way my body looked when it was healthy. And I think I’ve managed that.
Im going with health. energy. staying young inside and outside.
fear (that Im going to be chronologically the ‘old mom’ and not wanting to look it)
Juliet- there’s so many good things about being healthy!
Loveofoats- a lot of information out there that we aren’t aware of. It’s neat when you start realizing just how much information we have a right to have access to.
Blueberryhil- that’s fantastic:) We’ve only got the one body. We need to learn to love it.
MizFit- you have far too much energy and life to ever be an “old mum”. Is it the Tornado who tires you out or you who tires the Tornado out, hm? 🙂
For me it is definitely a mix of both. I don’t deny that part of it has to do with physical appearance, but I also know that I feel better when I am taking care of myself.
Okay, I just got around to voting, since I could only pick one I picked the one for health and aesthetics, but if I made a list it would look like this:
1. General Good Health
2. Health Prevention
3. Aesthetics
🙂
Great poll! 🙂
I love your montly polls. I just did it. I picked to turn heads. Just kidding. It was hard to pick though …
I love your polls. For me it used to be completely about control. And I guess it probably still is… but now it’s also for health, and I’m glad for that.
JavaChick- thank goodness for gray areas! So important to feel good.
Jolene- I know, it's difficult to choose. Very much like your list- there is, after all, a whole host of explanations behind everything we do and so much more to say than the poll can speak for us.
Sharon & HangryPants- am glad you enjoy:) (I'm the only one who's healthy for the sole purpose of turning heads? Damn… ;)).
Magpie- seems like a lot of us have control issues! I guess we've all got to have a little crazy in us somehow:)
Late to the poll-party….. *snicker*
I’m with Tom on this one – as we age, we are not so concerned with looks as with health. I’m resigned to the fact that the old woman looking back at me from the mirror really IS me, but having even that old crone peering nearsightedly back is better than the alternative….
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