embrx .ace: eating healthy and exercising

what is a healthy lifestyle? to be honest, most people don't know. it can be different for everyone, as everyone's metabolism rate is different, and everyone needs different things to function. last year, in sophomore year, i honestly did not eat very healthily. i ate late night snacks and junk food, and sometimes skipped lunch. i became somewhat heavier and really really lethargic. you are what you eat, honestly.

over the summer i decided that i was going to eat healthy. most people associate eating healthy with salads and diet pills, but that's not what it means to me. i started to have "vegetarian" days where i would not eat meat, and i cut down on my fat intake. i never really liked red meat (meaning beef and pork) that much, so it wasn't too bad. but i tried to keep a good balance, and even ate beef voluntarily once (i really dont like the heaviness of beef--when i eat too much i feel uncomfortable) in order to keep the iron levels in my body normal (my mom, who studied nutrition in college/graduate school actually urges me to eat more red meat since i do have slightly lower red blood cell counts.

surprisingly, watching what i ate wasn't something that was a burden--it made me feel a lot better (in terms of spirit), and i also noticed that i was losing fat and gaining muscle--which leads me to my next point, exercise.

ever since 7th grade ive been very active; i play basketball twice a week and sometimes on weekends. however, the bad eating habits i had in 10th grade counteracted the benefits of exercising. exercising in addition to eating bad made me really lethargic most of the time, so my grades started to slip a little.

this past summer, however, i went to our school's summer basketball practice, where i practiced with the guys for 7 weeks straight. not only did this allow me to gain more muscle, it also allowed me to train my cardio. i was never really that great at running long distance, but through this summer's practice, i was able to become a better runner.

even though summer is over, i still keep my healthy food diet and exercise regularly.

overall, i think diet and exercise together make a healthy person, and i highly recommend you to try it out. if you are not ready to exercise yet, you can always try to change your eating habits. here are some pictures for motivation to eat healthy!