You’re unhealthy and you know it

Health related topics have been googled by 93 million Americans. That number is 80% of U.S. Internet users. Clearly, people are health conscious. What is astounding and very concerning is that the U.S. ranks as the third most health conscious country in the world, yet the U.S. ranks as one of the most unhealthiest countries in the world. However, a country that is so health conscious should also be one of the healthier countries.

The reasons why the U.S. is so unhealthy is due to several factors. First, it is cheaper to eat unhealthy foods. At McDonalds, a cheeseburger costs $1.00 while the cheapest salad is over $4.00. That means it costs 300% more to have healthy food.

I have been stuck in this exact situation of wanting to eat healthy but just not having enough money to purchase the healthy food. This lead to either the purchasing of unhealthy foods or significant calorie deficits because my diet consisted of vegetables, pastas, and breads.

Healthier foods make me feel better and give me more energy than eating unhealthy foods while unhealthy foods make me feel sluggish but more full. This is one of the reasons why healthy is more “expensive”. Healthy foods don’t leave the body feeling as “full” as unhealthy foods. Thus, you need more healthy foods in order to satisfy your hunger, which means more money.

However, it is still very possible to eat healthy and spend the same amount of money you would on the unhealthy foods. To do this requires discipline and time management to meal prep for the week that way the chances of resorting to unhealthy food is limited.

Despite this knowledge and health consciousness, people still resort to the unhealthy food due to lack of time management. Working full-time while trying to have a social life and make time to focus on your health is a lot and very tiring, but if you really care about your health you will find a way. Making time to exercise is difficult but essential.

Rarely do people have hours to block off each day, so realistically, working out in increments either each day or everyday will help. Personally, I workout in 45 minute increments five times a week. This is all about your will power and priority setting.

Another thing that you can do on your part money is growing your garden. This is a small money saver but it definitely helps. Even if you live in an apartment, there are still ways to grow spices like thyme and small foods like tomatoes. Even though, these solutions require time on your part, and time is scarce for many people, it is vital to time manage so you can live a happy, healthy, long life.

While the government doesn’t do the best at providing access to health care services, health programs, and healthy foods, you can still do your part and take action instead of just making excuses and conducting all this research to be more “health conscious”. Take the next step to actually be healthy.