Weight Loss Goals: To Become Skinny or to Stay Healthy?

The debate over which is better, becoming skinny or staying healthy, has raged on for years already and it will likely be a hot button for years to come.  Everyone has their own opinion, but the inherent confusion can make it difficult for a large number of normal, everyday people who simply want to get in shape. 

It is important to realize that “skinny” and “healthy” are not synonyms of fitness.  It is prescribing to this school of thought that puts people at risk for developing an eating disorder like bulimia or anorexia.  Few people ever take into consideration the fact that people who are classified as being underweight are just as in danger, health wise, as people who are classified as being overweight or obese.  The dangers are simply different.

Metabolism has a lot to do with, well, everything.  For example, consider this: a skinny person who has a fast metabolism may eat horribly.  He or she may have a terribly diet that consists of greasy, fatty foods, lots of sugar, and too much sodium.  However, if he or she remains thin, everyone will likely think that he or she is actually healthy, when in truth, that person could have high cholesterol and tremendously clogged arteries, except weightloss.

It is also vital to remember that genetics can play a huge role in someone’s weight.  Someone who may be carrying a few extra pounds on his or her frame is not necessarily unhealthy, that may simply be the body type that they have inherited. 

It is thus this writer’s opinion that it is far better to stay healthy than to become skinny – meaning, it is simply more important to focus on leading a generally healthy lifestyle.  Subscribing to a good, nutritional diet and a reasonable, good-for-you exercise plan is the key to living a healthy life.  If, by doing this, you do not get down to a size 2 – or even a size 6 or 8 – then that does not mean that you are fat.  It does not mean that you are somehow wrong and that you have to crash diet your way down to a tinier waistline.  Be healthy and hope that it makes you skinny, if that is what you want, but realize that if your diet is healthy and you exercise in a way that is good for you, you may be much, much healthier than any of the skinny individuals with whom you come in contact.  Focus on your health first and it is a sure bet that your weight will follow.  It is also a sure bet that, with hard work, you will eventually reach your “ideal weight,” but you must also recognized whether or not that ideal weight is realistic for you and for your body type.  Take everything into consideration.