Too fat, too thin, or somewhere in the middle

Every now and then I find the need to take a look at what I'm eating, and track the nutritional value. Yes, it's dorky, but it started with reading the label of a cup of flavored yogurt - there's a lot of sugar in there! It's been a little over a year since I last did this, and I basically wrote everything down in a notebook. Motivated by the fact that I have a few pounds that I'd like to shed these days, I decided to conduct a little internet search.

After finding a few good sites, I've decided to use EverydayHealth.com. This site has a great "journal" that allows me to find foods that are already in their database to automatically add the nutritional data to my daily log, and I can also add foods that don't show up on their list. The journal tracks a lot of info, such as sugar, sodium, fat, etc. I can also add activities I've completed that day and track the water that I've consumed per day. All of this data can be viewed in different reports to help track progress toward my goals.

While searching for healthy information today, I came across an interesting blog call Junkfood Science. The blog has an interesting argument that society's preconception about overweight individuals has created an un-substantiated shift toward the idea that thin is healthy. I personally think a lot of the blog's arguments are extreme in nature - eager to disprove popular thought. However, it's an interesting theory to mull over, especially since the Everyday Health BMI index showed me that I could gain 20 pounds and still be considered "healthy," even though I would probably be very depressed about my appearance if I truly did gain that much weight.

Perhaps we're just a little too hard on ourselves about what "healthy" really means in light of the constant media onslaught of stick-thin girls? It's an easy argument to fall back to (I hate blaming the media for everything), but it's a good example of how easily our culture can be affected. I'm definitely not succumbing to the idea that "big is beautiful" for my own aesthetic (I still want to loose about 10 pounds, or so), but I do think that it's a good idea for all of us to watch what we eat, exercise regularly, and chill out when getting too bummed about how we look in the mirror.