10 Things That Won’t Actually Make You Healthy

There’s never been a more exciting time to be health-focused, but it’s also the most confusing time of all, because how do we know that what we’re doing is even good for us? There’s a lot of misinformation out there, so it’s no wonder we’re all scratching our heads. Here are 10 things that won’t actually make you healthy:

1. Working out like it’s your job. You get kind of jealous and pissed off when your best friend goes on a health kick… and then you turn around and do the exact same thing. While there’s lots of noise about what exactly we should be eating in order to be as healthy as possible, it’s no secret that we have to exercise. But if you’re working out every day of the week, you’re taking it way too far and that’s no way to be healthy. In fact, over-exercising is a type of disorder. Stick to three to five times a week (you can probably up it to six if you’re super fit) but you need at least one or two rest days.
2. Eating something you hate because it’s “good for you”. I’ll admit it: I hate kale. I ate it for a while when it was first the cool veggie on the block, but it’s bitter, it’s harsh, and I’m not interested. Even if a certain food has a million nutrients and is supposed to be the Healthiest Food Ever, if you don’t like it, don’t eat it. Period. You don’t want to date a guy just because you don’t want to be alone. Don’t eat kale (or whatever else) just because you hear it’s trendy.
3. Going on a juice cleanse. Please, please, please, let 2016 be the year that we all stop drinking green juice and calling it food. It’s not. While celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow swear by these cleanses, it’s really not a good idea to stop eating for several days. You feel “light” and “amazing” because you’re basically starving yourself. That’s not a healthy natural high, that’s just crazy.
4. Following a fad. Going vegan and paleo are basically the new crazy diets of yesterday, in a sense – that is, if you just blindly adopt one of these styles of eating without seeing a nutritionist or some kind of health professional. When you remove or swap foods, you’re losing out on nutrients that your body needs so someone has to help you figure out what you should be eating instead.
5. Saying goodbye to sugar. While this may seem like an amazing thing to do – we could all eat less brownies and ice cream – becoming obsessed with not eating something is just as bad as eating too much junk. It’s just not healthy to say goodbye to indulgences forever and ever. We all deserve a treat sometimes.
6. Your weekly hot yoga sesh. It’s awesome that you love yoga so much and that you’ve gotten fit, but if you swear by hot or Bikram yoga, experts say the heat might be way too much for your body. Followers swear by it because they claim you will lose weight faster since it’s so hot in the studio but according to experts, that’s not true at all. So while yoga is an amazing mind/body workout, maybe stick to regular classes at a normal temp.
7. Going gluten-free for silly reasons. You know the ones — to lose weight, to be like a celebrity, etc. Celiac is a real disease and unless you have some sort of gluten allergy or intolerance, cutting out gluten might not be worth the headache. Of course you’ll lose weight if you stop eating so much bread and pasta. So just do that instead if that’s what you want.
8. Doing the same workout twice in a row. In the same day, that is. It’s become pretty trendy to log two workouts in the same morning/afternoon/evening period. Experts think that unless you make one workout hard and the other lighter like yoga, it’s not the best idea.
9. Hating on carbs. Poor carbs. What did they ever do to us to make us hate them so? It’s not the healthiest idea in the world to think that never eating any carbs is good for you. Sure, you shouldn’t eat your carbs in the form of white bread and white rice all the time, but in general, healthier carbs like brown rice, your BFF quinoa and sweet potatoes are totally fine. Your body basically requires carbs, especially if you like working out.
10. Forgiving that toxic friend/relative. This hasn’t been scientifically proven or anything – this is just my humble opinion. I believe in forgiving and forgetting for certain things (like tiny fights or misunderstandings) but honestly, if someone has truly hurt you, that’s just not cool. The same goes if they’re a completely negative influence on you and your life. It’s okay if you don’t want to talk to someone anymore – that’s your choice. Forgiveness isn’t always the best policy.