To be or not to be healthy: do good habits obsess?

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"Since she has become so

, it's horrible to meet her. We can't order anything appetizing in restaurants. Also, I'm going to stop following her on social media because seeing her

makes me feel like I'm lazy ".

This is how the friends of Marta González, 37, speak since she decided to become a vegan and take better care of herself.

And it is no exception: it is increasingly common in certain social circles to question whoever has initiated

in a positive way.

Messages like "you're going too far", "you train too much", "you won't die for a donut", "a beer doesn't hurt anyone" or "you just don't know how to enjoy life" are frequent in a society where

and is growing at a rate of 0.5% per year, according to the Ministry of Health.

"It seems normal to us that boys and girls eat ultra-processed foods and sweets on a daily basis, but if you decide to eat vegetables and fish in front of someone, they already ask you

," says Marta González herself.

But what is normal?

To what extent is it criticizable to take care of health?

if one is not able to improve?

And, conversely, do those who worry excessively become

on good habits?

Is it healthy to feel bad about sinning once in a while or not running seven days a week?

"Although it seems distant to us, we find ourselves in a cultural environment that is the result of a post-war period. Many generations still equate being

with being healthy and

," considers Toni Brocal, founder of

(ESHI), and one of the most authoritative voices in the fitness sector in Spain.

This is changing, the professional perceives when he intervenes with people who request his services, but continues to observe how "intrapersonal ecology" weighs heavily when it comes to reaching objectives.

"Beliefs about what is correct and what is not are deeply rooted and

Analyzing them together is a fundamental part of our work as health agents," he points out.

THE BOYCOTT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Since one decides to get down to work with sports and food, it is common for a group of friends to wait for them with a drink or call them to do something better than go to the gym, says Brocal.

It is the so-called "environmental boycott".

For this reason, he advises that anyone who considers taking care of themselves put themselves in the hands of an expert who will help them in their day to day.

"You must have

to achieve those small challenges step by step. There is nothing worse than wanting to change your life overnight, because in such a short time it is almost impossible," says the also head of HBX Spain.

For Isabel Aranda, health psychologist and

of TherapyChat, the change towards healthy habits that is currently being experienced is incomprehensible or uncomfortable for a large part of society because it means "giving up what has been done all life and that includes

".

In addition, it requires a clear will and awareness.

"The donut is always a tasty breakfast, so these people believe that it is good in itself."

Stopping eating it is expensive for them and they prefer to reject those who do, she defends.

"

healthy and prefer to be swept away by the mainstream or the immediate reward of sugar consumption," he exemplifies.

It doesn't happen in all circles.

Miguel Prieto, 40, affirms that his company colleagues admire his ability to choose the menu well in the dining room and praise him for avoiding that beer or his lunch boxes full of colorful nutrients.

"They also ask me at the office to show them my CrossFit achievements," he says with a laugh.

And he adds that it is about

.

"I do not find happiness in a behavior like having a chocolate dessert because it only gives me something sensory and momentary. However, I find that satisfaction in my training hour. And if they tell me that it is harmful, I answer that being all the time day lying on the sofa has more risks", ditch.

SOCIAL DESIRABILITY

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"Each person must choose the activity, the environment and the company that they like the most, not what is fashionable or feels like an obligation," advises Brocal, while Aranda encourages

and prevent them from being the benchmark of what is right or not.

"There is a very important phenomenon currently due to its importance in the behavior of young people: social desirability. We tend to

to be accepted. This occurs especially in social networks, where

have increased

become for many people the measure of their own worth".

The path, according to the therapist, leads us to learn to differentiate between what others think of what we think and that search for the key will to carry out our own meditated choices.

"If

, we will be able to make our decisions voluntarily without being forced by what they say or think."

UNCONSCIOUS IMITATION

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The role of social networks in modulating social behavior is increasing, the psychologist values: "The following of

is a phenomenon with a highly destructive effect on the

On Instagram we see people who seem to be more happy, have a better body, manage more money, travel to fabulous places or have extraordinary experiences and, when we are not able to relativize that information and realize that much of it is false or has hidden interests, it is easy to feel envious of these people ".

There is a famous study that shows how people prefer to earn less as long as a partner does not earn more.

"That

for the physical results that he achieves or for the will that he shows."

It supposes a disregard that we make of that other as well as of oneself, considers Aranda.

"Unfortunately, it is part of our nature and it takes a conscious choice to separate ourselves from it."

WHAT IF THEY ARE RIGHT?

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Another reflection linked to this chosen path of self-control and discipline occurs when the person is unable to eat that piece of cake on his birthday or drink that beer at a given moment

.

The psychologist Isabel Aranda explains why it is also a problem.

"There is a point beyond maintaining healthy habits where concern for food and physique become an obsession that can end in an

.

How to detect it?

When it comes to negatively affect day-to-day behavior, he specifies: "If you think of it as

that you have to perform at all costs, feeling bad for any deviation, it is time to seek psychological support to regain control. of your life".

Where to draw the border between healthy living and disorders such as vigorexia?

Health specialists speak of a mental health problem

on the person.

That is, training on vacation or even on a Sunday because you feel like it is fine.

But if you think that by stopping one day a week you will be less healthy and lose your muscle, those who comment on your obsession could be right.

And the same happens if the candle blower refuses to eat his cake because "sugar is poison" eating that cake once a year.

This type of behavior can lead us to a lifestyle in which we remain in

corroborates the founder of ESHI.

"Cases of alterations linked to diet or self-image exist and are a risk that often ends up in the hands of a professional."

So when someone utters that "you are not enjoying life", these professionals recommend

: he may simply be trying to help or may not be the best person to speak and propose himself as a savior.

"Let's rationally analyze our way of acting and have some measure and flexibility."

Paraphrasing Aristotle, "in

is virtue."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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