Breaking the prejudice

Physical activity can be fun, it doesn't have to be a torture in the gym, it can be part of your everyday life. Obstacles in front of you can be interesting, more than push ups and abs. A guy who practices Parkour told me that exercise can be fun and you will not feel that you are working out, it will be like playing a game. There is no limitation, the only problem can be yourself if you are lazy or if you are scared to do something.

Everybody says "you can do it if you want it", but until I came to Lisbon to a Youth Exchange called "Aim High Choose Healthy", actually, I didn't believe it. First moment of change was a team building game called the "wall to Paradise", 20 of us were on one side of the wall (1.60m) and without touching it, we had to go to the other side, to the Paradise. We used different techniques in group and we failed 3 times, then I gave up mentally. I was very tired, but my colleagues pushed me to try again. And when we FINALLY made it all together, with amazing team work and creative human effort I felt ashamed... I didn't believe in myself before, but the worst part is that I didn't believe in my team mates. They pulled me from the bottom and I still had many doubts.

Before this Youth Exchange I believed that the definition of "Diet" was one thing, and they way we live and eat was another thing. But now I realized that we have a diet throughout our whole lives and we can just improve it or make it worse. So the main thing is to realize what are we actually eating and to admit to ourselves, "is it good or bad to our bodies". We know the answer, when we eat something, but we avoid asking ourselves the question.

To conclude, to be healthier you don't need a, expensive trainer, nutritionists or many hours of gym, you just need to be honest to yourself and want to change your behavior. Little changes will make a big difference. Do physical activities you like, not what everybody thinks is the best. Use the stairs, not the elevator every time. Don't always eat the whole cake. You already know whats the best for you, brave enough to admit you should do it and change. At least try...

Djordje Knežević