How I Stay Fit Without Tracking Anything

Since I want my blog to be an inclusive place for everyone, I’d like to start off by saying that it is ok to be fat. Being fat does not make you ugly, unlovable, or unfuckable. You can be fit and be fat at the same time. Every time my overweight mom fat-shames herself by saying “I’m too fat to wear these yoga pants I love,” I want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her and say “The only thing keeping you from wearing the yoga pants you love is your attitude!” If you are reading this article because you are fat-shaming yourself or have an eating disorder or are otherwise doing something emotionally bad for yourself, please stop. Read something else.

But being in poor shape — whether you’re overweight or slim and weak — is undoubtedly bad for you. Living in an unhealthy body sucks and seriously damages your quality of life.

The problem is, fitspo community makes it seem like the only way to live a healthy lifestyle is to put in way more effort than most of us can afford to. They tell us to track our calories! Track our macros! Hit the gym every day! Create a workout routine that gets all your muscle groups! Track your calories burned! Get a smartwatch to track these things! Cook every meal at home! From whole foods! Make green smoothies!

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the mental energy to do any of that crap. I could if I made it a priority, but I’ve got more important things going on in my life.

But that’s okay, because you don’t need to do all of that to stay fit.

I’m fit. I also don’t track my macros, don’t have a rigid workout routine, and have been known to pig out on gigantic bowls of ice cream from time to time. Whenever my boyfriend buys a bag of Lays Salt and Vinegar potato chips, that entire bag is in my belly within forty-five seconds. But I’m still pretty fit and pretty strong, and best of all, I don’t put much effort into maintaining that state.

The key to staying fit without putting much effort into it is to not fall into the cripplingly unhealthy habits that America normalizes so much.

1. Don’t Drink Sugar Water

There is nothing more normal in America than drinking soda. You can’t open a restaurant without offering Sprite, Coca-Cola, and Dr. Pepper. But have you ever looked at the nutritional label for a can of Sprite?

76% of your daily added value of added sugars from one can of Sprite. It’s so much sugar that the entire can is 140 calories. Sprite is basically nothing but water and sugar. It has as many calories as a bowl of chicken soup, but literally none of the nutritional value or ability to make you feel full. No surprise Americans are fat.

So you’ll drink zero-calorie soda, you think. Okay. That’s like drinking non-alcoholic beer (meaning you’ll always be craving the real stuff), but okay. But zero-calorie coca-cola contains Aspartame, which has faced controversy, and the warning “PHENYLKEUTONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE,” an amino acid that can cause psychiatric and blood pressure problems if consumed by people who are on antidepressants or have pre-existing psychiatric problems like depression or anxiety. That’s not great.

I just don’t drink soda. I drink mostly water, because it’s hydrating and what your body actually needs. I also indulge in juice and smoothies, which are also a bazillion calories but at least have some nutritional value to justify it.

2. Don’t Buy Calorie-Dense Foods

If your grocery cart at the end of your shopping trip is full of Chips Ahoy cookies, Lays potato chips, Eggo waffles, sugary cereals, and other meals which are not nutritional or filling but still exceed 500 calories per serving, then do not be surprised when you end up weak and overweight. I should hope I don’t have to explain the logic behind this one, but I will anyway.

Whether or not a food is filling has little to do with how many calories and nutrients are in it. A bag of Lays Salt and Vinegar potato chips has nearly 1000 calories in it and no nutrients, but I can still polish off an entire bag in one sitting and still feel hungry. (I have a Lays Salt and Vinegar potato chips problem, which is why I don’t buy them.) Conversely, I can eat only about 300 calories of meat and potatoes before I feel a bit nauseous and have to lay on the couch like a beached whale.

If you want to be thin, fit, and energetic, don’t buy foods with a bazillion calories per serving in them.

That doesn’t mean you have to always cook at home or buy health food. At home these days, I eat mostly lunchmeat sandwiches and frozen pre-cooked food. This keeps me upright and doing okay because lunchmeat and frozen Pad Thai does not have a bazillion calories per serving.

3. Don’t Snack (Or Buy Snacks)

I know so many people who keep food by their desks or bedside table to snack on. I also know so many tired, overweight people.

If you keep your food out of reach, you’re less likely to eat. If you’re less likely to eat, you consume fewer calories, and if you consume fewer calories, you get less fat. Simple as that. So keep your food in the kitchen. Better yet, keep it in a cabinet or pantry out of sight so you can’t pass by it and grab some while you can.

Better still, just don’t buy snacks. Only buy meal food. Sure, you may feel deprived for a few weeks, but trust me, you'll get used to not having snacks around and then you won’t miss it. These days, when I buy snacks, I literally forget they’re there.

4. Take the Stairs

I’ve been living in the city the past few years, and the front of my gym faces a two-level parking garage. It’s often crowded in this garage, especially after five o’clock when all the people who work at the banks downtown get off work.

Ostensibly, people go to the gym to get in shape, but I have literally watched people circle the parking garage two or three times in a row just to get a spot that’s fifty feet closer to the door.

If you are always trying so hard to get just a little more convenience in your life, staying fit will always be a fight for you because your habits will drag you down every time.

Instead of thinking you have to make some big effort to “go to the gym,” just make your life a little more uncomfortable.

1. Take the stairs.
2. Park at the far end of the parking lot, where it’s easier to park and your car won’t get dinged up.
3. If you need to get up and grab something, do it. If someone around you needs something, get up and grab it for them.
4. Take stuff up and down the stairs of your house yourself.
5. Walk or bike to the corner store a few blocks down the road, don’t take your car (or a Lime scooter).
6. Next time you’re bored, take a walk around the block.

The little things pile up. People who are willing to get up and walk around and get uncomfortable lead more active lifestyles in general. They’re willing to go out with their friends, do projects around the house, and make decisions that move their bodies more.

People who don’t seek discomfort need to go to the gym every day or their bodies will quickly wither away. People who are comfortable with discomfort don’t.

5. Go to the Gym, Even If It’s Just to Poke Around

I love going to the gym. I’m also possibly the biggest loser there.

Many gym-goers take it super seriously. They have workout routines. Monday is Arm Day, Tuesday is Leg Day, Wednesday is Core Day, they run Exactly 3.4 Miles Every Day, so on and so forth. You know what I’m talking about.

I don’t have a routine. I don’t have “arm day” or “leg day”. I show up to the gym and basically just move my body until my body is tired and tells me it doesn’t wanna move anymore. Sometimes I run half a mile on the treadmill, sometimes I go on the rowing machine for seven minutes, sometimes I leg press 140 lbs., sometimes I arm curl 15 lbs., it’s all whatever I’m feeling up to that day. As long as I leave the gym tired, I’m happy.

Go to the gym and poke around. Leave when you’re tired. No, not bored, tired. That’s all you need to do. Come back to the gym when you’re not tired anymore (probably in three days).

6. Indulge in Healthy Food

My friends like to complain about how expensive healthy food is. But it really isn’t.

Say you have $30. What’s a better way to spend it — at a restaurant that will serve you fried food with beer and cheese fries, or at a restaurant that will serve you whole foods with a green smoothie that will leave you feeling energized for days?

The same people who complain about the cost of healthy foods are usually the same people whose idea of a fun night out involves alcohol, fried food, and calorie-dense snacks. It’s not that healthy food costs too much, it’s that they don’t really want it.

You know your diet has been poor when unhealthy food sounds more delicious to you than healthy food. The more healthy food I eat, the more I want it. So treat yourself to some healthy food. You’ll be glad you did.

That’s basically all I do to stay in shape, honestly. I just don’t drink soda or eat snack foods, stay away from calorie-dense food I know is bad for me, introduce discomfort into my life, and show up to the gym every so often to lift some stuff and put it down again.¹

Staying fit doesn’t have to take tons of effort. Just don’t do stuff you know is bad for you, and do some stuff you know is good for you. After a few months, you’ll see the results you were waiting for.

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1: Since I’ve been building my own camper van, I haven’t even been going to the gym. I’ve been doing the manual labor of building a camper van interior instead, and it’s been more than good enough for keeping me in shape.