The irony of health in America

Let's talk about the irony of being healthy in America. Why is it that I feel like my wallet is constantly being punished for trying to take care of myself?

Coming back from a few days of being in the land where people carry their green juice like the newest accessory to match their lululemon gear straight from a pilates class on the way to bootcamp, I found myself very conflicted. How do people support this kind of lifestyle? I'm not just talking about those lucky few who are paid or live off someone's income with the luxury of working out all day and eating leaves. There's something about LA and its pressure that keeps even the busiest people looking like they belong in Sports Illustrated.

Let's start off with working out. If I'm about to take a spinning class at SoulCycle that'll be $34 plus $3 to rent shoes. One hour of hot yoga at Corepower $20. Pure Barre pain $25. Sure there's package deals that cut down the cost a bit, but then you've got time restrictions to finish the package by a certain time or risk losing money for unused classes. There's also gym memberships that'll set you back anywhere from $20 to $200 a month depending on how shmancy you're getting. We're not even talking personal trainers or the perks that a certain small pool of people get.

Now food. There's a pretty easy formula to eating healthy: focus on lean proteins and load up on fruits and vegetables. There's also the push to eat organic, load up on vitamins and probiotics, avoid all processed foods etc. So there I am standing in Whole Foods or Trader Joe's trying to just get some spinach, eggs, and bosc pears realizing I'm about to spend more money than my meager (or non-existent) student budget allows, and we're not even talking about all the goodies and specialty items that I have to put my blinders on to avoid as I walk down the aisles. Meanwhile let me remind you that a Big Mac, medium fries, and a Coke comes in at $6.19 (just checked the Value Menu).

We're living in a country of obesity and diabetes, even though we keep pushing our kids to get moving and put down the sodas. So am I going to start making friends with the pizza delivery guy and stop my morning namaste? I was raised in a home where salt, soda, and sugar did not exist and TV time was severely limited. In a way I was lucky because I was taught good habits early on and made aware that if you're not paying for it now, you'll be paying for it with high medical bills, poor quality of life, and even eventually shortened life. But all I'm saying is can I get a little discount for getting myself up at 5 am to sweat my body dry and keeping all the kale farms in business?