There are lots of things we can do to improve ourselves physically: working out, doing something to improve our skin, and getting more active are just a few. But in my opinion, the most important thing a person can do to help improve themselves physically (body and skin) is nutrition.

I'll admit, when I first heard the word nutrition I groaned in despair. I was thinking that to improve myself physically I would have to cut out all sugary foods, eat little too nothing, and go to bed starving. But I was thinking about it all wrong; and once I realized that, I was much more successful in my journey.

Now you may be thinking, if not cutting out sugary foods, what is nutrition? Well, nutrition consists mainly of two categories:

-What you eat

-How much you eat

For both categories, it is simply a cause and effect game. For example, if you eat a whole cake, (the cause) you will probably break out in acne and affect your body in some way (the effect) because of what was in the cake and the amount you ate. But if you eat  just a single slice of cake (the cause) you won't feel that bloated, bad feeling you have after you eat a ton of dessert (the effect). This leads us into the most important part of nutrition: portion control.

If you are looking to improve your body in any way (whether that's losing weight, toning your body, or gaining weight) the main thing to help yourself is portion control. What portion control might be? It's a part of nutrition; what you eat and how much you eat of it.

For example. I was trying to tone my body, and had been running two miles everyday but saw no results. Frustrated, I ran longer and faster. Still no results. That's when I came to the realization that my nutrition was far from a healthy lifestyle. I'd been eating huge meals and snacks simply because I was bored and had been having a huge dessert every night.

That was my big mistake. But once I fixed that, I finally saw results. How I fixed that you may be wondering? Portion control. Instead of having three helpings at dinner, I ate until I was full. Instead of indulging on unhealthy snacks all the time, I eat bigger and healthier meals so I felt fueled throughout the day and ate foods that made me feel good, like fruits and veggies. As for desserts, instead of eating cakes every night I had a big slice once a week and small indulgences throughout the week.

Another thing I did to help myself with nutrition is that if I knew I was going to be having fast food or an extra indulgence that week or day I tried to eat better for the rest of the week. I also did something else and that really helped me; I got rid of temptation.

As hard as it is, eliminating sugary foods from your shopping cart and finding healthier alternatives will really help you in the long run. And of course you can still eat that (portion haha) of ice cream you wanted. Just don't eat a whole tub every night! And enjoy every bite.

Once I followed portion control (even with fast food!) everything came so much easier to me. Instead of eating tons of dessert and getting rid of all my hard work, I was seeing results.

This is why nutrition is such an important part of glowing up physically. Not only is it better for your body physically (body, skin) it's better for you mentally. When you're not eating tons of sugar everyday your mind is more active and less sluggish and can help you focus better on everyday tasks.

Another thing I did to help myself with nutrition is that if I knew I was going to be having fast food or an extra indulgence that week or day I tried to eat better for the rest of the week, and that really helped me.

If you're looking for more healthy recipes for meals/desserts social media platforms such as TikTok, Pinterest, and even a good old fashioned cookbook are good ideas.

Nutrition is so important, so listen to your body and fuel yourself with good and healthy foods. (With amazing indulgences once in a while ;)).