It’s important to take health and fitness seriously, but it’s equally important to avoid obsessing over these things.

The “rules” and suggestions I’ve written in my past columns provide some groundwork to begin your road toward a fit and healthy body. However, you also need to know how to accept your physical shape with a healthy attitude. Caring too much and scrutinizing relentlessly may not only make you physically unfit but mentally unfit as well.

We’re constantly bombarded by images of actresses, models and inexplicably famous people like Kim Kardashian. There is always some sort of headline about some famous idiot either shedding a ton of weight or looking uncomfortable in their snug pants.

After seeing these pictures and reading these headlines, you’re probably left thinking, “If I try to diet like the ‘skinny’ celebrities, I’m going to look like I’m dying, and if I put some weight on, I’m a disgusting fat pig? What the heck am I supposed to do? What is good enough?”

Here is the truth: it’s all about moderation.

There’s nothing like partying your face off during Mardi Gras, but there’s also nothing quite as cathartic as taking a jog through the park. Find balance. Enjoy a slice of king cake, then make up for it by walking to the next parade.

You shouldn’t spend hours a day working out, and you shouldn’t indulge everyday. You want a slice of Boot pizza? Awesome. Now that you’ve enjoyed a sliver of greasy paradise, wake up tomorrow morning and bike through the beautiful city we live in.

Don’t internalize the pressure around you to look a certain way. Being healthy is about treating your body right, feeding it that occasional piece of chocolate cake and utilizing your muscles a couple times a week.

When you find this balance, you’ll find that your body falls into a natural, healthy weight. Who cares what the scale says? Who cares what pant size you have to buy? Leading a life of balance and moderation is leading a life of health and fitness.

Caitlin Spieker can be reached at [email protected]