When the report from the medical clinic referred to me as “obese,” I took a double take.

The reference was in the Body Mass Index (BMI) section of the report. My family doctor had suggested a series of preemptive risk avoidance tests at a facility specializing in stress tests and the like. The report included a few brochures on nutrition, diet, and general well-being.

My bruised ego aside, I was concerned.

I made a mental note to go easy on the beers.

Diet and nutrition were not things that I had ever actively worried about. I just assumed that whatever I ate had enough nutrients in it to keep me going until I got to a reasonable vintage.

Time to rethink that. Or, not.

If dieting simply meant that you could eat everything in moderation, I can work with that.

Some of my friends seem to have adopted more regimented versions of it. They count the number of nuts they eat, measure the amount of rice they consume, and eat raw leaves.

Growing up in India, eating raw leaves was never considered a food option. Cows ate leaves. Keeping that background in mind, you can understand why I am not a big fan of kale juice which is apparently good for you.

I remember the bewildered look on my mother-in-law’s face when the server put a large bowl of garden salad in front of her. It was her first visit to Canada.

As I knew it, a salad meant, cut up vegetables – mostly cucumber, tomatoes, and onions. While things have changed, rice (or wheat) remains the staple for humans, and at home, seafood was the main side.

From a bodyweight perspective, I had always considered myself as being sort of middle of the pack. Sure, I won’t win any bodybuilding competitions; but, I can still fit into a pair of 32-inch-waist jeans.

I had my logic. I try to stay active by playing squash and tennis a couple of times a week.

Then there is the Fitbit, which I don’t use anymore. I had figured out ways to get my step count in. Of late, my health concerns have generally been focused on my knees and elbow which take a pounding on the courts.

So, if you lead an active lifestyle, do you still need to worry about nutrition?

Going by this recent post titled Healthy Eating, looks like you do. Looking at the top of the Harvard Health Pyramid shown here, I can tell where my BMI score needs work.

When you start paying attention, you hear a lot about nutrition and dieting. It’s like man buns, suddenly, you see them everywhere.

However, there appear to be many schools of thought on diet and nutrition, often contradicting each other.

For instance, when did coconut oil become the next best thing to sliced bread?

Wait, sliced bread is not such a good thing anymore unless it is whole wheat. This post in the Irish Examiner sums up a few contradictory nutritional recommendations that exist out there.

Does food have to be just fuel for your body? I know a few people who think that way.

In these days of meal replacement shakes and energy bars, I feel that there is room for tasty food that is also healthy. You don’t have to be a foodie to enjoy good food.

Planning to order the 4 oz. steak with a side of broccoli this evening…