I joined a local gym and noticed my fellow female fitness freaks particularly focusing on the squat - Kim Kardashian's fault. My phone continued to buzz with invitations to yoga, Pilates, Boxfit and boot camp while my other eye was focused on realising I was one of the few without a protein shake, I guess I'll just stick to boring old H20 - I heard it keeps you alive.
Upon leaving, I noticed I was also out of date with the latest trend - plogging -
translation: Picking up rubbish while jogging. According to some personal trainers, it works out more muscle groups than boring old running, because you're squatting, lunging and bending down to pick up trash.
So why is this happening? Why are we becoming obsessed with our health and fitness?
And in the process are we forgetting to enjoy the good things in life?
It's no secret that we human beings are influential creatures and are deeply affected by what goes on around us, when we see others following suit, we're inclined to follow, some more than others.
Forget kale, that was last year, it's Morenga now. Matcha is SO 2016, it's turmeric's anti-inflammatory properties that make your skin glow and boosts your mood. Add it to your coconut milk latte and honey, you are good to go.
Havelock North-based registered dietitian and wellbeing coach Diane Stride believes there is now a much stronger emphasis on health and fitness in the region.
"There is a lot more media coverage around expectations of health," she said. "People often want a quick 'fix' for things. They assume that the answer must lie in a deficiency of something."
In her practice, Stride gets many clients who come in for weight loss and have developed a completely unrealistic idea of what they should be looking like. Result? A very poor relationship with food.
"Most of my clients put many labels on food - for example 'sugar is bad'. They still have cravings for the foods they see as 'bad', but then they subconsciously transfer the label of 'bad' on to themselves. We live in a society where most girls by the age of 13 are dissatisfied with their bodies," she said.
"Health crazes are often short-lived and they are often slanted towards what providers are trying to promote. Information is often taken out of context or just based on someone's opinion and then becomes the 'must do' for everyone, as opposed to looking at the individual person," Stride said.
"There are other factors like your mindset, how you think, stress, your outlook on life, that have a significant impact on health and wellbeing. Remember that your body has to process all these extra things that you are putting into it."
Despite the endless fitness options, my flooded inbox filled with health tips and invites to plogging, I concluded this; Health and wellbeing should be a choice, made for the right reasons, not a trend we all need to follow because we feel we have to.
There are no quick fixes, no magic pills. Getting healthy and staying healthy is a mental process as well as a physical one.
It requires thought, research and understanding of what we're putting into our bodies and why.
It's a choice that allows us to set goals and be proud when we've met them.
It really is okay to have your vanilla hot chocolate in the morning and then spend the afternoon picking kale out of your teeth, if you so choose.
We humans have so much going on these days, we're forgetting to enjoy the little things.
We don't need to go overboard, we just need to work on balance and getting it just right.