We all know that we are not living the most healthy of lives. So, how does one go about making major changes in their lifestyle? Changes that will hopefully stick with us. How to make great choices a regular habit. Habits take so many days to ingrain...yadda yadda.. I have heard this and I am not convinced. The problem is that making better choices is more than a simple, 'I will now put my left sock on first' type of change. It's complex, it's ever changing. One day you are at the grocery store looking at cookies, the next at a carnival looking at candied apples. How do you prepare yourself to make the right decision. Like everything else - preparation is key!
At some point, a change for the outside means a change on the inside. If you want to drastically lose weight, like myself, you must recognize that your entire life must change. Instead of 5 hours of TV a day, you have to find an active hobby. Instead of going to the grocery store without the foggiest idea of what you want, you need a list. Candy bars are no longer snack items. Soda is no longer a refreshment. Both of these items are treats, and should be treated as such.
This is where a personality transplant comes in. A total shift. For example, instead of thinking of food as my comfort mechanism, or even worse not thinking about food at all and just stuffing your mouth with it, put food in its proper place. Start thinking of food as fuel for your body. We are back to "eat to train, not train to eat." There are many levels to this but in the spirit of keeping it simple let's narrow it down to two major aspects.
The first aspect is that food is energy. Calories in/Calories out should not be this epic battle between finding how to fit your favorite food into your "diet." Rather, it should be a roadmap that I want to do something (run a mile, play tennis, etc) and so I will need some extra energy to do so. Of course while you are in the losing weight stage of your program, such as myself you are also always looking for that deficit. So even on a super active day, I need to keep my calories between 1300-1500.
The second aspect of food is the way it interacts with your body. This is the type of food you are eating. What sort of nutrients are you putting in your body? This is why a bowl of cantaloupe is better for you than say a bag of baked potato chips. The calories might be the same, but one is full of vitamins and good stuff while the other is just, as they say, "empty calories."
So there you have it, the most basic roles of food. The energy you need to be an active, healthy person and the source of good vitamins and minerals.
"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but instead will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease." - Thomas Edison
2 comments:
You are right, your entire life must change. However, I think there is a third aspect when it comes to food and weight loss -- those changes must also be ones that you can handle effectively for the rest of your life. There is a discussion going on in another blog about fat free foods vs. whatever. I don't do fat free foods because I think they're pretty much gross and I know they would only be a temporary solution. Therefore, I must find an alternative - lower fat or full fat smaller portion, whatever.
Oh yes, definitely! I will surely expand on this basic concept. I have a variety of views on the low fat non fat craze :) For now, keeping it simple ;) Thanks for reading!
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