The Act of Moderation

As promised, this is the second of the weekly commitment to a health and wellness-based blog entry. Personally, I've been an avid runner for the past 12 years. I've also done a good amount of weight training, yoga and "boot camp"-ish training. As of late, I've been doing a combination of all these things and it's been fabulous to get my body back in shape after having 2 babies back-to-back...

Since I have always made exercise a part of my life, typically 6 days of the week, my diet hasn't always been the greatest. Usually I can just eat what I want and my weight stays the same because of all the exercise I do.

However, 3 months ago a friend and I challenged each other to take the active lifestyle a step further and work on our eating habits. Neither of us were terribly unhealthy eaters to begin with, but our goal was to eat more "whole foods" versus processed foods and pay closer attention to serving sizes on things such as chips, crackers, cookies... Our reasoning? We decided to view our bodies as "fuel tanks" with the thought that if we fill our "tanks" with "good fuel" our bodies will run more efficiently and effectively.

This was a tougher challenge than I could have ever imagined, but it opened my eyes to mind-boggling things. There are a TON of chemicals and preservatives in our food; even the so-called healthy food or things labeled All Natural or Organic.

Take a loaf of bread from the store for instance - even the bread that says Healthy Choice or Brownberry Multi Grain. These labels are deceiving... The breads are PACKED FULL of ingredients that I don't even understand! Bread should only have 5 if not less ingredients: Flour, Yeast, Water, Salt and maybe honey or grains if you're doing whole grain. And if you think that's bad, check out the label on the salad dressings or the Yoplait yogurts (sorry Yoplait). They're terrible.

If your diet and moderation are things you struggle with, you're not alone. I highly recommend you consider taking this "challenge".

The next time you take a trip to the grocery store, I challenge you to THREE important things. If you take these THREE steps for the next THREE months, I guarantee you will not only see the results in your body, you will feel them.

1. Read THE LABELS. Rule of thumb, anything that you don't know, can't read or don't understand, put back and either (a) buy something fresh or (b) make something yourself.
2. Go out of your COMFORT ZONE. I used to always say that I didn't like blueberries. Now I don't remember why I ever said that! They've quickly become one of my favorite fruits. Along with kiwi (nature's jolly rancher). There are so many different fruits and vegetables to explore! Now that spring is here, hit up the local markets or if you're in a situation to start your own garden, even better! Either way, try new things and search the web. There are thousands of people that are on the whole foods/healthy train. Here's one to check out: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/real-food-resources/
3. Give yourself some FREEDOM. We are American after all and if you say you don't enjoy a half-pound cheese burger and enough french fries to feed a family every once in a while, you're kidding yourself. Here's the catch - instead of having a "cheat day" allow yourself ONE cheat meal per week. This narrows it in a bit and after a few months, you may not even want the cheat meal anymore (trust me, never thought I'd say that, but it's true for me SOME weeks).

I hope some of you will consider taking the "whole food" challenge and hopefully it's an adopted lifestyle for you. It definitely has been for my family and I don't ever think I will go back to not reading the labels. Not only has it been good for me, it's been great for my family!!

Eat. Drink. Be Merry. :)

Side Note: Prior to making any lifestyle changes, have a pep talk with yourself. A wise, wise woman once told me that loving yourself and knowing yourself is the best skin and body care available. I couldn't agree more. If you want more information about health and wellness, I'm not a professional, but I can provide insight, feel free to email me at lnnblodgett at gmail dot com.