Healthy Eating is not Going on Fad Diets
“A lifestyle based on good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and healthy emotions is the best means to optimum health. A good healthy lifestyle will lead you to a healthy body, healthy weight, vitality and a good quality of life as the whole. Why we eat what we eat, when we eat it, how we eat it and the attitude we have towards what we eat has an effect on our overall health.” Protection is Better Than Cure page 163
Healthy Eating is not necessarily going on strict diets
Eating healthy is one of the best and most important decisions we can ever make. Every end of the year or beginning, most people make new goals like: lose weight, spend more time with family, buy a new car, save money, go for vacation to … and etc. Whereas all these may be important, if you are not healthy they may be difficult to achieve.
Healthy eating helps us to get the right nourishment from the food we put into our bodies, a balance of vitamins, minerals, live enzymes, antioxidants, essential fats, proteins and carbohydrates. And we can get all these from the food we eat if we make the right choices. Do you know that eating healthy is cheaper than eating whatever you lay your hands on, in the long run? When we eat healthy we do not spend so much money buying so many supplements, most of which we don’t even utilize? Most of the supplements purchased end up in the cupboards and not in the body. Furthermore, healthy eating boosts our immune system and keeps us healthy.
I have been amazed by the number of people who spend money on fresh food only to store it in the fridge and then go buy fast foods? This is a fact. I have witnessed this repeatedly. Food being thrown away (especially vegetables) after going bad is a common practice. What a waste!
What makes healthy eating so difficult? Unwillingness to change is one of the common causes but we also tend to confuse healthy eating with dieting. Healthy eating is not going on a diet. It is changing your eating habits so that you may eat healthy while enjoying what you eat. Healthy eating does not mean deprivation. You can eat healthy and eat the healthy foods you like.
As you set your goals for 2013 answer this question: Why do you want to eat better? Is it because you want to get healthier, feel better, look better, be a role model? Personally, I aspire to be as healthy as I can be, just for me or for my own good. And yet, as a healthy promoter, I consider what type of message I send to those I try to help. I feel that I have some responsibility towards my family and those I teach. Not that I am responsible for their choices but I have to be a good example and live what I teach. If you are a parent, it is no use telling your children to eat vegetables if you don’t, or to drnk lots of water when you are always drinking soda. Even if you are trying to lose weight your ultimate goal should be to become healthier. With that motive, you will be able to make healthy eating habits. And this will motivate your whole family.
Although changing a habit is not easy, you can start by making small simple changes that you can stick to, for example; adding one more fruit a day, eating at least one salad a day, drinking an extra glass of water, and etc. You don’t have to change everything in a day. But you can work towards your goal a day at a time while you eliminate foods that do not promote good health.
As you make your choices of the food to eat, remember to include a variety. Eating 5 small meals a day is recommended instead of the two to three large traditional meals. These should include lots of vegetables both lightly cooked, raw and salads, as well as fruits and water. The best carbohydrates come from whole grain unprocessed foods, fresh vegetables and fruits. Fish and white meats are preferred to red meats and legumes and pulses can play a big role here. Remember to eat some good quality fats like avocado, virgin olive oil. etc which supply omega 3. And if you crown it all with physical exercise, rest, quality sleep and a positive attitude, 2013 is going to be a very enjoyable year. Don’t forget to laugh as often as you can.
Praise be to God who satisfies us with good things and renews our youth like the eagle’s. Psalms 103:5
