Nutrition

Before I share my thoughts and tips, I want to discuss what food and nutrition isn’t: love, happiness, or self-esteem.  I learned this the hard way, so bear with me for a moment

Don’t obsess, your life should be about more than calories, food groups, a number on the scale or the size of your dress.  It should be about what you bring to the world, what you have to offer, what you are seeking–which is also seeking you!  Life for the day and the moment, but keep charting your path to your dreams.  What do you want to tell your grandchildren you accomplished?  Certainly not being size 2!

That being said if you are properly nourished, you will glow from the inside out, have great energy to accomplish your ambitious goals and will be clear and thought, focus and peace of mind.

I believe a few simple tips will keep you healthy, fit and at an appropriate weight.  Though I do not deny that weight can often have little to do with food and everything to do with emotion, self-esteem, and habits–good and bad. However, I strive toward a “food is fuel, but also a wonderful element of culture and togetherness and whole lot of fun” approach–with plenty of moderation.

A few tips:

• eat only when you are hungry…regardless of the time on the clock, all great meals start with hunger
• start the day off right and you will set the tone for healthy eating right off the bat
• start the day off with sugar or sweets and you will crave them all day
• avoid things that stimulate the appetite and sugar cravings: too sweet nutrition bars, candy, artificial sweeteners, sodas-reg. and diet, gum, mints, etc.
• try to get out of the habit of grabbing things mindlessly–it’s not easy, but try to avoid grabbing a handful of crackers out of the cabinet, a few bits of leftover out of the fridge, a piece of candy from the jar.  Snack when you need to, but at least be aware you had a snack
• eat what you love, and not what you think you should, but keep trying fruits and vegetables and challenge yourself to like more and more
• learn to appreciate cleanly prepared foods, the complex levels of flavor of a beautiful piece of fruit will satisfy the body and soul more than a few quickly gobbled Hersey’s kisses
• choose quality over calories every time.  Don’t get trapped into thinking that the lowest calorie item is the best for your waist line.  Studies show that overly processed diet food stimulate cravings, do nothing to satisfy your bodies nutritional hunger and are hard to get out of the cells-hello cellulite
• decide if you are a grazer or a 3 meal a day eater
• protein and fiber at every meal make weight control no big deal
• get the healthy things out of the way each day, before moving on to the comfort foods and treats

Back to the quality over calorie approach, based largely on the writings of Natalie Rose, I believe that foods healthfulness is not determined by the info on the wrapper, but whether its contents nourish your cells and make an exit!  If it is not a fruit or a vegetable, look at the wrapper and see if its ingredients will be able to nourish and satisfy your body and then leave quickly.  Overly processed and preserved food rarely can do either properly.

For example

Opt for this:

INGREDIENTS Organic Sprouted Wheat, Filtered Water, Organic Malted Barley, Organic Sprouted Millet, Organic Sprouted Barley, Organic Sprouted Lentils, Organic Sprouted Soybeans, Organic Sprouted Spelt, Fresh Yeast, Sea Salt.

Not this

FIber 1 Cinnamon Raisin Bread-nutrition info good, ingredients bad.

water, enriched flour bleached, raisins, sugar, modified wheat starch, chicorty root extract, sugarcane fiber, vital wheat gluten, honey, soybean oil, salt, raisin juice concentrate, cinnamon, corm cereal, dough conditioner (datem, sodium stearoul, lactylate, monoglcerides, ammonium sulfate) HFCS…keeps going

and

For a yummy cake like treat

pick Cinnamon Date or Carrot Raisin Manna Bread

 

Sprouted Organic Whole Wheat Kernels,  Filtered Water, Organic Dates (may contain pits), Organic Cinnamon and Organic Oatmeal

Sprouted Organic Whole Wheat Kernels,  Filtered Water, Organic Carrots, and Organic Raisins

not this

Commercial Cranberry Orange Muffin

Ingredients: Enriched Bleached Flour [Flour, Niacin, Iron (As Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamine Mononitrate, Enzyme, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Sugar, Cranberries, Water, Eggs, Canola Oil, Contains 2% Or Less Of The Following: Dicalcium Phosphate, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Modified Corn Starch, Orange Peel, Oat Fiber, Leavening (Baking Soda), Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Natural Flavor, Whey, Mono And Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Maltodextrin, Sorbitan Monostearate, Polysorbate 60, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Gelatinized Wheat Starch, Dehydrated Butter, Modified Butter Oil, Propylene Glycol.