I LOVE this topic! I was raised in Southern Louisiana.. home of the most DELICIOUS fatty foods in the world. My mother ate terribly. She was obese most of her life.. eventually she died of cancer, which was partly related to her lifestyle choices, to include her eating habits.
So I knew pretty early on that I needed to re-learn what it means to have a healthy relationship with food. I started to gain weight a year ago. I've studied up on fitness and nutrition and I've managed to lose 35 lbs of baby weight in the past 4 months, and I still have another 10-15 more to go before I am at my ideal weight. Here's what I've learned:
- A predominantly vegetarian diet is ideal. I'm not advocating giving up meat entirely unless that's what you want to do, but eating 80% vegetarian with meat as a side is what makes me feel the best. It will also keep you very regular (TMI, but still an important issue when colon cancer is a serious threat!)
- There's really NO reason to put junk in your system. I don't care about the "it's too restrictive and could backfire" excuse. Once I started appreciating fruits, my taste buds started to change and now I can't stand the taste of candy or artificially sweetened junk. I never drink soda. I eat "clean". My dessert is fruit. That's how it's going to be with my son, too, as he gets older. If he wants his dessert before dinner, then that's fine, 'cause fruit is totally healthy. If he gets exposed to the occasional junk food at the cafeteria or in class, that's cool - because I know he'll get a healthy meal at home. I can only control what he eats at home.. and I can only hope that my influence will be a positive one that will allow him to make SMART decisions about food elsewhere.
- I intend to teach my son from a young age how everything on earth is interrelated. I grow some veggies, and I intend for him to grow his own as well.. to have some ownership from his food and see the cycle for himself. Once he realizes that the only food worthy of putting in our bodies is REAL food from the soil, he will hopefully be less inclined to grab ultra-processed, zero nutritional-valued junk.
- Don't yo-yo diet around your children. They watch every single thing you do, and if you are starving yourself one day (BAD!) and gorging the next with the nonchalant "Oh, I'll start my diet again tomorrow", they'll pick up on that wavering insecurity and they'll have a harder time understanding how food works ("is food bad? is it good? I don't know 'cause Mommy keeps going to extremes!!").
- Be a role model for your kids in regards to fitness. I work out almost every day.. usually at home. My baby is only 4 months old and he's already watching me hoof it on the treadmill and lifting weights! I want to spark an interest in fitness in him as he gets older, and hopefully that will help him live a healthier life.
- Last, but not least, don't diet. Healthy eating/living should be a lifestyle. There's no reason to give up chocolate (dark, in moderation.. lots of good antioxidants), and once you start cooking healthy and working out, good eating habits just fall into place.
:
