It has now been 36 years since I tried my first “diet”. It was the Jack LaLanne Reduce Plan. Slim Fast has nothing on Jack. The Reduce Plan consisted of a shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch and a sensible dinner. Included in the package were these two “delicious snacks”. These chalk-like tablets were about the size of two nickels and if you closed your eyes and used your imagination you could almost taste the chocolate flavoring.Combining this reduced calorie-eating plan with swimming, running and doing trimnastics with Jack every morning, I was able to experience a very successful weight loss of over 50 pounds. The weight loss was successful, but the maintenance was not. I thought that once I lost the weight, I could go back to eating “normal” again. Keep in mind that “normal” for a teenager was pizza, coke, French fries and a box of Hostess Ding-Dongs to top it off.
In addition to taking in more than my share of calories – keeping up with my skinny friends, my load at school increased and I didn’t make time to exercise. While I had learned to cut down on calories for a period of time to reach my goal, I had not developed good, sound nutritional habits in my lifestyle. Needless to say, I gained the 50 pounds back, along with at least 25 of their little friends tagging along this time. The poor nutrition resulted in lethargy, fatigue and lack of drive. This roller coaster of weight loss/weight gain went on for years, until I committed to understanding how to truly take good care of my body and health. I realized how connected my energy level and mood swings were to the quality of my nutrition and the amount of regular activity I included in my day.
Today, after decades of diet, exercise and education, I finally understand how important consistency in proper nutrition and exercise are to living a higher quality of life. I encourage you, this National Nutrition Month, to consider what you are actually putting in your body to fuel it each day. If you find yourself having to supplement your diet with something to give you energy (e.g. energy drinks, candy bar, soda, coffee, pills, etc.), you may want to re-assess your food and beverage choices. The type and amount of food you put in your body is affecting every aspect of your life, from memory, moods, sleeping, relationships, general health and overall happiness. Eating well can also help reduce the risk of chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and hypertension. By including a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins in each meal you will help ensure that your body gets the right amount of essential nutrients to function properly. Eating too many saturated fats and sugars (fast foods, convenience foods, and junk food) can lead to excess weight gain and chronic disease.
Writing down what you eat is a great tool to help keep you honest as well as accountable. Write everything down. Even if it isn’t a full meal, sitting at the table, it still counts! Learn to read labels and choose your foods wisely. Everything you put in your body has an effect on your health, energy level and your weight. If you would like to lose weight, it’s time to find out how many calories you are actually consuming each day. It’s important to honestly assess what you are taking in to determine what you need to cut out. My suggestion is that you buy a calorie counter (I recommend the Calorie King Calorie Fat and Carbohydrate counter or go to a reliable website like www.sparkpeople.com or www.calorieking.com.) It’s not always easy to change your eating habits, because that’s precisely what they are – habits, but it is possible.
It will take a bit of re-training to actually enjoy eating healthier. As ridiculous as it sounds, by cutting out the processed, high sugar and high fat foods, and replacing them with healthier choices, you will actually develop a love for fresh, nutritionally beneficial foods and you won’t even crave those killer foods any longer. Begin by making a few simple changes and keep your eye on the prize of enjoying more of life and enjoying it longer.