I've been slacking off about food choices. An extra milkshake here. A light-night dish of ice cream there. They add up, and I was pretending not to notice.
Tuesday morning: 140 lb. Oh, no!!
As long as I'm still in the 130s, I can pretend I'm not really gaining. I can't ignore it once I hit the 1-4-0.
Tuesday night: Relief Society, and a presentation on health and wellness.
Just what the doctor ordered!
The presenter was my dear friend, Liberty Fort. More about what she had to say in a minute. What really caught my attention was what she had to show. (Wish I'd snapped a photo with my phone...)
She had two small tables in the front of the room. Each table had food on it. Equal calories on both tables. But. There was LOTS of food on the table on the left. You guessed it--all healthy food. Enough to fill you up all day, and it looked delicious.
The table on the right...not so much. It was mostly processed foods, and the calories added up quickly. If that was what I ate all day, I'd have a rumbly tummy. She made the point.
And speaking of foods that fill you up, before I go any further, I want to share a new recipe I found today:
Crustless Swiss Chard Quiche
Only 177 calories per serving, and get this: a "serving" is 1/4 of that pie!
Be still my heart. So yummy. So filling and satisfying.
I am excited to have leftovers to enjoy!
You can find the recipe and nutrition info here.
And speaking of tracking calories and nutrition info, I'm happy to report that I'm back on the wagon with myfitnesspal.com. Why do I ever stop using this friendly little website? So easy to track food and exercise. And free...
But now, back to...
Liberty's Wisdom
Liberty is a Physician's Assistant, so she has lots of know-how from her training and her work with patients. She shared five keys to living a long and healthy life. (I knew all of these, of course...but it was motivating to hear them again from a friend, especially on a day when I knew I had to make some changes.
The Five Most Important Keys to Health:
1. Don't smoke
2. No more than 1 alcohol drink per day
3. Eat at least 5 fruits/veggies every day
4. Exercise at least 45 minutes, 5 or days/week
5. Maintain an ideal body weight (BMI 19-25)
How am I doing?
#1-2--I've nailed those. No prob.
(So encouraging to know that I am already living the 2 most important rules!)
#3? Most days. If I'm not into junk food.
#4? Ouch. How do I come up with 45 minutes/day?
That's a tough one. But some is better than none, right?
#5...I'm working on it, ok?
One last thought...
Along with the food visuals on the two tables, the most motivating thing Liberty said was this:
My body is an instrument of service. And Christ paid the price for me to be here and serve.
Wowza. That puts healthy eating and living into a whole new ballgame, no? Like if I don't take care of my body, I'm disrespecting Jesus. It's not just about wanting to look good or live a long life. It's a way I can show my love, gratitude, and faith in the Savior. I guess that thought really hit home with me because it's something I've been trying to articulate for a long time, but I hadn't put it in a way that was quite so powerful before.
I have a killer week ahead of me, so I'm headed to the store in just a minute to stock up on fresh veggies that I can cut up and have all ready to go in the fridge. I'll buy a few frozen dinners from the health-food section (a little more moola, but they will help me stay on track during a week that I'm in the high school play). AND I'll continue to make healthy eating choices with myfitnesspal.com.
Have a great week, Skinnies!
1 comment:
Such a good reminder that our bodies are really just "on loan" to us so we need to take care of them!
Good luck in the play! Make sure you just always have a water bottle nearby! (Advice I am going to try to follow myself this week!)
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