Healthy Eating Series - 1: Why change?

I had the thought yesterday as I Tai Chi'd along to start a series on healthy eating. So here we go!

I'll start with the most fundamental part of healthy eating: wanting to. I'm assuming you, my readers, have not reached the pinnacle of healthy eating for yourselves, but why would you want to change your eating habits at all? We all have our addictions and habits that require effort and discipline to change. Why bother? Won't it just add to our stress load and take precious time away from more important activities?

Well, if you really think...logically about eating, WHAT COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT?? Of course, if you just don't care about your well-being, maybe this doesn't apply to you - you'll need to check out an even more basic part of healthy eating which I'm not going to cover in this series: giving a rat's ass about yourself. I might get to that at some point. Anyhoo, you all know the adage, 'you are what you eat'. It's not just a saying, folks - think logically - your body is in a constant state of renewal: new cells are popping up everywhere, all the time. And where do you think they get the raw material? No, not from the internet, guess again! The materials come from what you put into your mouth and swallow. This introduction may seem needlessly elementary, but stay with me - remember another saying, 'the most important things i learned, i learned in kindergarten'. Or something like that. Think, Tabula Rasa, the Beginner's Mind.

Now, what's all this fuss about bodies anyway? Can't we just stuff some magic dinner pills from Willy Wonka in, wash it down with a Sam Smith Nut Brown Ale, and be on our way? Mmmmm, no. Do you ever feel satisfied after eating any of those meal or 'energy' bars? Puh-lease, only if you're starving. Compare this experience with a tasty, balanced, home-cooked meal from ingredients that don't come from a box or can.

What about eating out all the time? Saves a lot of trouble, eh? After awhile, eating out isn't such a treat. It feels empty. Where's the LOVE? When you cook for yourself, what you get inside isn't just a bunch of 'nutrients', whatever those really are anyway. You may be ingesting delight, pride, nurture, creation, and love. Of course, frustration might go in there as well - hence, my series: I want to help people who have the desire and will to change their eating. When you eat out, you really don't know what you're getting. You have NO IDEA what kind of crap is making it's way into your food - it's too small! You can't see it! You just *feel* it later on. Of course, there are some restaurants where the food is actually healthful, but normally there's a high price for such stuff, and most budgets do not support splurging on a regular basis.

So you may be on the fence at this point: 'eating healthy sounds great and all, but is it for me?' Or, 'I'm not a health nut, and I like to eat what I want and not worry about it.'...or, 'I don't have time to make changes, I'm way to stressed with my schedule!'. As for point 1, eating healthy is for EVERYONE. No one is left out! Eating healthy is not a one-size-fits-all sort of thing, because - duh! - there are many sizes and kinds of people!! However, there are basic guidelines that are beneficial for most if not for everyone in the quest for healthy eating. I will do my best to address these in the coming articles for this series.

As for point 2, there's no need to be a health nut or afficionado...this series is more about stepping back into a time when people knew healthy eating from their families and culture, without it being an issue dissected constantly in the latest studies, magazines, self-help books, you name it. I aim to merge some traditional ideas and methods with the modern world we are born into, taking into account new ideas and methods that result from real innovation. So, you don't have to be a hippy, granola-head, new-agey, jockish fitness chick or dude to adopt and enjoy healthy eating. Plus, one of Aimsta-b's rules for healthy eating is to enjoy what you are eating! How else are you going to secrete those mysterious digestive enzymes that break food down so you can use it properly? Food must be tasty. Since we have to eat all the time to keep our bodies happy, we might as well bask in the joy that food can bring to us, all the time. If this idea sounds just way to good to be true, you may be limiting yourself uneccessarily (throw away that self-flagellation whip, NOW!).

Point 3: Too stressed out? This one is tricky. All I can say is, if you really want to make the change, you'll make time for it and give up something else while you make the transition. For those of you who must work constantly to provide for your families and then have child-rearing on top of that, you've got it toughest of all. I think the change to healthy eating can be done, but you may need to wait to make big changes until your life feels managable with whatever you have to do to make ends meet. In the meantime, there are many ways to move towards healthy eating that don't require much time, effort, or money, and I will highlight these methods. Keep in mind that once you've altered your habits and learn the new ways, cooking and providing food for yourself isn't that difficult or time-consuming. Hopefully one day, eating organic vegetables will be cheaper than Mickey D's or KFC, too. We may see this in our lifetimes.

That's all for now - think about making a change. Try it on and see how it feels. If it feels scary, just think: baby steps. Even one tiny step in the right direction can make all the difference in the world! Just be patient with yourselves, it can't all be done at once, and there's no need. I"ll be sharing loads of tips in the coming articles....

-Aimsta B