BALANCE
YOUR
LIFE
YOUR
LIFE
NUTRITION
FIGHTING FOR OUR LIFE!
We live in a culture in which eating is a pleasure, eating is a recreation, an entertainment. It is very much the norm for families to eat out many times a week. Our schedules are hectic with both parents working, soccer games, basketball practice, cheerleader practice, homework, laundry and getting ready for the next day. By 6:00 p.m. we are so exhausted, dinner comes by way of the drive-through. And before that, breakfast is cereal that is sugar coated, or donuts and coffeecake. Lunch for the kids is usually a lunchable or processed chicken nuggets with chips, a high sugar content juice drink and a miniature pack of gummy bears.
The result is a society that is tired, overwhelmed, on mediciation to assist their body to sleep, overweight (even our children), depressed, anxious, feeling like a mouse on a treadmill that can not get off. This is the culture we live in.
I think we need a paradigm shift in our "stinking thinking." The shift would be to begin to see the necessary act of eating as "fueling our body" instead of satisfying our cravings. This is totally two different mindsets.
For many years, I satisfied my craving at meal time, not thinking about what my body really needed to perform at its peak, in order for me to perform at my peak for the day before me. The pH balance of my body was usually more on the acidic side and I knew that over time, this would affect my health. I was tired, overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, sleeping poorly and feeling like that mouse on the treadmill.
Then, I had a paradigm shift. My goal was to get my pH balance to an alkaline state, and of course to have energy, feel rested and have the ability to perform at my peak. As I began to study what needed to be done to accomplish my goal, I realized I had to eat differently, cook differently, grocery shop differently. This, in itself, was overwhelming. However, if I was going to give my body what it needed, to equip it to perform at its peak, I had to put the necessary things in that gave it the ability to do what it was designed to do. This automatically demanded that I change the way I was doing things. As a result, I was full after I accomplished giving it what it needed. Then, there was no more room for the things I "craved", the things that were bringing me down, making me tired, overwhelmed, depressed and anxious.
Sometimes, it is a struggle to believe that what we eat really effects us drastically. We have not been taught this very well. Other countries do a much better job of this, with the proof being that the diseases and health issues that we experience in the United States are not nearly as prevalent in other countries, whose diet is made up primarily of fruits and vegetables. But, after much study, I believe with all my heart what we eat does drastically effect our quality of life. As a result of my belief, I have committed to doing what it takes to feel my very best and take care of the only body I will ever have on this earth.
I know that one major key to health is for my body to have a balanced pH level---and the only way to do that is to put the right things in. With this in mind, one night I had a revelation---I am fighting for my life. If I do not put the proper fuel in, my body will continue to be acidic, and eventually, without me even being conscious of what I am actually doing, damage my health. If I do put the proper fuel in, my body will tip over to the alkaline level, and my body will be healthy. Therefore, I am fighting for my life. My cravings want to be in control, but I have a choice. I can give in to my cravings, or familiar way of eating, or I can make an intentional choice to properly fuel my body. Really, it can not be both ways.
Thankfully, there is a concept called metabolical imaging. This means that whatever we eat, eventually, is what our body will crave. For many years, I ate a lot of sugar, much chocolate, bad carbohydrates, few fruits and vegetables, and drank very little water. Therefore, my internal metabolical image was to be tremendously bent in this direction without me even having to think about it. As I intentionally made choices to drastically limit my sugar intake, to chose good carbohydrates, to eat a lot of fruits and raw vegetables, and to drink the water my body needed, eventually, my body began to be bent toward the latter foods, and not even interested in the former foods. This does not suggest perfection---please understand this. There are many times that I eat things other than the perfect choice for the moment. But, on a whole, I have truly had a paradigm shift and eat to fuel my body. I am in a "fight for my life" and I intend to win.
Won't you join me!!! Make a decision to fight for your life, and for the ones you love--to do whatever it takes, even if it takes a lot of effort at first. It takes mental energy and planning to change habit patterns. But, this is truly worth your effort. It takes being intentional, and not just staying "in the familiar." Give yourself and your family the greatest gift that could possibly be given----give LIFE! It will not be easy in the beginning. But, as you persevere, the rewards will be
great!
We live in a culture in which eating is a pleasure, eating is a recreation, an entertainment. It is very much the norm for families to eat out many times a week. Our schedules are hectic with both parents working, soccer games, basketball practice, cheerleader practice, homework, laundry and getting ready for the next day. By 6:00 p.m. we are so exhausted, dinner comes by way of the drive-through. And before that, breakfast is cereal that is sugar coated, or donuts and coffeecake. Lunch for the kids is usually a lunchable or processed chicken nuggets with chips, a high sugar content juice drink and a miniature pack of gummy bears.
The result is a society that is tired, overwhelmed, on mediciation to assist their body to sleep, overweight (even our children), depressed, anxious, feeling like a mouse on a treadmill that can not get off. This is the culture we live in.
I think we need a paradigm shift in our "stinking thinking." The shift would be to begin to see the necessary act of eating as "fueling our body" instead of satisfying our cravings. This is totally two different mindsets.
For many years, I satisfied my craving at meal time, not thinking about what my body really needed to perform at its peak, in order for me to perform at my peak for the day before me. The pH balance of my body was usually more on the acidic side and I knew that over time, this would affect my health. I was tired, overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, sleeping poorly and feeling like that mouse on the treadmill.
Then, I had a paradigm shift. My goal was to get my pH balance to an alkaline state, and of course to have energy, feel rested and have the ability to perform at my peak. As I began to study what needed to be done to accomplish my goal, I realized I had to eat differently, cook differently, grocery shop differently. This, in itself, was overwhelming. However, if I was going to give my body what it needed, to equip it to perform at its peak, I had to put the necessary things in that gave it the ability to do what it was designed to do. This automatically demanded that I change the way I was doing things. As a result, I was full after I accomplished giving it what it needed. Then, there was no more room for the things I "craved", the things that were bringing me down, making me tired, overwhelmed, depressed and anxious.
Sometimes, it is a struggle to believe that what we eat really effects us drastically. We have not been taught this very well. Other countries do a much better job of this, with the proof being that the diseases and health issues that we experience in the United States are not nearly as prevalent in other countries, whose diet is made up primarily of fruits and vegetables. But, after much study, I believe with all my heart what we eat does drastically effect our quality of life. As a result of my belief, I have committed to doing what it takes to feel my very best and take care of the only body I will ever have on this earth.
I know that one major key to health is for my body to have a balanced pH level---and the only way to do that is to put the right things in. With this in mind, one night I had a revelation---I am fighting for my life. If I do not put the proper fuel in, my body will continue to be acidic, and eventually, without me even being conscious of what I am actually doing, damage my health. If I do put the proper fuel in, my body will tip over to the alkaline level, and my body will be healthy. Therefore, I am fighting for my life. My cravings want to be in control, but I have a choice. I can give in to my cravings, or familiar way of eating, or I can make an intentional choice to properly fuel my body. Really, it can not be both ways.
Thankfully, there is a concept called metabolical imaging. This means that whatever we eat, eventually, is what our body will crave. For many years, I ate a lot of sugar, much chocolate, bad carbohydrates, few fruits and vegetables, and drank very little water. Therefore, my internal metabolical image was to be tremendously bent in this direction without me even having to think about it. As I intentionally made choices to drastically limit my sugar intake, to chose good carbohydrates, to eat a lot of fruits and raw vegetables, and to drink the water my body needed, eventually, my body began to be bent toward the latter foods, and not even interested in the former foods. This does not suggest perfection---please understand this. There are many times that I eat things other than the perfect choice for the moment. But, on a whole, I have truly had a paradigm shift and eat to fuel my body. I am in a "fight for my life" and I intend to win.
Won't you join me!!! Make a decision to fight for your life, and for the ones you love--to do whatever it takes, even if it takes a lot of effort at first. It takes mental energy and planning to change habit patterns. But, this is truly worth your effort. It takes being intentional, and not just staying "in the familiar." Give yourself and your family the greatest gift that could possibly be given----give LIFE! It will not be easy in the beginning. But, as you persevere, the rewards will be
great!