Hello there!

Welcome to my twenty-seventh blog.

The past few weeks have been some of the busiest weeks that I can ever remember having. My time-management skills have seriously been put to the test and so far not too many balls dropped. It is all good, though and I am so very excited about the next exciting chapter of my working life.

My blog today is about the tribulations of eating for health. If we look at making eating choices (last week’s blog)  it seems so easy. Every meal should have a healthy protein, a complex carb, a splash of a good fat and, cups, and loads of multicoloured magnificent veggies. Easy peasy, one would think. Not. Perhaps difficult to start but surely once you get into the groove, a piece of cake. Ha! Ha!  Definitely not. So Very Not.

Let us readdress this healthy eating by taking you on a tour of a scenario of my eating week.

So, perhaps I start my healthy week with meal prepping on a Sunday.  The veggies are chopped, the fridge has the required nourishing stuff and the pantry is bursting with goodness. The meals are planned and it’s just marvellous.  Monday arrives and it all goes to plan. I feel pious as I go to bed that night having had a healthy day and the requisite meat-free Monday supper. Yay!! Perhaps I even manage to tick the box of Tuesday’s meals and I feel even more pleased with myself. I eat a couple more blocks of that dark choc than is probably necessary on Tuesday night, but it is okay. I have had two balanced nutritious days of eating. Then Wednesday arrives. I wake up late,my nourishing morning ritual doesnt happen, I am grumpy,  rush breakfast, and forget to take that delicious chicken out for supper. I have a busy day, I feel a bit out of sorts, and something reminds me of Muz and the tears come and I am sad.  I have a white bread sandwich with sugar-filled jam and sugar-filled peanut butter for lunch and diet coke. I feel worse so have an afternoon snack of some shortbread and sweets and it is all wrecked. Completely and utterly. I briefly appeal to my inner self not to engage the saboteur and this fails. The day is ruined, and supper is whatever I can find that is “bad”. My boys seem somewhat relieved to be having an unhealthy meal and I end the day with a large amount of low-quality dairy milk choc and diet coke, I go to bed,  berating myself and feeling yuk. Not good. Anyway, the rest of the week improves, perhaps, because I am now guilt-ridden on Thursday so eat the good stuff and by Friday am semi back to normal. Sort of. The weekend comes and I have more tasty treats and that is okay. Sort of.

A few more stresses and issues… this variety of food story. That is arduous too. I am barely shopping, trying to recruit others for this task as I do not want to expose myself unnecessarily. Some shopping online, or the odd dash into the shops, quickly grabbing the required items, paying, and then dashing out. Variety, particularly of fruit and veggies, has sadly fallen by the wayside.

Furthermore, the previously mentioned required time for prepping is also really not going well at present. The luxury of time is somehow not around at the moment. Well, it is, it’s just being employed elsewhere!   I am also often treating patients over lunch, which has thrown my routine. I then eat something that does not serve me late afternoon. In addition,  I have been eating breakfast on the go, and that I never normally do!   Also, some days, I just do not want to be thinking of planning evening meals so just wing them. Sometimes I may perhaps err in terms of the healthiest choices made. Oh, dear!

My point…there is one… with this lengthy narrative,  is that this eating for health and wellness is flipping difficult… and does not just become routine!!!  I have been on this expedition properly for about eight months and I still struggle, often. Maybe, some of you may understand some of these stresses.

So, as is my wont, I decided to do some research to find ways in which we can manage this and learn from it. After some reading and thinking and some great thoughts from Dani Spies, food blogger, and Youtuber, I have some awesome ideas and thoughts.

 

1. Let us allow ourselves to be on the journey

As a beginner making new lifestyle changes and habits, we have to give ourselves space to figure it out. We do not need to do everything at once and everything at the same time. This is a process of learning how to do things in a new way. We need to give ourselves permission to slow down, to learn, and to realize that we cannot do everything perfectly straight away and on an ongoing basis. We need to be prepared to make a long term commitment to a lifestyle shift.

 

2. Healthy eating means different things for different people.

There is no one size fits all. I am a flexitarian, you may be vegan, and Joe may be a carnivore. We can all be healthy. A weightlifter will eat a different healthy from an executive. You may eat five meals a day and I might eat three. Let us all just try to eat real, whole unprocessed food as close to its natural state as possible. Let us not compare ourselves to anyone else. and no comparisons.

 

3. Let us try to cook as often as we can.

If we cook our own food, we know exactly what we are eating. We can learn about healthy food and cooking. That will in time help to sustain and maintain changes. I think I might need to start putting the meal prep time in my diary as if it were an appointment.

 

4. Focus on quality, not calories.

When we count calories, our brain concentrates on what we are not allowed. We feel deprived and bleak. If we focus on quality and all the great things we can add to our diet, our brain is happy, and we feel good.

 

5. Eat seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Fruit and veggies that are eaten in season have a better flavour and higher nutritional value than those that are not. They are also cheaper. It’s awesome if we can source these from a local farmer.

 

6. Make sure those tried and tested recipes are close.

We should have those easy go-to healthy recipes – two for each meal – as we transition into healthy eating. These will help us stay aligned with our goals. I am finding more meals to add to these as I continue experimenting with this new way of eating. Compile your own  recipe book.

 

7. Read labels.

We need to ensure that there are no more than five ingredients on the label and that we can read, recognize, and pronounce all the words.

 

8. Avoid highly processed foods

Let us avoid highly processed foods. So often these foods are so concentrated in fats, sugars, and salt that they literally wipe out your palate and bombard your taste buds. That is not cool. Rather infuse your food with flavour from all the delightful herbs and spices that are out there.

 

9. Avoid artificial flavours, sweeteners, and non-fat food.

These foods bypass our brain and then we do not know when you are full and the irony is that we just want more and more, and it’s usually sugar that we end up guzzling. Our body also does not know what to do with these foods most of the time.

 

10. Cook in bulk.

We should try to get into the habit of cooking in bulk. So, cooking a big pot of soup that can serve for two meals, or doubling our pasta meal that can be eaten again, or cooking lots of chicken breasts that can be used for a few meals. This saves time and, definitely energy.

 

11. Stock the pantry and freezer with healthy staples.

Frozen berries (the best for morning smoothies) and veggies, cooked quinoa, herbs, and health bread in the freezer and tins of tuna or salmon, tomatoes, herbs, and spices, and beans in our pantry.

 

12. Listen to our body’s hunger signals

Let us eat when we are actually hungry. It may change from day to day but let us try to listen to our bodies and learn what is our true hunger and what is comfort eating. This is a struggle for me.

 

13. Connect to our why

Why do we want to go on this journey of healthy eating? We need to want to change our lifestyle for us, not because we feel we need to, have to, should do. We are all perfect and beautiful and worthy, anyway. We need to really and truly and absolutely want to make a change for ourselves, and for ourselves alone.  Writing down our why, and constantly referring to it, can be really helpful as we make this change.

 

14. It is not just about the plate.

We also need to be nourished by how we eat, where we eat, and with whom we eat. We need to create a healthy eating environment. We need to love what we eat, so let us make it delicious. Let us eat surrounded by positive energy and with the people we truly care about, wherever this is possible.

 

15. Speak to people

This is a difficult journey, this striving for health and wellness. Believe me, I know. By chatting to other people, or a coach or an advisor, this can be made so much easier. We realize that so many other people have experienced similar problems and it helps us on our voyage. I am here and would really love to connect with you.

 

16. Be kind

We need to understand and explain to ourselves that there is no rush, there is no finish line and there certainly is not a gold medal waiting to be won. We need to be patient and kind, to go easy on ourselves, getting to know ourselves and our bodies slowly but surely.. Let us not criticize ourselves. Let us nourish ourselves through the good eating times and bad. Let us give ourselves permission and space to learn to adapt to this new lifestyle.

So, friends I really hope that my honesty with you resonates and that you can find something in this blog that may work for you. Good luck and have a beautiful weekend.

 

 

Tip number twenty-six

Remember to take the time to enjoy this new health and wellness adventure. Have fun, learn, love, and live and let us all strive for the optimum health and wellness that we all deserve!