I have slacked on my healthy eating habits and I am paying for it. My belly feels like jelly, I have no energy, and my pipes aren’t, um, flowing as regularly as they used to. When I get busy, something usually gives. A week-long camping trip, a vacation to Vegas, and a pity party about my hip problems that are keeping me sedentary led me down a lazy, unhealthy road.
So today, writing had to give as I went on a mission to remedy the problem. A trip to Costco and the grocery store loaded my trunk with whole grains, low-fat protein, and tons of fruits and greens.
I made room to put it all away by dumping the junk in the cupboards. It’s not even that we had much junk food in the house, we just didn’t have good options to make a complete, healthy meal. Applesauce and bananas don’t exactly make for a variety of fruit options. And while I love carrots and ranch, we need some more color on our plates. The leftover Easter candy and stale chips were dumped, along with the freezer burned ice cream.
I bought whole grain crackers to divvy up into bags for smart snacking and kids lunches. There is yogurt and string cheese in an easy-to-get-to box in the front of the fridge and I cut bunches of grapes and sliced watermelon, all to make snacking easy. I pre-poured ranch dressing (I love this brand!) in small plastic containers to go with the sliced bell peppers. There are plenty of other veggies and fruits in the crisper drawers that I haven’t even gotten to yet. My refrigerator makes me smile right now!
Healthy cereals are stocked and fruit/veggie smoothie ingredients are pre-packed by day in the freezer. Overkill? Maybe. But I have no excuses now! I bought a huge bag of mixed greens and other ingredients to pre-make salads for us big kids to take to work this week. That diced up chicken in the freezer will come in handy for that this week! Dinners are planned out so all the ingredients are stocked and ready to go. I really, really have no excuses for not eating well this week.
I have had a lot of friends doing “cleanses” lately, and I am just not in a mental place to go that extreme right now. But these steps, albeit baby steps, will help me feel better. You can do this too just by making simple changes in your meal plans this week. Dump the sugary cereal for something with at least 5 grams of fiber per serving (yes you have to eat breakfast!), switch your grains to whole so that you stay full longer, think about your protein choices (are they lean or full of fat?), and pre-slice your fruits and veggies to make them easy to eat. And then actually eat them! Eat regularly to avoid binging on the nearest candy bar, cut out mid-week alcohol, and start rethinking your other beverage choices. If you can’t switch out your soda for water, can you commit to drinking 16 ounces of water before grabbing your soda? Just a thought.
Cheers, with my glass of water, to a healthier week and better habits!
I am always happy to help people get on track with their eating habits that focus on lifestyle changes, not temporary fixes. If you ever have questions to get you pointed in the right direction, please feel free to ask!
