As I was doing my defensive moves this morning, I had this sudden thought about how important it is to vigorously defend our health in today’s world.
If I think about all the things that potentially could interfere with our health, there are so many! There is life stress, food additives and chemicals, environmental pollution, lack of exercise, lack of proper nutrition and nutrients, past life experiences affecting our emotional health, very busy and demanding life (rush rush rush), and more…
So, I was thinking about how much dedication and focus it takes to be healthy. Because, if you think about it, what are the easy choices now days? Yes, the easy choice is reaching for processed food, the quick answer, the pre-made type foods (all bad stuff!). Then I was thinking about how it takes effort and intention to make the healthy choices in our life the easy choices… We may not be able to control the environment, but we can control what we put into our bodies!
So, how can we make this easy? …
Some ways to make the healthy choices the easy choices are to prepare some simple healthy food ahead of time especially before a busy week. I do not like cooking, so I needed to find a great and fast way to throw stuff together. For example, I cook up a tray of healthy proteins for the week on Sunday…takes me 5 minutes to throw frozen chicken breast on a wax paper covered cookie sheet, paint them with hummus and bake in the oven. I can get a lot of other work done while those suckers are cooking! These chicken breasts through the week make good fast meals either being cut up on top of a salad or heated hot with some frozen veggies that I toss together. I alternate the chicken with cod, other types of fish, boiled eggs and ground turkey recipes. It works great, is never boring, and you are always prepared for nutritious eating and it makes healthy the easy choice when it is ready to grab from the fridge!
A few other ideas I use to prepare for a healthy nutritious week…
I always have 0% greek yogurt and low fat cottage cheese in the fridge which makes good meals with raw unsalted nuts and fruit (and no cooking required!). I spend only 15 minutes every 2-3 weeks making up 15-20 ziplock baggies of 1/3 cup raw unsalted nuts and seeds so they are easy to grab and go. Fresh fruit always available (apples and oranges because they don’t go bad). What other ideas for healthy easy snacks can you come up with? Please COMMENT on this post with your ideas!
What about when I get the munchies? (yes, we all do!)
I have Ryvita Bread (Muesli crunch is my favorite) on hand for those times when I feel the munchies come on. I can put a little smear of peanut butter on one or two of those, and its a great healthy snack that satisfies my munchies. Better to have this kind of thing readily available than salty popcorn, chips, or other unhealthy chemical-filled snack foods around. Be sure you are well-fed before heading to the grocery store and you will be less likely to buy junk food! Avoid having crap in the house, otherwise it becomes an easy choice to eat junk food and we do not want that!
Some Research is worth the time…
Get to know what types of foods are actually healthy. Stick mostly to the perimeter of the store to do your shopping because thats where most of the real whole foods are. Peek at the labels and if there are more than a few ingredients or a bunch of chemical names, stay away from it. Join clean eating groups to learn which foods are and are not healthy. Learn some new simple recipes to keep your nutrition interesting and delicious.
Are you familiar with the value of superfood?
It is important to know that the nutritional value in our foods and veggies are NOT what they used to be. There are vital nutrients missing that help to fight against oxidative damage that can lead to disease including cancer. This is where the use of superfoods can make a HUGE difference in our health. The superfood shake contains phytonutrients, cellular nutrition, antioxidants, micronutrients, natural herbs (and ZERO artificial ingredients) that increase body efficiency (including hormones) and is our best defence against disease, promotes weight loss and kills cravings. Having superfoods in a shake form, is not only convenient for on-the-go, but contains a large number of superfoods in just the right mix and balance to optimize their benefit!
DEFEND YOUR HEALTH! By far, optimal nutrition and regular exercise is the best defence we have!
PAY ATTENTION to what you’re putting into your body because what we put into our body equals the health that we get out. You could be a healthy eater in general, but if you snack on or add in high fat, salt or chemical-filled garbage foods, this will totally zap your energy and take your body weeks to get rid of it! Remember, these chemicals interfere with our body’s fine signalling processes, interfere with hormone balance and interfere with our body’s ability to function efficiently to keep our arteries clean, fight infections, control fat deposits and have energy!
Don’t forget that daily exercise is critical to keep muscles healthy, heart strong, maintain balance and helps our body to use energy efficiently. Set aside a time each and every day where you can consistently get your exercises in…schedule it and make it a non-negotiable! I keep a blank printed out calendar handy beside my TV in the rec-room and every time I do a workout or exercise, I document it on the calendar. This is a great way to track activity and you can look back and see how much you have achieved and where you can improve. Its a great technique and increases motivation too!
Yup, it just hit me this morning as I was exercising about how it takes effort, focus and intention to maintain health and so important to have a simple sustainable plan and the easy choices readily available to grab and go. Taking the time to learn the simple ways to do this is worth it!
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