Health is a Journey Not a Destination
Many things in life can be described as a journey and health is no different. Eat Healthy Be Active acts as a guide along this particular journey; providing tips, information, and support to help participants make the changes necessary to work their way towards a healthier lifestyle. Merlin, our program coordinator and healthy eating extraordinaire, often reminds us that everything we put in body has an impact over time but that changing habits also takes time. In fact, it can take 21 days to form new habits! Thus, small, manageable goals that help us to succeed will have a lasting impact on our journeys.
In my 2nd week, I really focused on making a few small changes to my eating habits to heighten my chances of succeeding. For me, I really need to see the small successes to continue working towards my larger goals. My changes this week included a number of substitutions and one of my biggest substitutions was swapping out my morning 2-3 cups of coffee with creamer for a cup of tea. In my tea if I want to add any sweetener, I choose a natural sweetener like honey over a spoonful of sugar. I honestly know that having the stomach bug at the end of week 1 aided this swap because caffeine withdrawal can and does happen. I had one day with pretty bad headaches but after that I was fine and feel better after one cup of tea than I ever did after multiple cups of coffee.
Another swap opportunity for me was with my breakfast choices. Each week, participants have a 1-on-1 check-in with Merlin to discuss our personal struggles, triumphs, and to create and modify when needed our plan. This week, Merlin and I discussed how previous experiences shaped my understanding of and relationship to food. Growing up in the 90’s, sugary cereals and Eggo® waffles were the main go-to for my first meal of the day. Muffins and or doughnuts often made their appearance on the weekends and after church on Sundays, the coffee hour was always filled with sweet treats. All of this is reflected in my breakfast choices today, my breakfast palate is sweet with a side of sugar. This has been hard to overcome in the sense that breakfast really is my favorite meal of the day. So, though the food I am eating tastes great and I feel more full for longer periods of time with what I am eating, I cannot say I don’t still want all the pastries and sweet breads! And I know that I can still choose that on occasion, but that it should not be my everyday.
My breakfasts now are still sweet, but on a healthier scope. I swapped full bagels out for the “skinny” or “thin” versions for less bread. I also substituted peanut butter in for my usual cream cheese or butter with cinnamon and sugar. I make sure I also have a full bowl of fruit. On other mornings I choose a yogurt parfait with homemade granola and fruits. I have a recipe for a morning bar that I cannot wait to try as it is loaded with healthy choice ingredients and is very filling. My goals for mornings are to make sure the choices I now pick set me up for a day filled with healthy snack and food selections.
Some of the things I am noticing on this journey: I am shaking off a lot of the constant fatigue I have felt for years. I feel “lighter” in the sense that I don’t feel like the food I am eating is sitting heavy in my system. I have lost a little weight at this point; though, as Merlin reminds us, losing weight is not the ultimate goal of getting healthy but by eating healthy and being active, it will happen! Clothes are fitting better. I am not missing the foods I am moving away from eating often as much as I thought I would. I mentally feel better knowing I am supplying my body with the nutrition it needs rather than the snacks and sweets that taste great but don’t provide much in terms of nutrition.
I feel its important to note that I am not depriving myself and Eat Healthy Be Active is not asking that of us either. Rather, I am pulling back on food items filled with sugars and salts and eating them in moderation after I have eaten healthier choices first. They are a compliment or a treat to my main meals and snacks, they are no longer the showstoppers they once were in my diet. Interestingly, I am finding many of my old snack choices too salty or sweet now. I find I am preferring unsalted pretzels and peanuts more than chips, etc. and when I am feeling hungry, I am first looking for fruits and vegetables to snack on rather than pre-packaged and processed snacks.
For the recipe share I teased last week, my family tried a recipe out and loved it! I made avocado salsa and served on top of grilled pork. It could be used with chicken as well, eaten with tortilla chips, or even mixed with quinoa. For the salsa, I diced up 3 medium avocados, 1-2 tomatoes, 1 small cucumber and tossed with 1 tablespoon of honey and the juice of a lime. It was extremely “basic” but a great starter recipe to add more to like red onion or other spices to change the flavor. I took inspiration from this recipe: Grilled Pork with Avocado Salsa Recipe: How to Make It (tasteofhome.com).
As I move into my 3rd week with Eat Healthy Be Active, I will be learning and focusing on meal planning, creating a pantry primed for healthy meals, and shopping on a budget. So stay tuned for how planning ahead for the week helps me to stay on track with healthy eating.
If interested in learning more about the program, follow the link below to our Eat Healthy Be Active page: