I want to share a personal experience that I think was a turning point in my life and made me as interested as I am in healthy eating and nutrition. This post is extremely casual, but I felt it would be a good segway into my upcoming posts on behavior modification and non-dieting tips.
I was blessed with good genes, home cooking, farm fresh produce and eggs, and a home in a rural area (meaning I spent the majority of my time outdoors playing, even in the winter). I feel that because of my upbringing, I was pretty much always slim and active, and oh boy did I LOVE to eat! When I was a teenager I was just like any other teenager. I thought I was invincible. My only concern when it came to food was whether or not it was making me fat. I ate however I wanted and I was not getting fat, so in my teenage mind, I didn't need to change anything. Don't get me wrong I ate a lot of good things, but I also ate a LOT of bad things. Particularly when I entered high school and it was all about Mt. Dew and energy drinks! Not to mention we had an open campus and I spent most of my lunches going out and eating hamburgers (plural...in one lunch period). Late nights at friend's houses meant that we were basically eating junk food all night long. But like I said, if it wasn't making me fat, then I didn't need to change anything, right?
Well I started experiencing heart palpitations and dizziness and even passed out in the middle of class a few times. I went to visit with a cardiologist. I sat in the waiting room with a dozen other patients who all looked to be in their 90's. First things first my doctor requested that I keep a journal of how I feel each day. Every day. He also wanted to know what I was eating and how I was exercising. He basically wanted to find the root cause of my problem so that meant I had to be in tune with how my body was feeling all the time. After some testing, a few more visits and a full review of my journal my doctor scolded me. He told me I was going to eat myself to death. He pointed out that I was the only teenage girl in the waiting room and how sad it was that he was warning a 16 year old of the dangers of a heart attack. Given there was some genetic stuff going on as well, my diet certainly wasn't helping anything. He immediately put me on a heart healthy diet and strictly banned foods that were excessive in sugars, fats, caffeine or theobromine (chocolate). He wanted me to continue keeping a journal based on my new diet.
To be honest, I hated it at first. However, I didn't feel so invincible anymore. I realized at that point that this is the only body I get for my whole life. There are a lot of things I want to do with my life. I don't want my body to restrain me or hold me back from anything! I was determined from that point to do MY best to keep my body working in tip top shape. For a very long time I followed my very strict, very heart healthy diet and it got easier and easier to do. Especially because I would go weeks without eating something like a Wendy's bacon cheeseburger and when I finally ate one it would taste sooooooooooooo good! However, because of my forced journal keeping, I was now tuned in with how my body felt. Eating that cheeseburger did not make me feel good. I would feel sluggish, yet my heart would be racing. My blood sugar would spike and make me dizzy and even a little nauseous. That feeling is quite different from my high energy levels I have when I adhere to my doctor's orders. It became easier and easier to turn down cheeseburgers and brownies.
My goal as a health coach is to help others become healthier. I don't want to put everyone I talk to on a strict heart healthy diet like I went through. I just want to help individuals feel a little better about themselves than they currently do. The first steps to that is understanding your behaviors and your body. No one should know your body better than you, but sadly, most of us don't really know our body all that well.
It may seem a little bizarre or overboard, but I would encourage you to keep a food journal for a couple of weeks. Even if you think that your current diet is not affecting you in any adverse way. If all you can do is record what you are eating that is fine. However you may be surprised if you also record how you feel about the food you are eating. Take time to analyze the reaction your body has to the food you eat. I recommend doing this again after you begin to implement changes. After a couple of weeks you shouldn't need to keep a food journal (whether you are counting calories or otherwise) because not only will you be able to "eyeball" your portions, calories and nutrient amounts, but you will be able to better understand how food is effecting you.
You don't have to be a "health nut" and deny yourself the treats you love all the time. I certainly don't! But if you can get passed the first week when you are craving all the foods you know that you shouldn't be eating too much of, then it does get easier. Then when you eat that food again, not only does it taste better, but you actually may find yourself wanting less of it. You won't feel like you are "dieting" because your healthy eating is simply a new behavior now. That food that was once an "all the time food" even if you knew it was not doing a lot of good for your body is now in your more appropriate "sometimes food" category.
On a final note, think of something that you love and make an effort to take care of. It could be your house, your vehicle, maybe your clothes. If you had to have that same house/car/clothes for the rest of your life, wouldn't you take special care of it? Doesn't your body deserve to be treated even better?
No comments:
Post a Comment