Functional Fitness: February 2010

Today my husband and I went out around Calgary to do some cheap furniture shopping and bounced from one Value Village to the next consignment store, wandering around, smiling at finds but eventually leaving empty-handed. In all the excitement, I didn't realize my creeping hunger that was steadily growing inside of my body (I'm a regular eater and my body is always clear when I'm getting low on fuel!). By the time we got home I was getting to the point of feeling on the verge of "I'm starved!" but dinner wasn't quite ready yet. So what did I do? Had a handful of chocolate-covered coffee beans. Then part of an apple. Then a cup of tea to try to quell the quivering inside. Good choices, or bad ones? Not listening to your body when it's telling you something is one of the worst things we can do to ourselves. We try to "just get through" to the next meal or "just finish up" that assignment or load of laundry before responding to our bodies needs.

In our fast-paced lives, many of us find ourselves running out of time to eat right (or sometimes even at all!) and don't always make the best decisions because we're on the go. Whether it's for reasons of inconvenience, laziness, or not knowing, there are many reasons why we neglect to take care of our bodies as it pertains to eating. Here are a few ways for us to incorporate healthy eating into our lifestyles and tips on how to avoid situations like I found myself in today!

#1. Remember the Magic 3: aim to eat 3 meals, have 3 snacks, and drink 3 L of water a day.

#2. Avoid all white foods: Be wary of foods like white rice, instant oatmeal, white sugar, and white flour. There are so many whole wheat and whole grain options now that finding substitutes is easy. Also, next time you want to cut calories, don't eat just the egg whites - contrary to popular thought, the yolk is packed with proteins, vitamin A, and fats necessary to absorb that vitamin A.

#3. Avoid artificial sweeteners. Go natural! Honey (the less processed, more local the better!) or molasses are much better options than fake sweeteners with aspartame and other harsh sugar substitutes.

#4. When grocery shopping, try to buy food that has less than 3 ingredients. This is hard to do, but the more real your food, the better! The less processed means the more original nutrients you'll get.

#5. Pre-plan meals for the week (and/or day). These choices aren't hard to make, they just take time and will become habit. The better you plan ahead, the better your results to stick with eating well!

#6. Keep a food journal. You'll be surprised at what you're really eating when you take the time to write down every handful of candy or extra bite of your kid's leftover macaroni! Writing down what you eat keeps you accountable for yourself and helps cut out extra empty calories.

And remember: your results will be slower if you're not eating healthy 80% of the time. You can do sit-ups until you're blue in the face and run on the treadmill until you can't run anymore, but if you're eating whatever you like before and after those workouts, it almost won't matter. Don't sabotage yourself! If you want to see real results and want to have more energy and be more positive throughout your days, what you eat will make all the difference.

It's a lifestyle change, so take small steps towards your goal of eating well to make it sustainable and not a 4-week-diet-mentality. Eat well, workout well, and live well. Here's to increasing your quality of life!

-bonnie