What you do, or what you don't?

In mental nutrition there is this underlying battle with "I should eat this," or "I shouldn't eat this." Alas you forget you must eat something to sustain your existence if you don't eat this you'll need to eat something. So what will that something be?

I have been asked, "Can I drink iced coffee? What's bad about it? Like, I don't want to get fat, so I don't drink too much. Is the caffeine going to kill me? What are the immediate problems?" The short sightedness of the impact of nutrition is a whole other topic.

Am I right to say that when we are talking about "bad foods" like sweets and chocolates we join the don't eat group. But when we are talking about the do eat group it's healthier items? There seems to be this big categorization of do's and don'ts when it should be a sliding scale of rarely to more often.

When you are looking at nutrition though, it's a big picture. You may start a gluten-free diet (avoiding foods that contain gluten - a protein found in many grain products) because your friend did it and it helped them lose weight. The reason they are losing weight may not be because they are not eating gluten, but it may be because they are eating more vegetables and less simple sugars (sweets, candies).

That's one of the hard issues with changing your diet, is it is rarely just changing one thing. Even if you are solely making the change that you are not eating chocolate, now you will find something else to eat for dessert (maybe fruit). And your awareness of what you eat increases because you've made the goal of no chocolate. You may even use the sentence, "Well, I'm not eating chocolate so I can eat ________."

So this was just a thought I figured I would share. For you, is it what you eat or what you don't eat? Is your glass half empty or half full? Has it worked for you to become healthier or would changing your thinking change your health?

Let me know what you think!

-Eat Wise

"I Hate Vegetables"

If this is you, what do you do?

Let me say right off the bat that eating a vegetable doesn't make you a vegetarian and you can eat meat and vegetables... together. This isn't going to be a post to tell you to stop eating meat and only eat nutritional yeast, rhubarb and Greek yogurt. And now, with that out of the way!

You know that fruits and vegetables are good for you with all their micronutrients (vitamins/minerals) and the fiber keeps you "regular" (pooping). You may or may not know that back in the day British sailors were called limey's because they had to suck on limes (for vitamin C) when on voyages to avoid scurvy. Regardless, this is a new day and age. You're not going on 2 week/year long sailing voyages where you only eat hard tack and whatever you catch off the side of your boat.

Do you force yourself to eat that stuff if it tastes like medical waste?

But the older you get the worse it tastes, you don't know how long you can keep doing this.... so you don't keep doing it.

But you know you're supposed to. You've gotta keep trying. So now you're eating fruit snacks from "real fruit," packing celery with peanut butter and raisins, and gnawing on baby carrots in your cubicle hoping the crunch isn't as loud to everyone else as it is to you.

But it's not working. 

AND you just get mad and you're an emotional eater so you really just gain weight when you eat vegetables because it is so stressful because you know you are supposed to but it's gross but you do it but you hate it.

Okay, so now what?

First, if this is you chill out. I know it's hard but you've got to calm down. You will not die tomorrow if you don't eat a celery stalk today. You're not going to croak if you avoid the asparagus.

Honestly, there are a lot of people who don't eat fruits and vegetables. They are still alive! I would say look at where you are at and take one step to be better. If you don't like fruits because they smell but you are willing to try, think about eating canned fruit (mandarin oranges). If you don't think you can do vegetables because they are just too dense and you chew for too long, try it juiced or in a smoothies. If you like pasta try making your own tomato sauce with real tomatoes. 

Maybe eat fajitas/tacos with more vegetables. 

A good thing to keep in mind is to try something new with something you like. Don't just order something "because you're supposed to." Then you will resent food and believe it of not their is a lot of psychology involved in what and how we eat. If you are trying to increase your vegetables intake instead of just steak and potatoes, try steak and sweet potatoes, steak and butternut squash, or steak and a side salad. Life is not about forcing yourself to eat "what is right." 

You have to find what is right for you. 

I like Brussels sprouts cooked with bacon. 

Just a reminder you don't have to be a vegetarian to eat vegetables.

What are some things you have tried to increase vegetable intake?

Let me know what you think!

- Eat Wise

The Beginnings

This Blog may be a journey, for me and for you. I guess I should have created some mission statement or vision for this blog. In reality I just wanted a place to ramble and create discussion on health. Not the "eat this, not that" kind of health (though I can help with that), but a broad conversation. Hopefully this will inspire people to move within their community to help other, whether it be through volunteering, seeing a need and finding a way to meet it, or helping your company adopt some cause.

I guess my thoughts are that the healthy inside of you makes a healthier outside of you. Yes I am working on a Masters in Nutrition but I am a striving faithful follower of Christ. If you don't believe in him that is fine, we all have our own personal beliefs and I will respect you and ask you do the same. That being said, I believe that the healthy inside of you is not just what nutrients are absorbed into your intestinal lining via microvilli but also your mental status, your behaviors, and your adherence to your own personal moral code.

I may be a closet hippie that hasn't discovered it yet but I think life is just too busy sometimes. Go on a walk with someone and just be still. Take time to think when you aren't required too. That is when you learn something. 


Let me know what you think!

- Eat Wise