On My Soapbox

I try to encourage healthy eating habits in our household.  I am not perfect, nor are my children and husband when it comes to our eating habits.  We try harder than most families.  Well, I try harder than most families for my family.  If it were up to my family, they would eat big juicy steaks, hamburgers, french fries, hot dogs, fried chicken; the list goes on and on, instead of the choices I make for them.  So, thankfully, because of me; my children will be less likely to die of a heart attack any time soon.  


I love fried chicken and french fries as much as anyone else.  What I don't like is the definite health consequences that coincide with these choices.  Since my metabolism is not particularly favorable,  it makes it that much more important that I watch what I eat.  Not only do you & I need to eat in a manner that avoids clogging our arteries, you & I need to maintain a healthy weight to avoid such weight inflicted diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.  Those are two of the most commons consequences of obesity.  Read here for the lesser known diseases caused by obesity.

I've heard it a 1000 times.  It's expensive to eat healthy.  You are absolutely right, but it can be more  expensive in the long run if you don't eat healthy in terms of your health and medical expenses.  I've never had a medical procedure as a consequence of my weight, but I've spent enough time in the hospital, either for myself or one of the kids to know there aren't any cheap doctor visits, emergency room visits or surgery.  Even with insurance, I remember paying some hefty hospital invoices.  When I say hefty, I'm referring to ones that could have sent my entire family on week long vacations, bought a used car and so on.                                            


Also, if you are making unhealthy choices, you are also probably not controlling your portions.  This is one of the biggest changes you can do to assist in maintaining a healthy weight.  I know! We all grew up on big dinner plates and filling them from the middle out towards the edges.  Then, we were told to clear our plates; there are starving kids in Africa.  What law says you have to eat from a 10 inch plate?  Are you afraid your grandma will come knocking on your door and insist you eat all of meat loaf and potatoes from your big kid plate?  So, donate those 10 inch plates to Goodwill and only eat what you can reasonably put on a 6 inch saucer plate.  I promise, you won't starve.  


I'm sure you've heard it before; EAT LESS MOVE MORE!  This doesn't mean you have to survive off of  iceberg lettuce and water and run marathons.  As suggested above control your portions and find alternative hobbies.  Instead of the Saturday matinee, head to the local park and take a walk or go on a bike ride.   If it's imperative that you catch the latest episode of Law and Order, get a treadmill or stationary bike and run/pedal away while catching your latest flicks. There are many fun ways to get in the MOVE MORE of EAT LESS MOVE MORE.  


I'LL GET OFF MY SOAPBOX FOR NOW!