Health: Balancing your Health Part I, Food Choices

What are some ways small changes can help find balance and health over a lifetime?

Earlier we discussed how different people can view health differently and that there are many ways people can make small changes to find balance and health over a lifetime. Remember we are running a marathon so these are lifestyle changes not quick fixes. We require regular check-ups and tune ups like the vehicle to maintain our balance, energy, and health for years to come. The goal is to make these small changes to help find a healthy balance of mind, body, and spirit. I have struggled with this early on in our family, however, time has helped make us wiser through trial and error to find what works best for us to meet this lifestyle change. The first change we will address is the choice of food we make everyday.

Food Choices

The average American diet is high in calories from fat, sugar, and are not always the most nutritious meals. Our bodies require a certain amount of vitamins/minerals/fiber/nutrition in order to function properly. With that being said, depending on our height, weight, sex, and age; we also need a certain amount of calories per day just to feed our body's tissues and cells in order to function properly. We need a minimum amount of calories to function, but we need enough to keep us healthy without taking in too many calories. Balance and moderation come into play here again.

In order for the car to run, we must have enough gas, oil, and parts to allow the car to run effectively with the most efficient gas mileage. Different things such as type of tires, type of gas, type of oil, flushing out the lines, and ability of the parts to function properly allow the car to run without problems. We may not take our car for regular check-ups and oil changes and it may run fine - for awhile. Then, all of a sudden, one day the car will start acting up or may not even start resulting in a check-up that may result in many dollars, time, and headache that could've been avoided with regular check-ups. The same is true with our body.

We will get what we put into it. If we eat junk, eventually we will operate at that junky level. We may function, but not optimally. We will eventually get to a point where years of poor diet will affect our health through the development of chronic or acute medical conditions and even death from things like a heart attack or stroke. If we eat nutritiously we will be healthier, feel better, have more energy, and function at a more optimal level. Can health problems still occur? Yes, sometimes our genetics and other factors predispose us to conditions. Jay and I have had this balancing act for years. When we were younger (less seasoned) parents we ate whatever we wanted and didn't think anything of it. Now that we have been getting older (more seasoned) we see that was not the best idea and have had to change our eating habits to better our health with the purpose of preventing conditions or disease later on in life. Eating healthier will lower risks for the development of these conditions in combination with other changes we will discuss in the future. How can we do this? Stayed tuned for the next blog to see how we accomplish this lifestyle change. 

PRAISE. ENCOURAGE. STAY POSITIVE. FOCUS. PURPOSE. LIFESTYLE.