Physical Health

When we think of our physical health, we think of how we look on the outside. This is tricky because I have always looked “thin”. Thin doesn’t mean healthy! I know plenty of people that have been thin and also have had major heart disease, high cholesterol, even people with anorexia are thin and that’s not healthy. Our physical health is more than meets the eye.

Food is a part of physical health. What are we fueling our bodies with? Is it life giving foods or more processed foods? Can our bodies run well on processed foods? These are some questions that we should ask ourselves when we are consuming food throughout our day. I can “look”healthy on the outside, however I might be eating tons of saturated foods and on the inside not healthy at all.

Our bodies need a lot of good, healthy fats. These include coconut, olive oil, avocados, flaxseed, chia seeds etc. We don’t need the Saturated fats like donuts, french fries, fried chicken, etc.

We need cholesterol. There are 2 types: HDL and LDL.
Cholesterol is great for making vitamin D which is useful to the body, it makes hormones, it builds cell structure by forming cell membranes, builds a strong, healthy nervous system etc. This is an area that we must strive to keep in balance and follow-up in our health.

How do we keep our body in great physical shape? Here are a few ideas:

  • Eat a variety of foods-Don’t eat the same 5-10 foods, but get out there and find some new healthy foods to try. Eat the colors of the rainbow.
  • Maintain your ideal body weight. What is your ideal body weight? Figure out your goal and write down ways to achieve that goal OR maintain it.
  • Use exercise to keep your metabolism high. Some people eat a lot and never gain a pound, while others eat a little and gain. One way to try and balance this is to build muscle. Exercise and our eating habits can influence our metabolic rate.
  • Eat plenty of fiber! Our goal is to eat 25-35 grams a day. Most Americans only consume 10-15 grams a day. YIKES -that’s scary! That was me before learning more about health. Fiber acts as a broom carrying away unwanted waste in your body. FIBER may decrease your risk of some types of cancer. Keep track of your Fiber consumption for a day and see how you’re doing in this area.
  • Eat less sugar. Sugar seems to be in everything these days. Sugar is hidden in many foods. Some common names of sugar are Nutra Sweet, Splenda, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Cane sugar and the list goes on.
  • Eat less sodium. Table salt is not healthy. A great alternative might include Himalayan salt or sea salt. The goal is to do less sodium. Salt is in everything that is processed so we are usually getting enough, however we are low in IODINE. I will write a whole blog post on Iodine.
  • Eat less Saturated Fat: fried foods. Fried zucchini isn’t that great after all! lol
  • Avoid smoking!
  • Drink Water-Lots and lots of water *the key here is to drink half of our body weight in ounces.
  • Avoid Stress Eating- We all live busy lives these days. Try not to eat on the run because when we eat fast our bodies can’t digest the food adequately. We also make poor food choices when we are in an emotional state. Instead of eating take a walk.

Let’s change our lifestyle with HABITS instead of fad diets, or sacrificing food then splurging.

Food is a source of nutrition and is not our enemy. Can I still have fun with food and socialize? YES! Let’s learn how to do this together.

What has man done to our food source? We, Americans, spend 42 billion dollars a year on weight loss products.

It has been found that 44% of people diet and 95% of those people will regain the weight that they’ve lost. WHY? Because a diet is a diet, but when we change our LIFESTYLE then those changes STAY!

I remember when my husband and I were just beginning this new, healthier lifestyle. We walked around and around the store trying to figure out what to eat because we first decided to remove all of the hydrogenated foods. Sadly, this was MOST of what we ate, anything in a box, if it wasn’t in a box or package then we didn’t buy it. This new lifestyle WILL take time and energy at first to get your meals planned and to figure out some new ways to cook and prepare food.

YOU are WORTH it! YOU, too CAN do this! Believe that you CAN!

 

Healthy Living Chick

 

 

 

Source:

Boe, Susan. Total Health: Choices for a Winning Lifestyle. Colorado Springs: Purposeful Design, 2005. Print.