Food - Part II

I'm sure we'll have more conversations on food. But yesterday I started off by saying I have a love/hate relationship with food but didn't elaborate as to why. Food is a challenge for me. Trying new things is amazing and I love it. However, once I try something new, I have to wait to see if I have an allergic reaction to any of it. It seems as I've gotten older, my once tough interior has seemed to become sensitive. What frequently happens is at home or when I go out, we go to the same places and I order the same things because I consider them "safe" if I didn't have a reaction. But this can be viewed as a good thing because I'm so in tune with my body and my system. Now don't get me wrong, there are times I break from my norm, but I pay for it later. For example, it's Easter season so what's at every checkout? Home made Easter eggs by good church people. How I love these sugar filled pieces of culinary delight. The mere fact of taking a bite and feeling the trickle of peanut butter, coconut, or butter cream mixed with chocolate run through my mouth and down my throat filling my body with ooey gooey goodness. Sigh... That's such a great picture and yes I do that. Rare, but I there are times. When I do eat these, I feel it. I get a headache, feel lethargic, and downright awful.

Hence, rises the question: Is it okay to be bad? In my world, yes. We want to eat healthy and be healthy. There are times when life gets the best of us. Remember though, it's ok to have an indulgence once and awhile but don't binge! There's a difference. You can have a burger and fries or chocolate (we will talk all about chocolate soon) but portion it into your daily diet.

With the internet and smart phones there are many ways you can watch what you eat. My good friend Gail who's a health coach (http://www.nourishcoaching.com/) tells me she hates the word "diet." I can see that. When you here that word our brains go on high alert and walls come up. So we won't say the word. But we will say we watch what we eat for daily portioning. My app of choice is MyFitnessPal (also on the web too http://www.myfitnesspal.com/). Love it! It's not about losing weight as much as it is about being mindful to what we put into our pie hole. It also works well with other apps like MapMyWalk and FitBit (we'll talk about these later) to incorporate your walking or running. There are many other popular apps out there to help you without using "the" word.

Gail is right! No more (dare I say it?) DIETING! Eat to live. Enjoy life and embrace it. But do it smartly (is that a word).