Sunday, August 7, 2011

It's no fun being health conscious....or is it?

This weekend, I was reminded how nice it is to be mindful of what and how much I eat.
Being miserable for hours because you ate unhealthy food that just makes you feel sluggish, lazy and full totally isn't worth the short amount of bliss you get while eating it.

Do you believe that the pleasure you get from food is better than the pleasure you get from being in shape? I don't think so.

Here's an interesting tidbit for you:
Experts today recommend a diet full of whole grains but it didn't work so well for the Egyptians. Many had heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity - the same problems we face today - which is attributed to their low fat, high carbohydrate diet. And not even refined carbs, the primary staple was a coarse bread made of stone-ground, whole wheat. 
I go back and forth with the low carb thing. I really don't enjoy it but I know based on all the research I do about fat loss and health that we really do better when we limit them. Going low carb is hard, especially in this day and age where we are so busy and rushed and carbs are the simplest easiest way to feed ourselves. But it's worth the effort to try to back off from that habit.

Limiting the amount of carbs I eat is an ongoing struggle. I am trying to etch a path into my daily routine where I am mostly dependant on vegetables for most of my carbs and fiber, instead of the starchier choices. It is one of those habits that is taking a long time to take hold. Baby steps though, remember? I am trying. And one of these days, it will be like all the other good habits that I have formed.

Tomorrow starts a new week. And I hope I do just as good as I did last week! After these last two weekend days, I'm thinking I won't see much improvement on my measurements. That seems to be the way it goes for me. Monday through Friday I can be almost robotic in how strict I am with my diet. But Saturday and Sunday are always more relaxed. And that's ok, I guess. I'm still keeping my heart healthy by working out and eating healthy most of the time.

1 comment:

Amanda said...

hey charlotte! as usual you took the words right out of my brain re low carb way of life and weekend garbage grazing!!! i ate a few baddies on sunday, didnt drink as much water as normal and by sunday evening i felt blah. not overstuffed just blah! i wish healhy food sometimes tasted better and gave that satisfied feeling that bad foods give!!!! i watched US biggest loser on saturday night (not sure if you watch it) and they had a challenge where they ate up to 4,000 cals and with workouts they were still able to lose 4lbs that week so i'm not going to give up. here's to a great week xx