Nutrition is the most important factor in living a healthy life! One of the things that I find amazing is the lack of knowledge about the importance of nutrition and food has in our lives. We have all heard the saying we are what we eat. This could not be truer.
The importance of nutrition in our society is relatively new. Take a moment and think about how you feel about the food you eat. Is your decision based on what taste good, or how it will make you feel and affect you in the future? If you are like most, you are thinking about satisfying your cravings and eating food that taste good, as opposed to what food choices are better for you and will make your life better! This is short term thinking (immediate gratification) as opposed to long-term thinking. I had hundreds of conversations with people about health and fitness and the majority of people are unaware of the importance of nutrition.
My purpose of writing this article is to give you knowledge so you can have some control over your health by making you aware of the food you eat and how it affects your life.
I want you to take a moment and think about food. What thoughts do you come up with? Is it what taste good?
Now take another moment and think about what the true purpose of food has in our lives? (Please post your thoughts on this one… I’m very interested?)
The true purpose of food is to provide us the things we need to survive. (energy, vitamins and nutrients, muscle rebuilding, and many other important functions in our bodies) Taste is something that makes food more enjoyable to experience. Taste does not serve a function for our survival; it simply makes the food more enjoyable. Taste is great until it influences us to make decisions to eat unhealthy foods that takes away our quality of life. Think about it… that food taste great when you are eating it, but you feel tired and sluggish after.
Food plays a huge role in the quality of our lives. When you are eating healthy, you feel better and have more energy. Let me say that again, WHEN YOU EAT HEALTHY YOU FEEL BETTER AND HAVE MORE ENERGY! Think about that from a quality of life stand point. Isn’t life a lot more enjoyable when you feel good? Think of it as a chain reaction: Eating healthy = more energy= being more positive= enjoying life more= better relationship with family= happier= = = = = . Imagine the possibilities!
The foods you eat can make a big difference in your life. I would like to encourage you to do some research on how food affects your health. You will be amazed at the amount of information out there to support the things that I am telling you.
Here are some ideas of where and how do you start eating healthy.
Educate yourself! Find an expert who can coach and teach you such as a Dietician or Nutritionalist. Go online and do some research on healthy eating. Find a book on Nutrition. Subscribe to a healthy eating magazine. Buy a healthy recipe book and make one healthy recipe a week… then at the end of one year you will have cooked 52 healthy recipes. These are all things that I teach my Santa Monica Personal Training Clients.
Your bodies want to be healthy, and when you make the choice to provide your body with nutrient rich healthy foods, you are putting health in you favor.
Think of eating healthy to create a healthy lifestyle as a puzzle. Your health and happiness are what you are trying to piece together. The pieces are the information and can be anywhere. For example: The pieces can be found on the internet, books, from professionals, magazines, friends, trying new things, etc…. You can find pieces everywhere! Always keep your eyes open, because you never know when you might find an important piece. This is the process of learning! (Apply it to anything you are trying to create).
Figure out what works for you. Remember we are all different. There is lots to lose and much to gain. It’s your choice.
Chris