The Angels Weekly

We all know living a healthy life style is good for our body and minds. Deciding to make that change and creating a healthy meal plan is the first step. Trying to find a health plan that will fit into our ever increasing busy schedules has become very difficult and overwhelming with more diets and supplements and point systems hitting the market.

I recently sat down and googled “healthy eating” and was bombarded with 24,7000,000 results for my inquiry, I have to say I was amazed. Since there is so much conflicting information so readily available to us on what to eat, what not to eat, and what is true and what isn’t. One can only wonder where to start.

National Nutrition Month was created just for these questions and also to raise awareness for people to look beyond the confusion and focus on facts. Some misconceptions of healthy eating are, there is a good or bad time to eat, you have to avoid all carbs to lose weight, and you will never be allowed to eat another sweet again. These statements are false. The plain simple truth of living healthy is making better choices for ourselves and knowing our own bodies. Putting together a plan for yourself is as easy or hard as you make it. Always remember PORTIONS, PORTIONS, PORTIONS! You do not need to stuff yourself to feel satisfied.

Our bodies need to be nourished about every 2-3 hours to get the proper balance, so start by picking a day that you are less likely to be running around like crazy. Begin by charting out what you will eat during the week, I usually do this on Monday morning and cook my meals for the week. There is a lot to be said for bringing your lunch and snacks with you, such as the money you will save! Take into consideration what time you wake in the morning, and start your first meal within that hour, for example; if you wake at 6am try to eat by 6:45am it could consist of a bowl of cheerios a small banana and a hard-boiled egg. Again 2-3 hours later munch on a small snack such as yogurt or fruit and so on throughout the day. It does not matter if you eat up 7 times a day with your last snack being 2 hours before bed including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. By doing this you are providing your body with the substance that it needs. If you forget about a meal all is not lost, just continue on to your next meal.

A good piece of advice is to get rid of the soda (diet also) and caffeine drinks, they add no nutritious value at all, in fact these types of drinks actually dehydrate you more than you realize, and there is no substitute for water. For those who just can not drink plain water, they do have little powered fruit packs that you can mix with your water, but be aware of what the sugar content is, anything over 6 grams of sugar is just defeating the purpose.

Finally after you have tried and tweaked your plan to fit your personal schedule, be sure to reward yourself. I have a friend who takes one day a week and rewards herself with a “cheat day” which I think is fabulous! This gives her something to look forward to all week long.

Although eating healthy is a start to living healthy, it’s just that, a start. Our bodies also need physical activity. A good way to begin slowly is by altering the little things you do, such as opting for the stairs instead of the elevator or going for a walk after dinner instead of watching TV. In doing this, you will notice a difference in the way you think and feel, and your body will thank you for it.

Namaste!
Nikki McCarthy

by: Nikki McCarthy

Tags: diet, eating right, healthy eating, healthy meal plan, National Nutrition Month, snacks

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