Bon Appétit

 

Aside from exercising, to adopt a fully new healthy lifestyle I knew I had to change a few things. For me living healthy means physically, mentally and spiritually. I was focused on the physical aspect at the moment so I thought I should get started working on my eating habits. Granted I wasn’t eating horribly, but I definitely needed to do a lot better. 

 I had stopped eating at fast food restaurants years ago. I used to love McDonalds like loads of people and would do Burger King now and then but I learned that these foods are just not good for you at all. The information is out there and easily accessible on the internet and there are loads of books with the scientific evidence if you need to take it that far. I had also stopped eating fried foods long ago as well. I was in my late 30’s when my doctor told me that at the moment there wasn’t any real concern but if I continued doing what I was doing it could become a problem. My cholesterol was a bit high and he also said my liver was polluted as I was a heavy drinker at the time. He said again there was nothing to be concerned about at the moment, but it could become a problem which was enough for me. My liver had some spotting. This all shook me enough to quit drinking and eating fried foods as well as fast foods so I at least had that going for me but I still indulged in a variety of junk foods. I consumed way to much dairy and processed meats. I also barely ate any fruits or vegetables so I had plenty of room for improvement. 

 I had done a bit of research, read a number of different articles and books. I’ll tell you it can be so confusing when it comes to trying to choose which way to go when it comes to eating healthy. I pretty much came to the conclusion that I was going to do as I was doing with the working out. I was going to keep it simple, ease into it and I wasn’t going to follow any specific diet plans. I was already trying to drink more water so the first thing I decided to do, was to add freshly squeezed lemons to my morning water. I basically filled like a 12 oz cup with room temperature water and squeeze an entire lemon into it adding a few slices into the glass to top it off. I would chug it before I did anything else. I still had my morning coffee just after my water. I then would drink plain water throughout the day mostly room temperture. Drinking a glass of lemon water daily has a lot of health benefits, more than I would have ever imagined. I will create a post just on this in the next day or so be sure to look for it.

 I am not really a breakfast person never have been. I am more the cup of coffee in the morning type. If I was hungry I would of course whip something up but for the most part I would start my eating days with lunch. I would eat dinner and more often times than not ended up eating something for a night snack. So I thought that since I was working out early in the morning, maybe it would be a good idea to eat a healthy breakfast afterwards. Sounded like a good start to me. 

 I luckily know my way around the kitchen. As a kid I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my moms so yea some things stuck with me. I was also a single parent for a few year raising my daughter so I had to cook. After my daughter went off on her own I pretty much stopped cooking except for the occasional frozen pizza or chicken and rice. I ate a lot of chicken and rice because it was quick and easy. So I decided I would look up a few recipes and just try what ever looked good, what ever looked like it would be fun to make and try. Simple enough. Note: if you don’t know your way around the kitchen it would be a good idea to learn. It’s fun and can be very therapeutically relaxing. With the internet and youtube videos there is just no excuse for not giving it a go.

 I didn’t want to become or be a vegetarian. I also didn’t want to go full on vegan. I just wanted to adopt a healthier lifestyle. I have a number of friends that are vegan and vegetarian it’s great, for them. I just wanted to explore, find what I like, try different things and create my own lane. I like looking up recipes, and not following them to the letter. I would add stuff, keep some things out and just make it my own. Following diets and diet plans can be such a drag that’s why so many people fail at it. They get overwhelmed, discouraged you name it. This is exactly why I decided to follow the same path as I did with working out. Just get in the kitchen and cook something healthy. No counting calories, no counting carbs none of that just eat better period. 

 I am not going to post recipes well may some but I will definitely share some stories about my cooking adventures and I will also share some pictures of the dishes I came up with. I made it fun and continue to do so till this day. I will create some posts about different foods, fruits and vegetables and what their health benefits are. Reading up on say, the health benefits of eating a red bell pepper blew me away. I just never knew what the benefits are. Sure moms used to say eat you veggies they are good for you but seriously, when you actually look up what each fruit and vegetable is actually good for, it makes you want to eat more of them especially in this day and age when multiple health problems are running rampant. Eating right can save your life and can also add years to it or it can unfortunately do the opposite.