Drive to be Healthy

What motivates you to be healthy?

I have been on a quest to give my husband and daughter healthy food selection at home. Why? More than the reason of being overweight, I realized the following:

1. Our daughter wants to eat pretty much anything we munch on
2. It would be difficult for patients to adhere to our recommendations about having a healthy lifestyle
3. Easy fatigability

 

Despite these reasons, I have given myself several excuses such as:

1. I have no maid and I do all the chores: A drive thru or take out is easier.
2. Playing with my child consumes my time: Frying hotdogs, spam, and instant noodles are  easier to prepare.
3. My child is a picky eater: I don't have to deal with my daughter being "picky" when I offer sweets and chocolates, etc.
4. I love ice cream, cakes and chocolates

 

If you can relate, then by now you will realize this: THERE IS NO FORMULA FOR TRANSFORMATION.

The ANSWER lies in a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. It has to be a change of heart and mind attitude to change the way we live. And this principle is not only applicable to HEALTH, but also with WEALTH.

Truth is, you and I can find a lot of reasons to be healthy. But here is the most important PRINCIPLE of HEALTH: Principle of SOWING and REAPING

God says in Galatians 6:7 New International Version (NIV)

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

We are fooling ourselves when we expect to be healthy and don’t take care of our body. What we reap is what we sow.

 

Another key word is: STEWARDSHIP

God says in 1 Corinthians 6:19

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself

You and I are stewards of our body AND our children. It is important that we model a healthy lifestyle to our children because MORE IS CAUGHT THAN TAUGHT.

 

It's time you and I start being faithful with what God has given us. Here are some of what I have learned about the principles on healthy eating:

 

1- Complete Meals

• Let your plate consist of the following: Fruits, Vegetables, Protein and Carbohydrates. Have all these components on your plate simply because they have different functions that are essential for daily living. Fruits and Vegetables are regulatory food, Protein is body building food and carbohydrates are energy food. Your vegetables should be 80% garden salad and 20% Cooked vegetables.
• Don’t skip Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

 

2- Proper Amount

• Don’t do equal portions, instead follow PROPORTIONS:

1 portion per meal is equal to

Fruits =  your fist

Vegetables = your curved wide open hand

Protein = your fist

Carbohydrates = your cupped hand

 

3- Proper Sequence

• FRUITS and Fiber food first instead of at the end of the meal. WHY? As i mentioned earlier, fruits and vegetables are known as regulatory food. They slow down carbohydrate digestion and sugar absorption therefore promoting gradual rise in blood sugar levels. This will also prevent you from eating more. Note: helpful tip among diabetics

 

4- Proper Timing

• Take time to chew your food; don’t gobble it all down immediately. Studies show it takes 20 minutes of eating to feel satiety.

 

5- Healthy Choices

• Choose Organic for fruits and Vegetables.
• For proteins choose:

Plants (beans, nuts, legumes)

Fish (from the sea, with scales, small)

Poultry (native chicken, boiled eggs (1-2/day)

Grass fed (goat, cow)

Cooking method:

Steamed

Boiled (nilaga, sinigang, etc)

Coconut milk (gata)

• For carbohydrates choose:

Rice (unpolished)

Root crops (camote, cassava, ube, gabi, potato)

Whole grain (cereals, bread)

Corn and Squash

 

I hope this has been helpful to you all. Let us live according to our God given standard of living today 🙂