It is time to take some more baby steps towards being healthy and achieving our optimal figure. Our first baby step was to drink water. Hopefully that baby step wasn’t too hard. For me, I fall in and out of graces with myself in that area. This is the time of the year we tend to back off, but actually it ought to be the time to focus more on staying hydrated. It is easy enough to guzzle the h2o when it is hot, because we have a natural thrist. In the winter, most of us stay inside more, and don’t stimulate our thirst with perspiration. So, while you are moving forward towards a healthier, leaner lifestyle, don’t forget that water is extremely important. Your body is over 60% water!
Most of the time it is much easier to motivate people to take action if it will save them money, or offer some value in return for their efforts. With this in mind, I am going to focus these baby steps on trimming the grocery budget, and sharing how longevity and vitality are of inestimable value.
We’ve already talked about how much it would save to replace sodas with water, right? Well cooking things ‘from scratch’ can save you exponentially. How? It will save at the grocery store, and in the long run, it will save your health. Almost everything we buy in a bag, box, or can (except on the organic isle) will have ingredients that are detrimental. I am going to list off some things to eliminate from your diet, but please implement the changes slowly. You’ll end up frustrated as you read labels, wondering if you’ll ever find anything to put in your buggy!

So here is the list (in no specific order):
MSG - monosodium glutamate
Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils
High fructose corn syrup
Sodium Benzoate
Nitrates
Aspartame
Sucralose - tm name Splenda
Parabens (in cosmetics, shampoos, lotions, anti-perspirants)
Food colorings with Red and Yellow being the worst

Each of these ingredients can be ‘googled‘. It won’t take long for you to discover why they are on the list of no-no’s when your goal is to get more healthy. A great book to read (or not so great, depending on how you look at it) is Excitotoxins. Another good book, that not only identifies the problems but offers positive solutions, is How to Survive on a Toxic Planet by Dr. Steve Nugent. Dr. Nugent has also written The Genetic Key Diet which is also a very interesting read.  

Eliminating all of the above ingredients all the time is nigh unto impossible. However, you can make it your goal to start choosing more wisely. Once you discover which brands and types of bread are made without high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil, you can swap and become accustomed to that change. Then start scoping out the things you buy in cans. I have found that only healthy request soups (other than organic brands) are without MSG and high fructose corn syrup. You can either choose to eliminate one ingredient at a time, or work your way down one isle at the time making changes.
How does cooking from 'scratch' fit into this? Well, consider the ingredients for making homemade mac&cheese: pasta, milk, butter, cheese, & flour. Next time you are in the store (if you don't have a box in the pantry), look at the ingredient list on the cheese flavoring for Kraft Mac&Cheese. The more we make from scratch, the more control we have over what goes in it, and it is almost always cheaper to cook it than it is to buy it pre-prepared.
I am not a tee-totaller. There are times we splurge, but they are exceptions rather than the rule. How we take care of our bodies will directly effect how long we live (unless we are hit by a Mack truck) and the quality of life we have.

Longevity and vitality were things I never dreamed of having. I watched too many family members die too young. They were miserable, drug dependent, and unhappy. The problems they suffered were by and large hereditary, and so, my wish was to die young via the Mack truck method. I wasn’t interested in following in their footsteps. Now, I am armed with knowledge that has set me free to enjoy life, pain free with more vibrance than I had 10 years ago. I don’t ever plan on being ‘over the hill‘, but I do plan to live until a ripe old age unless the Mack truck gets me first.  

Sharing Hope,

Dee Dee