Loving Simplicity...

What comes to mind when you think about simplicity? Do you value simplicity in your life, or does your life feel hectic and rushed? Simplicity is something I've come to appreciate more and more in recent years. This morning in my reading I came across a description of daily activities that I really enjoyed; it was "eat, sleep, play, and exercise." But not just any "eating, sleeping, playing, and exercising" will do - it must be simple.

Eating simply means eating clean! Eat foods that you can recognize the ingredients. I promise you, it takes much less prep in the kitchen than you can imagine, and you feel so much better for eating this way. This has a trickle down effect for making your grocery list simpler too.

Sleeping simply means going to bed at a reasonable hour so you can get at least 8 hours sleep. You'll certainly appreciate this in the morning!

Playing simply means do things you enjoy with people you love and enjoy spending time with. Make sure you have some quality "down time" to enjoy the world around you.

Exercising simply means get moving! (You can check out some of my previous blog posts for exercise ideas if you need help getting started with a routine.) Believe me, if you're eating and sleeping better, you'll have plenty of energy for working out. This can double as "play time" if you do it with your spouse, friends, or family.

Sometimes all we need to alleviate stress is to say "no" to the wrong things and "yes" to the right things. So go "eat, sleep, play, and exercise" and live simply, enjoying life and those around you on the way!

Food, Survival, and Thriving

"All businesses must be mindful of how operating costs affect the bottom line, and food companies may be under a greater burden than most, since American grocery shoppers and fast-food eaters have become deeply attached to the idea of inexpensive food. The amount we pay for our food has declined dramatically over the last six decades, from 20.5 percent of disposable income in 1950 to now 9.8 percent." (Pandora's Lunchbox, Melanie Warner, p.6)

I have begun reading Pandora's Lunchbox this week, and when I read the above statement towards the beginning of the book, I did a double-take and read it again. Then again, and then one more time just for good measure. I had been assuming that spending more on groceries was a new struggle we had due to our fast paced culture, inflation, food shortages - any number of factors really. What I realized even more in my reading this week was how our culture has shifted to come firmly behind the idea that food should be cheap and easy all the time, and that spending more money on food must mean there is a problem.

I am not a stranger to researching and learning how the fast-food industry has changed our cultural expectations for meals, having read books such as Fast Food Nation, among many others. Nor am I a stranger to understanding the role of processed food and preservatives in disease causation, and the role of exercise and nutrition for disease prevention, having paid handsomely to be able to have the title of "Master of Science" appear behind my name as an Exercise Physiologist. But what I had never thought of before was that perhaps my expectations for the amount of money I spent on food were unrealistic. 

My husband and I spend approximately 20% of our annual income on groceries in our attempt to have quality nutrition at every meal. We have continued to do this even though we now live on 1/2 the income we did when we were first married. I had always thought this was in part due to the fact that groceries were "just so expensive," and often felt frustrated about spending so much money on quality foods. But now, after reading further in Pandora's Lunchbox, it appears that even as recently as six decades ago, spending 20% of your annual income on food was considered normal.

Hmmm... Now I don't feel as bad...

And really, if you think about it, doesn't this make sense? Why do we want our food sources to be "cheap" and "inexpensive" when that is the main thing that keeps us alive? If food is cheap and inexpensive all the time, it means that it's been mass produced, processed, chemically altered, and not real food in the same sense that a chicken breast or a sweet potato is a real (and recognizable) food.

So now...I'm going to keep moving forward with my same convictions and purchasing real, quality food, but this time without any frustration associated with doing so. My hope in writing this particular entry is to encourage you to do the same, and feel good about buying the quality food that you need to survive. 

No, not just survive, but thrive in your health, and feel better than you ever have before!

Wellness and Worry

Do any of you ever struggle with worrying? I know I certainly do at times! Although there are many ways of working through that struggle, I have found recently that the food I eat affects how I handle worrisome thoughts. I know that sounds really weird right?!! Yet it is very true.

As part of a treatment plan for a medical condition I have, my doctor encouraged me to cut out wheat, dairy, and sugar, which I begrudgingly did at first. Not fun, but I did it. She also told me that I was hypoglycemic, which was news to me! If you don't know what hypoglycemia is, it means that blood sugar can dip too low throughout the day. To combat this, it is important to eat every couple of hours, making sure to get a good combo of healthy protein, fat, and veggies at each snack.

The more I ate this way, carefully following all my doctor's instructions, I realized I was able to think more clearly than I had in years. As a result, when I faced a temptation to worry about something, I was able to clearly identify what was causing my worry, and whether it was something I even needed to be concerned about. Additionally, I could clearly remember things I had committed to memory to help relieve worrisome thoughts; things like Scripture verses, proverbs, or quotes. I could think pretty clearly to also pray at the time of worry - these were all things that I struggled to remember to do previous to drastically changing my eating habits.

It was quite the revelation that what I was eating and the timing of meals throughout my day could have such a profound effect on spiritual and mental clarity. As I was realizing and reflecting on these things that had changed in me, I came across an article that affirmed the things I was seeing (Alternative Approaches to Dealing with Anxiety). It discussed (among other options) how diet can affect anxiety, and how cutting out refined carbs and sugar, preservatives, and artificial colorings and flavors can relieve anxiety. The author even mentioned how hyper- or hypoglycemia can increase anxiety in us!

So why do I bring this all up? If worry is a stressor for you, the way you eat may be a way to help relieve some of what you feel! You might just be amazed how simple changes can have complex and long term benefits for your health.