My Secret

The other day my sister told me that she was going out to get some lunch and she was kind enough to ask me if I wanted her to bring me anything back. “They have great soup”, she told me. “Yeah, soup sounds good”, I replied. “I’ll take any kind they have as long as it’s not cream based.” She looked and sounded puzzled by my response and said, “You’re joking right?” No, I wasn’t joking. “Why, don’t you like cream based soups?” The remainder of the conversation was me explaining that it wasn’t that I didn’t like cream-based soups it was just that I was opting for a healthier choice. Overall, I’m easy to please when it comes to food. As a matter of fact I haven’t found too many foods that I don’t like. Give me a bowl of lobster bisque and I’m in heaven. But here’s the deal. I don’t eat lobster bisque every time I see it on a menu.

It’s usually when I decline desert that many of my friends will tell me, “Oh, c’mon Brenda, you can afford it. Look at you!” It’s this comment that confirms for me that the way I think about food is so different from many of the people I know.

When I was younger the only thing that determined whether or not I would have a piece of cake was how tight my jeans felt that day! Of course if I had worn the jeans the day before and they were stretched out giving me a bit more breathing room I would opt for the cake. Then I had a shift in my thinking. I started to learn about what certain foods do for my body, how they affect my overall well-being and the importance of an active lifestyle.

So here’s the secret to making healthier choices. Are you ready? The secret is to have a consciousness about what you’re eating and why and planning to incorporate daily activity in your life. So where do you start? You start by asking questions of qualified professionals. Seek out reading material. Begin to feed your mind so that you can make educated decisions rather than base your decisions on the hottest news story or the latest fad diet being marketed.

Here are a few places to get you started.

• Of course the Lighten the Load website is a great place to ask questions. Visit the “Ask our Experts” page.
• Get a subscription to the Nutrition Action Healthletter. This is fabulous publication that accepts no advertising so the information contained within it isn’t swayed by advertisers. Go to www.cspinet.org.
• Visit the American College of Sports Medicine website at www.acsm.org . There is a ton of information on this website but don’t get overwhelmed you will find resources there for the general public.

So now that I’ve given you a few of my favorite places for information, I’d love to learn about your favorite places. What or who do you currently rely on for information regarding exercise, health and food? And finally, when was the last time that you were faced with a decision about food and you didn’t know what was the healthier choice?