Every Monday Matters-Monday 05

This Monday's task is the biggest and toughest yet-eat healthy. Sandwiched as it is between Super Bowl Sunday (chips & dip) and Fat Tuesday (pacszis*) the timing seems nothing short of mean. But, I'm committed.

We all know the stats:

-79% likelihood exists that an overweight child will become an overweight adult
-75% of all adults don't eat the recommended daily 5 servings of fruits and vegetables
-snack consumption by children has increased 300% from 20 years ago
-$50 billion spent on weight loss aids and diet foods every year yet obesity is still increasing

So what to do?

First, I would say you have to be realistic. What is eating healthy? To drop all sugar and processed foods for example would likely just be setting myself up to fail. (And really isn't the way I want to live either.) Choosing smaller, more doable things seems like a smarter idea especially since I'm closer to struggling to keep my pants up than fitting into them and, though I face many health challenges, high blood pressure and diabetes are not among them.

For me personally the challenge is twofold-laziness and budget. I live alone and am frequently not as motivated as I should be to prepare the good stuff when it's just me. Far easier to just make a bowl of oatmeal and or pop in a frozen dinner call it good. I don't often do fast food but that doesn't mean I'm always getting the 3 healthy squares I should and budget goes hand in hand with this in an insidious way. You can get an entire combo meal at a fast food restaurant for half of what you pay for a salad. It's backasswards to say the least.

So what am I going to do? Three things:

-drink more water
-limit snacking (getting some quality desk snacks for work is key here)
-aim for the 5 a day, every day with fruits & veggies (I won't get there every day but I'll be better for the striving)

Unlike the previous weeks this one can't be checked off after just a day, it'll be an ongoing challenge.



*Fat Tuesday is when Detroit's Polish population has its day in the sun. Pacszis are a traditional Polish pastry (think a jelly doughnut with double the lard that eats like a hockey puck with filling) eaten on Fat Tuesday as a last sweet hurrah before Lent.