Getting rid of some junk

“If we're not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn't settle for junk food.”
 ~Sally Edwards

Week #10

If you read my blog last week you know I am determined to eat more healthy foods. But I must say, I am finding it a challenge to get in all the fruits and vegies from my list of 20 healthiest foods. I can see that I will need to be more intentional as I plan my menus.   I’ve decided that since it’s hard enough to get the good stuff down, I might want to consider extending my small steps to decreasing some bad stuff.   So, I will continue to increase my intake of healthy foods, but I’ll also decrease some foods that don’t provide any health benefits at all.   The first two things that come to my mind are soda pop and potato chips. 

Did that get your attention! Not only do these two items not provide any health benefits, they’ve also been associated with really bad health problems; diabetes, tooth and enamel decay, strokes, and even cancer.  I suggest you do some research for yourself to make sure you know what you're putting in your body.  When I think about it…what good reason would I have to keep this junk food in my diet?

Now, let me just take a minute to remind you that this is what I’m doing for me… it certainly doesn’t mean that I expect you to do the same.  You should be thinking of your own ideas.  In fact I’d love to hear from you about the small steps you are planning for your life.

Whether you choose to go along with my idea, or come up with your own, we’ll need to set ourselves up to be successful.  And in order for me to be successful with this small step, I think I need to allow myself one serving a week of both the chips and the soda.  I’ll do better if I have a specific limit and if I also allow for reality.  The good news for me regarding the sodas is that I enjoy drinking iced tea and tea is on my top ‘100 healthy foods’ list…so rather than sucking down a soda, I can enjoy a nice glass of cold iced tea or water (with fresh squeezed lemon in it!). 

This week I discovered the best way for me to add more fruits and vegies in my diet is to add them at lunch time.  ( since I typically already eat vegetables for dinner).  I found that if I’m enjoying a bowl of minestrone soup chucked full of vegetables, or eating a crisp spinach salad, or having chilled tuna on whole wheat crackers and raw vegies…then I don’t really feel the need to eat chips. It’s when I have a sandwich for lunch; then I feel like my meal isn’t complete without those salty, crunchy, grease laden, unhealthy partners.  So I’ll try to stick with soups and salads for lunch, at least until I’ve detoxed off the chips.

You know, the truth is….If I want to be better at 61 than I am at 60, I need to jettison some of my junk along my journey.

Small steps: Trash some junk food
Cut out the potato chips (no more than one serving per week) 
Cut out the soda (no more than one soda each week)