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NOW IT’S TIME FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE:

4 Simple Things to a Healthy Lifestyle…Common Sense but NOT Common Practice! 

(What follows are the basics from a workshop I have presented to schools, churches, Internal Medicine patients, and individuals who want to change their life!) 

For many years I struggled with my weight. In high school I had a bout of Anorexia and by college developed more Bulimic type behaviors and thought patterns. For more than a decade, my weight and emotions yo-yo’d. I tried all kinds of diet programs…some better than others, but all had one thing in common: a program I could not sustain for a lifetime. 

Today, I am 42 and more fit and healthy than I have ever been in my life. And, as many of you know, I am playing Professional Football! Geez, who’d a thought that…at 42 playing a tough, physically demanding sport after having two kids and being married for 18 years. I’ll tell you who…I did! I believed in what I could do after getting in the best shape of my life through these 4 simple principles. These are common sense but NOT common practice. 

PRINCIPLE #1: DIET AND HYDRATION You have to live the rest of your life NOT on a diet. What do I mean by that? You have to live the rest of your life NOT going on some program or pill until you reach your goal and then getting off it.  

Instead, you have to develop a LIFESTYLE diet that enables you to live each day without obsessing about food or being lazy and choosing fast food. You need lifestyle choices that give you a healthy relationship to food, steady weight loss if needed, and a body that functions well.  

This choice is commonly called ‘CLEAN EATING’. Clean eating involves basic healthy eating habits that are incorporated into your daily routine and provide the best foundation for what you want: a healthy body and a healthy relationship with food.  

Some of the basic principles of Clean Eating include:

1.   5 or 6 small meals everyday

2.   eating every 2.5 to 3 hours

3.   combining a lean protein (chicken) with a complex carbohydrate (broccoli) at every mea

l4.   never missing breakfast

5.   avoiding processed and refined foods6.   depending on fresh fruits and vegetables

7.   measuring portions until you grasp it

8.   water, water, water (2 to 3 liters a day depending on activity)

9.   no soda or other sugar laden or artificially sweeten drinks

10. carry a cooler throughout the day with healthy choices 

Did you know your diet is 80% of the key to having the body you want? No amount of exercise will reshape your body without the proper diet. And, genetics, like it or not, is usually not the cause of an out-of-shape and ill-nourished body.  

These are the basics of the Clean Eating which renew your body, enable it to function at it’s best, and revs up your metabolism to burn fat faster. You will not go hungry. Yes, it does require some planning and thought. But, it costs you nothing more than a grocery bill. And, there are no pre-packaged meals to buy or supplements that create expensive urine.  

There are many great professionals advocating ‘clean eating’. There is even a magazine called Clean Eating. It comes out quarterly and the latest edition just arrived in my mailbox this week. I love this magazine!! Each issue comes with 30 days of easy meals plus the grocery lists for those meals. What could be more fabulous than that? The latest issue offers up ‘safe’ cheesecake’, some ‘can’t go wrong meals for kids’, plus 7 stir-fry recipes under 400 calories.  

And, for all the Moms out there worried about how the kids will take this, trust me, it works fine and they will thank you! And, I can almost guarantee you’ll see a change in their demeanor and behavior. My son’s favorite meal: salmon or tilapia, or our own homemade healthy pizzas! 

Tosca Reno, the author of The Eat Clean Diet series says her daughter’s prefer their own food over McDonald’s, “We have eaten clean for six years now. It’s extremely rare that my daughter’s go to McDonald’s anymore, but if they do happen to go there the food always gives them a stomach ache afterwards. Their tummies have not been exposed to additives and grease, and so much garbage upsets their systems. They prefer to eat clean and always take their food with them in a cooler so they won’t go hungry or be tempted to eat junk on the run.” 

I can even attest to the tummy ache. Whenever I eat something that is not part of the clean eating, I tend to have an upset stomach…or, well, we won’t go there!

Reno’s books are a great resource for this lifestyle choice. She also has a website: www.eatcleandiet.com . Bob Greene is another author who has great advice for clean eating.

Maintaining hydration is a part of eating clean. You don’t want to wait until your thirsty to drink water. If you are thirsty, then it’s too late. Some folks have trouble discerning when they are thirsty. Some easy signs of thirst include headaches and feeling sluggish or tired. Other signs of dehydration include: irritability, blurred vision, flushed skin, lack of mental clarity, constipation, back pain, excess weight, cellulite, high cholesterol, and water retention. So see, just drink water and you may find relief for many of the symptoms you struggle with on a daily basis! I can’t encourage water enough!!

Eating clean and hydrating properly with water sounds simple but is it easy? Yes! I have been eating this way for about 5 years now and I have never felt better in my life. It does require some planning but it is doable. And, I hate to cook! Ask my Mom! I hate it! But, I find these recipes easy, not time consuming, and very tasty!!

And, you’ll see me carrying my cooler around to swim and football practice, work, and while I travel. I bring healthy choices with me for myself and my kids. When I get to my destination, I make a run to the grocery for the foods we eat. Believe it or not, but my kids are 9 and 7 and have never had a soda. They don’t miss it!  

As far as ‘cheating’ goes, we do make allowances for it. Of course there are times when we have our chocolate cake or pepperoni pizza. But, for the most part, we eat clean because it provides a lifestyle we can maintain and be healthy.  

Stay inspired !

Kip.