Healthier Living with Greg Enslen, 04/10/13: Helping people make small changes that can add up to a healthier lifestyle.
Baby Steps to Better Nutrition
Last year, I did a lot of research and a lot of reading about what kind of “fuel” I should be leaning towards. And I’m happy to say that I feel better, weigh less, and have more energy. So what did I do, and what might work for you? Ah, that’s all the room I have this week, but I’ll get into more specifics for improved nutrition next week.
Late in 2011, I read “Transcend,” by Ray Kurzweil and Dr. Terry Grossman, two of my favorite writers. This book put all of the different facets of health improvement into a set of simple steps:
1. Talk with your doctor
2. Relaxation
3. Assessment
4. Nutrition
5. Supplements
6. Calorie reduction
7. Exercise
8. New technologies
9. Detoxification
These components are based on all the latest research, including up-to-the-minute scientific trials and discussions of the latest tests and technologies up through 2009, the date of publication.
That “Perfect” Day Never Comes
People think they’ll deal with their nutrition or “turning things around” at some magical point in the future. By folks never do.It reminds me of an argument my wife and I often have.
Say she and I agree that the kitchen needs to cleaned from top to bottom – we need to do a deep clean, reorganize the cabinets, clean under the stove, figure out what to do with all the cookie sheets, clean out the fridge, and organize the tupperware container cabinet, which is a complete joke.
Samantha likes to save up projects and wait until she has a whole day free to work on it. While this makes sense to me, it seems like that perfect day never comes along and the work never gets done — when will we ever 1) look at our calendar for a Saturday that is completely free of activities and obligations, and 2) be in the mood to spend the whole day cleaning? I know I’m NEVER in the mood to spend the whole day cleaning.
What I do is I try to bite it off in chunks. One day I’ll organize the cook books and clean out the fridge. A few days later, I’ll clean the microwave and re-do the spice cabinet. I’ll try to do a small project every few days until the project is done. Bite-size bits, so to speak.
Baby Steps to Better Nutrition
The same thing can be done for improving one’s nutrition: instead of completely changing everything you do, take some baby steps. I can’t imagine anyone is going to stop eating poorly today and just eat salads and yogurt forever.
So get a little more exercise today, or add a small salad to three meals a week. The next time you’re at Target, go ahead and buy those vitamins and start taking them every day. Clean out your cabinet and pitch everything that has High Fructose Corn Syrup. Do something small lots of times and it’ll add up to something big.
So what should you do? Ah, that’s all the room I have this week, but I’ll get into more specifics for improved nutrition next week.
About the Column
This column is not about “healthy” living but “healthier” living, which is more attainable. Send feedback or questions to healthier@gregenslen.com or use the “Contact” page on Greg’s website. Greg is a Dayton-based writer interested in improving his overall health. But he’s not a doctor, so for real medical advice and direction, consult a physician.
