my principles for eating/food

every year, i eat tons at thanksgiving. yesterday was no different. i love turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce and apple pie…

i consider exercise, eating, and fitness more than a hobby but a lifestyle. i want to do pushups like jack lalanne if i ever get to be 96 years old!

i try to keep up on food/eating developments too.

a while back i found this article ( http://www.self.com/story/intuitive-eating-myths ) that had the following principles for eating:

1. Reject the diet mentality
2. Honor your hunger
3. Make peace with food
4. Challenge the food police
5. Discover the satisfaction factor
6. Feel your fullness
7. Cope with your emotions with kindness
8. Respect your body
9. Feel the difference with movement
10. Honor your health with gentle nutrition

i thought it was a pretty decent list. i totally believe in using intuition for eating deliberately. so it made me think of my principles; here they are:

eat to live, don’t live to eat. this is a ben franklin quote, i believe. but, when i go out with friends to a restaurant, i break this principle. also, when there are potato chips in front of me!

enjoy life and eating! just do not”live for it.” life is too short for just eating kale.

i workout so that i can eat whatever i want! this has played out differently as the decades have marched forward. but if i want to have two pieces of pecan pie, i do not sweat it. add the ice cream on top please! yes, it’s another exception to the “eating to live” principle. but i enjoy pie!

i stay between 150-155 pounds. this weight is my best combination of muscle and body fat. when i get close to 155, i do 20-4 intermittent fasting. i weigh myself every morning and that informs my eating for the day. i started this practice in february 2019 and have stayed within this ideal range ever since.

i always have a good breakfast, lunch is my biggest meal, and i do not like eating heavy after 6:00pm

i stay away from soda pop although i give in to drinking a dr. pepper every now and then.

if my blood pressure and cholesterol etc change during my annual physical check up, i promise to change any of these principles. health and life are primary.

i believe in the spirituality of stewardship. God has given us our time, treasure and talents so it is our responsibility to care for these gifts and share them for the good of others. treasure usually refers to financial resources but i would also include our bodies. God has given each of us one body, we ought to care for it well.

without a healthy body, i could not adequately take care of my mother. so my workout principle that i added once i hit 40 is more needed today at 58: avoid injury. Lord, please keep me injury free and in good health!

so there ya go. now let me have a bowl of oatmeal