Yum, it smells like one giant chicken nugget
My wife, 18 September 2022
Eating well is one of the basics for living a good life. By doing so, we can ensure that we are able to keep ourselves alert, engaged, and focused. We also influence as best as we can better health outcomes, especially for when we are older. Whilst we can’t control the outcome, nonetheless, we have to regularly eat well.
We all have different needs nutritionally. I do want to be clear that there is no one right way to do nutrition. We will need to eat differently to serve our own bodies and goals. This differs even within families. I will eat a higher portion of protein when my wife and I have dinner as I am working hard at the gym and looking at gaining size and muscle. We will still eat the same things, the volume or mixup will be different. As an example, my wife will have more vegetables than I will.
A good rule of thumb is that if we are shopping around the exterior of the supermarket, then we are doing okay. That’s where the fresh vegetables, poultry, meat, seafood and salads are.
We also need to be flexible and allow for the spontaneity of life and to deviate from our routines when needed. Whilst routines help – such as Wednesday night’s being frittata night – it’s also good to h ave the flexibility to go to a restaurant to see friends, laugh, and maintain connections . We always need to be careful that we don’t like a routine dictate all of the decisions that we made.
Flexibility and a range of healthy ingredients. You can still go out and eat well – there is always a salad, a steak, a grilled salmon on the menu.
At home, planning ahead helps. We always have items stored in the freezer so we can pull protein out in the morning to defrost ready for the night. I always cook extra so lunch the next day is sorted too.
It is difficult. Every time I am at Garden City and walk past Starbucks, or the donut shops, my nose picks up the amazing scents and smells. I have a sweet tooth. It sucks to walk past a choc mint donut or a chocolate chip cookie and not slam one down. For me, I know that I want a healthy body. It’s more important than the temporary feeling I get from the sugar high. Which makes it easier to say no. Easier, but not easy. Habits once again come into play. I am the type of person that most of the time eats well. I eat time restricted most of the time (I have black coffees in the morning and generally break my fast at lunch).
It’s difficult at first. Then it gets easier. Enjoy the journey, and be kind to yourself. Enjoy the occasional cheat day.