It’s no secret to anyone who knows me, that for many years I have battled with my weight, and have usually been on the losing end.  I have fluctuated as little as 5 pounds to as many as 80 or more pounds of excess weight hanging on my medium build frame.  A few years ago, I decided enough was enough and I started my journey to healthier eating and a healthier life style.  I joined Medical Weight Loss, and let me tell you that was the best money I ever spent!  I have learned so much from the girls over at the Canton, MI clinic and they are always supportive and encouraging when I go in.

While Medical Weight Loss could help me lose the weight, I needed to learn how to approach that weight loss differently than I had in the past.  Being a healthy eater required that I became both educated and smart about what healthy eating actually is.  Being food smart isn’t about learning to calculate grams or fat, nor is it about studying labels and counting calories.  For me it is all about moderate eating, consisting of healthy meals at least three times per day and that what I eat is well balanced.  I needed to say good bye however to the ease of running through a drive-thru when in a pinch, or picking up a snack out of a vending machine.

Eating healthy requires quite a bit of leeway for me.  I might eat too much or not enough, consume foods that are sometimes more or less nutritious or just blow it all together. However, you should always fuel your body and your brain regularly with enough food to keep both your mind and body strong and alert.  This was something I have the hardest time remembering.

Here is what I have learned: A healthy eater is a good problem solver, we learn to solve a great many dilemmas such as how to still have foods we love but to do so on a healthy scale.  Healthy eaters have learned to take care of themselves and their eating with sound judgment and making wise decisions.  Healthy eaters are always aware of what they eat, and know the effect that it will have on their bodies.

When we are unable to take control of our eating habits, we are also likely to get out of control with other aspects of life as well.  You may find yourself spending too much, talking too much, or even going to bed later and later. I know that when I am out of control in one area of my life, generally I am out of control in many.

You should always remember that restricting food in any way is always a bad thing.  Don’t use food as a reward or punishment system…EVER.  I have fallen into that trap more times than I can count, and it usually ends in disastrous results.  Healthy eating is a way of life, something that you can do to enhance your body or your lifestyle.  If you’ve thought about making your life better, healthy eating might just be the place to start.  You’ll make life easier for yourself, those around you, and even your family.  Not to mention, for us parents… we want to practice what we preach right?

Do you want to become a healthier eater and maybe lose a few pounds yourself?  Then join us in “Healthy Mom” Blog Give-a-way. We will be giving away a gift basket to the mom (or pop) who makes the biggest change and loses the most during our “Healthy Mom” blog give-a-way!

Watch for the give-a-way post!