Episode 3
Your Roadmap to Success
Welcome back to another episode of Nutrition is the Key to Health, I am glad you are here, my name is Alicia.
So after you heard the horrific stats on the health of America today in Episode 1, you have made the decision to try and put yourself on the right track to better health and take your life back. Maybe you listened to Episode 2, where you heard my personal journey on how and why started my quest, and you’ve had similar healthcare scares. So you have a personal journey of your own.
So you want to start taking those baby steps that will allow you a healthier you, but you just don’t know where to start? Welcome.
Disclaimer, I am not a physician, nurse, registered dietician, physical therapist, or mental health professional. This is my story and what I have done and learned over the course of my journey. If you plan to start a diet or exercise program, please get approval from your doctor.
So you have an idea of the diet you want to try, but you do not know where to get started. I am going to present this from a Plant-Based perspective because that is what I decided to pursue. I am not telling you which diet is right for you, each of us have to make our own decisions. I will just talk about my successes and struggles with the whole food plant-based diet, and others.
I am going to suggest that you get a blank journal or notebook and write down your why. Maybe you want to lose weight, stop smoking, stop drinking, reduce your cholesterol, and be able to play with your kids or grandkids, or walk your daughter down the aisle. There are so many reasons and each will be personal to you.
Now, log some basic measurements like weight and waist size, hips, arms and legs etc.
Make an appointment with your doctor. Get an annual physical and lap. Write down your blood pressure and get a folder or binder to put your lab results in.
Do a little research as to what diet is right for you. This would be one that you think you can stick with. Leave all the fad diets out, and yes, for the most part, this includes Keto. In my opinion, the fat intake is much too high on this diet.
Maybe you don’t do well with a particular diet and you just want to eat healthier. That’s okay too.
- Try to limit yourself to water/coffee/green tea each day
- Stop Smoking
- Get moving - start with walking (Motion is Lotion to the body).
- Substitute more veggies that are steamed, sauteed or raw.
- Stop eating fried foods
- Stop drinking energy drinks/starbucks coffees/alcohol (yes this includes wine)
- Swap a organic soy milk, oat milk or almond milk for cow’s milk
- Use cow’s dairy sparingly.
- Use spices for flavoring instead of salt.
- Eat more beans, and lentils for your protein source and decrease meat choices
- Try to incorporate a salad in most daily meals
- Find a homemade salad dressing recipe that you like and kick the store-bought brands to the curb
- Stop using the salt shaker as much
- Stop eating fish (there are very high mercury contents in fish) Make it an exception not the rule.
- Eat a wide variety of fruits and veggies
- Cut down on social media and watch PCRM.org on YouTube. It is the most consumed podcast out there today I believe. They cover a wide variety of topics that affect your health, and introduce you to doctors all around the world that are pioneering great things in health using nutrition. They have inspiring people that tell their journeys and their stories.
None of these are radical. Can some be some of the most difficult things you have ever done? Absolutely! Stopping caffeine, alcohol and nicotine are some of the most difficult challenges you will face. I am going to add cheese and all dairy in this, to include eggs.
All of those things I just listed are steps, and they can be goals you can set for yourself without being on any “fad diet”. Also, each and every one of them will aid you in your better health journey. They are common sense ideas to achieve better health.
Don’t feel like you have to do them all at once. Pick one of two, get those implemented into your lifestyle, then add two more. Things like smoking, drinking and some overall diet issues that might result in you having an eating disorder like emotional eating, anorexia or bulimia will most likely require assistance from a licensed professional.
Do not be ashamed if you must integrate physiological services to help you in your health journey. It is all a part of healing and getting to a better place, for both your physical, and mental wellbeing.
You can do anything you set your mind to. The question is, do you have the desire. I am not telling you it is all sunshine and roses, but it is attainable with a lot of hard work.
This journey is not about perfection. It is about progress. If you slide back into your old habits, just don’t stay there!
When I started this journey, I had many bumps in the road. First, I walked in one morning, and my refrigerator and freezer was out with a puddle of water on my floor. There was nothing that was still viable left. I had to toss everything. I had to find a new refrigerator, then I had to wait for it to be delivered. Supply Chain issue still abound. Inventory for a great many things is “just in time” or when it is ordered. So, it takes time to get on the schedule for deliver.
I was forced back into the Standard American Diet until my new unit arrived. I gained weight and my blook pressure increased. I felt lethargic and just not right. When I broke my 60 diet achievement, I was back to drive thrus and mexican food and diet cokes.
The effects mounted quickly but so did the cravings. It was like starting over. My nemesis was cheese, hot buffalo wings, and mexican food. I have stopped the cheese intake but I still have a splash of half and half creamer in my morning coffee. I am trying to drink green tea in the morning, but I am just not there yet. I am one of those people that like a little coffee with their cream.
I miss my wine, but that was a medical decision I made. I loved my wine and cheese each night. I used to think, I could never give up my cheese and wine. I would just die. Well, I did, and I am still here to talk about it.
We all have those couple of things that are triggers. The most important thing is to recognize them, and divert yourself. So, if I have to go the store during lunch, I know that the wing bar is going to be open. Each time I passed it, I would break and get chicken wings. I know walk in the store and take a right to avoid seeing it, therefore reducing that temptation. Out of sight, out of mind.
You can do little things like this to help you along the way. If you are feeling anxious about it, take a deep breath in through your nose, hold it for five seconds, then slowly exhale, count to five and move in the other direction.
Just remember the tortoise and the hare. Be the tortoise. You got this! I am proud of you for choosing to take the next step in your road to better health.
Thank you for being here today, and I will see you in the next one.