My New Kentucky Home

A blog about faith and family, home and homeschooling.

Five Baby Steps to Healthier Living

by

Share this:
 

January is the time for life changes, right?  The new year gives us a clean slate, a fresh start, a chance to put the past behind us and begin again, and we embrace it with excitement and enthusiasm and a will to live differently.

And then all our good intentions fizzle out by January 31.

I’ve been there.  Trust me.  Sometimes it’s poor planning that is our undoing.  Sometimes it’s a lack of discipline.  But when it comes to making lifestyle changes, for me at least, a lot of my past failures are just the result of aiming too high.

I mean well, but I simply try to do too much too soon.  I try to completely change my life and my habits and my health overnight.  And I completely overwhelm myself in the process.

So why do I do that?  I never expected any of my children to go from crawling to tap-dancing overnight!  It’s a process–a time of building strength and learning balance and increasing confidence.  But because I’m all grown up I expect myself to be able to skip any process and make instant, relentless change, all at the turn of a page on the calendar.  

But just as the clumsy, uncertain first steps of a baby lead to longer, surer, more sustained steps later on, slight, clumsily-executed changes in my health choices now can lead to more certain and impressive ones later.  So why not begin the process?

These are definite baby steps, but I’m making them this year for the benefit of my own health and for that of my family.  So we start here and we’ll build on it as we go.

  • I’m limiting, (though not eliminating,) my indulgences.

Fortunately for me, I’m fairly thin and always have been, but, believe me, thin does NOT always translate into healthy. I’ve developed some bad eating habits and especially as I age and I sense my metabolism slowing, I know I’ve got to get a grip on the unhealthy eating.

But that doesn’t mean cutting out every food and drink I enjoy.  In fact, I think doing so only serves to make cravings all the worse!  I have a dear friend who has lost 130+ pounds and though she was very disciplined and went through many lifestyle changes to get to this point, she also told me she allowed herself occasional small indulgences along the way, which really helped keep the cravings in check.

So rather than go cold turkey on all the foods I love, I’m limiting them instead, so I’m taking in less fat and calories, but not feeling so deprived.

 

 

  • I’m making healthier snack choices.  

 

Nowadays the very word “snack” has a bad connotation to it, don’t you think?  But snacks aren’t evil, so long as they aren’t always of the junk food kind!  I’m doing much better about keeping healthy snacks on hand, like fresh fruits and veggies, and I’m reaching for those instead of some of the garbage I used to enjoy snacking on.  Salty snacks are more of a temptation for me than sweet ones, but I love cashews and sunflower kernels, so a handful of those works as a great substitute for the chips, Cheetos, or Cheez-Its I used to grab.  

And I’m trying out a few new recipes, too, in search of good, healthy snacks.  I’ve actually found a microwave potato chip recipe that is totally fat-free and preservative-free, but has all the crunch I crave from chips.  Maybe sometime I can share…

  • I’m learning to accept that buying healthy foods may cost us more money.
 
You have no idea how hard this is for me!  I’m a cheapskate by nature and spending our hard-earned dollars on something when I know there is a cheaper alternative seems maddeningly counterintuitive!  
 
But I’ve also learned that some things are worth the extra money.  It’s true about genuine leather boots, it’s true about tires, and it’s true about FOOD!  Junk food is cheap because it’s JUNK.  It’s easily mass-produced, it has a ridiculously long shelf-life, and it actually contains very little real food.  Not to mention you can always find coupons for it!  I dropped couponing a long time ago, mainly because I didn’t have time for all the clipping and organizing, (read my thoughts on that here,) but coupons and store sales often make the unhealthiest foods the most affordable.  And that has been a trap for me at times in the past.  
My epiphany moment on this issue really came a few months ago when I was groaning over the price of fresh grapes.  My children LOVE grapes, but the price tag had me all in a tizzy.  I traveled a few more aisles at the local Kroger store, saw the sale sign for Doritos, 2/$5, and I instinctively tossed two bags in my cart. Suddenly I realized what I’d done!  Spending $5 for two bags of junk didn’t even phase me, yet I was too cheap to spend slightly more for a couple pounds of fresh fruit.  Now how silly is that?I refuse to do things like that any more.  We’re not wealthy people and I may not be able to afford the best and healthiest foods all the time, but I can afford to start making some better choices.  Actually, I can’t afford NOT to!

 

 

  • I’m reading labels.  And I’m caring what’s written there.

 

Like never before I am paying attention to what is in the food I buy.  If the ingredient list is a mile-long, it goes back on the shelf.  Sometimes I can make homemade alternatives, like breads or sauces or seasoning mixes.  Sometimes one look at the list of 37 words I can’t pronounce is enough to convince me I don’t even want an alternative!I really like the “Clean Eating” approach which recommends buying foods with an ingredient list of five items or less.  That sounds reasonable until you start trying to do it and then you discover how hard it is to find anything with fewer than 20 ingredients!  But at least I’m keeping in mind that the fewer ingredients it has, the more likely it is to be a healthy, (or at least healthier,) food.  I also try to remember another clean eating principle as I grocery shop–I should buy my food as close to its original state as possible.  While I can’t buy everything fresh and make everything from scratch, I can be conscious enough to make better decisions.

  • I’m no longer resorting so easily to the use of medications.
The more I read, the more concerned I am about so many of the medications we take so casually.  It’s so easy to pop an ibuprofen for a headache or a Zantac for heartburn, even do so multiple times per day, without the first thought about the chemicals we’re putting into our bodies!  Even worse, we give our kids meds at the first sign of a fever or a toothache and maybe even just because they seem a little out-of-sorts, which must mean they’re getting sick!  And we never even consider a possible alternative.  
 
Please understand me here; I am not opposed to taking medication, but I also fail to see why popping a pill is almost always our first reaction to pain or illness.  And why is it we do so so readily, even though I think it’s safe to say most of us have no idea what is in the medications we take or how they actually work?

I’m a complete newbie when it comes to the use of essential oils, but I’ve read enough and heard enough personal testimony to intrigue me.  As far as I’m concerned, it’s worth learning as much as I can.  If there’s so much as the possibility I might be able to treat a health issue in a more natural way, why on earth wouldn’t I be willing to try it?

———————————————-
 
 
If you were looking for profound get-healthy ideas that would rock your world, I’m sure you were disappointed here.  Like I said, these are my own personal baby steps.  But I have to start somewhere, and I also have to believe that these tiny, seemingly insignificant steps are really going to take me places! 
 
What steps have you taken in the direction of healthier living for you and your family? 
 
 
 
 
If you enjoyed what you read here, follow me via email, Google Friend Connect, Facebook, or Twitter.  
 
 
You’ll find this post linked up with some of these wonderful blogs:
 
 
 
Share this:

Comments

  1. christopher says

    Since we've been eating "cleaner" I've found I don't need anti acids nearly as often. Instead of everyday, I only take one a couple of times a month. Just another benefit to healthier choices I suppose

    • kentuckysketches says

      I'm hoping it will help me in that department, too! When I really realized how often I was taking Zantac, it scared me just a little. But when I've stopped to consider the kind of garbage I'm filling my body with, it's really no wonder I have so many issues!

  2. Shannen Espelien says

    Hopping over from Think Tank Thursday! We started taking very similar steps a few years ago when I read a book, Tired of Being Tired. I started to realize how little *real* food I was eating! I'm not perfect now, but reading labels and buying produce rather than chips is a great start! It's funny, I think I still have so far to go, but some of friends coin me as the uber green friend. LOL

    • kentuckysketches says

      As I've really looked into some of the foods we've been eating regularly around here, I'm a little embarrassed. And shocked, too! So much of the food I THOUGHT was relatively healthy is not at all and I'm so eager to turn things around. My children have even been given "the talk" about the way we're changing our eating habits for the good of us all.

      Thanks for reading, Shannen! I hope someday I can be called an uber green friend, too! 🙂

  3. Nicole Beard says

    Baby steps are definitely a must! We're exploring options online for buying certain dry goods like coffee, toothpaste (we use Earthpaste), etc. and are saving a few dollars that way. We've started with one big change at time: this month – pastured meats and raw milk. 🙂

    • kentuckysketches says

      We were getting raw milk for a while and LOVED it. The homemade butter was fabulous! We aren't able to get it right now and I miss it so much. Hopefully again soon…

      Making a change a month is actually a very good idea. The changes we've made thus far have been pretty slight, but I want to continue to make more a little at a time. Thanks so much for stopping by, Nicole!

  4. Angela says

    I have done the same thing with the grapes…..sigh. Eating healthy is expensive…so not fair. But in the long run it will even out I'm sure of it….less doctor bills, less medication, etc. The hardest part is just retraining our brain.

    • kentuckysketches says

      You're right, Angela! Training ourselves to think differently is probably the biggest challenge. It's just so easy to pop a pill and so easy to hand the kids chip bags or boxes of crackers or cookies. And it's what everybody else does, too, which makes it even harder. But I'm learning to think differently! That's half the battle!

    • kentuckysketches says

      Thank you for reading! (And for following!) I'll be checking out your blog as well. I still have so much to learn and could probably glean a lot from your insight!

  8. Jessica Lane says

    I love that you focused on baby steps. I think often times people take on too much at one time and then become discouraged. For me, I came up with a one year plan that was divided by seasons and I came up with 2 or 3 small goals for each season.

    If you're interested in sharing more ideas regarding healthier living, I host a blog hop every Friday. You can enter as late as the following Thursday, so you still have time to join in on this one. Hope to see you there!

    • kentuckysketches says

      When we've tried to take giant leaps, it seems it has always ended in failure. But baby steps are working well for us. Just being aware of what is in the food we're eating is making a huge difference in the foods I choose and the way I feel.

      Thanks so much for the invitation to link up! I checked out your blog and you have so much useful information! Thanks for dropping by today.

  9. Carol says

    Your baby steps sound great. When my children were little we made dietary changes because of food allergies/intolerances. I found a food co-op to buy things in bulk at a better price. Gradually it became an adventure as we discovered some new foods. It is true that nutritious foods are more expensive, but less medications and fewer sick days are a payback. Blessings as you nurture your family! (Visiting from Titus 2sdays.)

    • kentuckysketches says

      You're right, Carol–becoming healthier as a family more than makes up for the extra expense of buying nutritious foods. Where foods are concerned, you definitely get what you pay for!

      At times I feel like the changes we've made so far are so insignificant, but then when I notice my husband and my children checking out labels or intentionally picking healthy foods over processed ones, I realize we're headed in the right direction!

      Thanks so much for stopping by today!

American History

Visual Latin