Small Change, Big Benefit

Are you looking to eat better, but have no idea where to start? Making a big change can be overwhelming at times.  Often making small, gradual changes ensures your success.  This week switch out white rice for whole grain brown rice. It is an easy switch with many benefits.

White rice is whole grain brown rice that has been processed to remove several of the outer layers of the grain. Removing these layers strips white rice of fiber and many nutrients. By simply having the same amount of brown rice as you would white rice, you more than triple your fiber intake.  Brown rice also has more manganese, phosphorus, B vitamins, selenium, and iron than white rice.

Keep in mind, brown rice does take longer to cook. If you plan on eating brown rice a few times this week, prepare a large batch early in the week and store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to eat, just reheat and enjoy just as you would your old white rice. 

A Kindness Approach to Healthy Eating

“From a place of stillness, openness, forgiveness, and acceptance you can renew your commitment to any eating plan you like.” – Martha Beck

This is a quote from the Thoughts for Today Newsletter that I receive daily from http://www.oprah.com/. Martha Beck is a regular contributor to her website and magazine. I really liked the message of this quote. It speaks to the approach that I was taught by Dr. Pawsat about how to reframe the way I was looking at my struggle with weight. He had taught me early on that weight issues are tied to very complex physiologic processes that are in a state of dysfunction. You may have heard Dr. Pawsat say “It is not a simple as eating less and exercising more.” This approach allows us to let go of guilt and approach the solution from a completely different angle, from a place of kindness and acceptance for ourselves.

Take some time to look at each of the mind states listed above and how they relate to the actions you choose. See what comes to mind and how you are affected with regard to your food choices or anything else that might be a challenge for you right now. It could be an interesting exercise in self awareness and acceptance.

How do you “Fit”?

This morning driving to work listening to my favorite radio talk show I learned that May is “Commit to Get Fit” month. To be very honest this may have induced a small subconscious groan on my part. There was a very fit, you can tell by her level ten perkiness, personal trainer on the show talking about how you can stop and do squats for one minute while walking down the street. Okay, not sure I have the self confidence to pull that off. But before this turns into a story of woe I got to thinking….

Fit can take on a lot of different meanings. There are many ways in our life that we can sometimes feel unfit not just physically, but mentally. The inability to appreciate simple gestures, not focusing on all of the little ways that love finds us, and missing the feeling of gratitude for the things that makes us smile. If we were to focus on happiness each day during the month of May, we could in fact start our own personal mini revolution. A revolution that would add positive energy to everything we could do in a day.

So as I embark on this early spring morning on the first day of May I am committing to be fit. Fit in mind, body, and spirit. I will smile more, I will notice the budding trees and the sun stretching our days a little longer, and I will fall in love with my husband all over again for emptying the dishwasher. This joy and lightness of spirit will help me feel like adding 5 more minutes to my walk, preparing daily baggies of supplements to make sure I am nourishing my body, and savoring my brightly colored salad just a little bit more. It all starts somewhere. I am going to dust off the gratitude journal. Won’t you join me?