Make The Healthy Choice! It's My New Mantra

When I’m at a diner considering a cheeseburger or chicken kebab with Caesar salad: MAKE THE HEALTHY CHOICE! The chicken kebab was in a thin wrap loaded w/fresh lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots. The accompanying Greek salad was surprisingly fresh and yummy. And I’m NEVER going to be a woman who can order only a salad for lunch and survive until dinner.

When I pull into a large parking lot on a cold, windy day, do I look for a close space or just park way at the end? I MAKE THE HEALTHY CHOICE and park at the end. Every step is another chance to get my body moving and my heart pumping. I gave up going to drive-thru’s last year and have no complaints. Last week I went into the bank at 8:59am and the friendly teller who unlocked the door told me the drive-thru opens at 8.  I told her my resolution about that.

Since my turn towards a heart healthy lifestyle I distinctly feel the metamorphosis happening. I’m leaving behind a lifetime of too many unhealthy choices and slowly evolving to become a person who clearly cares about their own health. In my late teens I had a workout buddy who, like me, found that our new womanly bodies brought some extra cushioning and decided to implement exercise into our lives. Our problem was we were raised in the 70’s/80’s on Doritos, M&M’s and Soda.  We would exercise, and then reward ourselves with an ice cream Sundae. We would go swimming and then sit around the pool smoking cigarettes.  In college, after a bad bout of mononucleosis, I was in my best shape ever!  I had a pair of Guess jeans with black and white vertical stripes, they were probably a size 9 (a 1985 size 9 which is smaller than today’s 9).  I looked great but also loved to indulge with my friends in “DC & DC” which stood for Diet Coke and David’s Cookies! David’s cookies were the forerunner of Mrs. Fields (at least on my radar, in NYC). They were huge chewy cookies containing not only chocolate chips, but chocolate CHUNKS and lots of them!

As I reflect on my past and how I never really got back into those Guess jeans I wore in college, I realize I’m peeling back layers.  As an adult most weight loss programs I tried (or even talk shows I listened to) wanted me to find out WHY I overate. They insisted there must be some feeling I was drowning with food or an unresolved childhood trauma. I could never come up with anything because that’s not how I became overweight.  I was predestined as my mother’s seventh child I was born with more fat cells than my older siblings because my mother weighed more when she became pregnant with me. But plenty of overweight women have healthy children who remain at a healthy weight through life; it would be futile to place any blame on my birth.  Especially since I have inflicted my youngest similarly.  Thankfully all of my children are healthy weights – I’m smart enough to apply solidly proven healthy eating habits when it comes to my children. For myself I had a lifetime of bad choices and influences. My life continued with food being used for happy occasions and sad ones. I never felt rebuked and readily tried the newest food to appear on store shelves.  Now I know that food companies have been trying to make us eat more by formulating delectable combinations of salt, sugar and fat.  I was right there, literally eating it up.

I’m being kind with myself and slowly reforming. There’s a popular “fake it ‘til you make it” mantra that assists in life changes. I toyed with that mantra but I just couldn’t really own it. So instead I shout in my head: MAKE THE HEALTHY CHOICE! So far, it’s working.  I’m not always perfect but I’m pretty proud of myself for choosing Raisin Bran with milk and banana slices when I visited the hot breakfast buffet at Hampton Inn on Tuesday. Our ride home from Vermont included a stop at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory – my loudspeaker in my head malfunctioned.  But, that’s OK!  I had the ice cream, a very light dinner and have moved forward to the next day. 

Statistics: I’ve been staying the same weight this month. I still have lots to lose but I’m OK with a couple weeks of plateau living and refuse to feel negative when I know I’m making healthy choices and am definitely in this for life!

Don't Talk to Your Toddlers in the Car

*** I'm clearing out my computer files and posting any unpublished blog postsn: this one should be filed under Parenting Tips! ***

When my 2^nd child was approaching the talking age, I told myself not to answer him in the car; let him just get used to talking to himself.  Why, did I purposely squelch my infant’s emerging vocal curiosity? Because when my first baby started talking in the car I had responded to everything she said.  I clarified and asked leading questions. Oh, I was entranced by her intelligence and how easy it was to teach her descriptive words. …She said “truck.” And I said “yes, there goes a big truck.” Next time she’d say “big truck.” And I’d say “what do you think is in the big truck?” … But, I forgot where I was going!  With a talking 2 yr old and an almost 1 yr old in the car, I suddenly lost the ability to plan a logical route for my errands.  I needed some sanity!

Once my sanity somewhat returned and I added another small cherub to my minivan, I decided the key was to lead the conversation.  Here’s a game I started playing with the children when they were about 5 years old.  Today I played it with my 9 year old and realized that she has been heavily influenced by the GPS when she told me to “press destination” and “type in our address.”

“Take Me Home” Game (ages 5 and up)

1.   Ask your child to give you directions to a familiar destination.  Start with something very easy, for example: when you are within 2 blocks from home ask her to tell you how to get home. 
2. Instruct your child on correct terms for giving directions: turn right, proceed straight through the traffic light, etc.
3. Remind them that you need to know what is coming up, because the driver cannot make sudden stops or turns.
4. Allow them to steer you the wrong way!  This is fun as they realize “oh no, we past the turn!” Depending on their level, turn around and let them help you get back on the right route.  Today with my 9 year old, she was able to have me turn at the next street and figure out how to return to the route without turning around,
5.   Add street names once they have mastered giving simple directions.  Warn them that you’ll be asking for street names next trip and point them out.  When he says “turn right at the next street,” repeat back “so, I turn right at Maple St.”

The bonuses of this game are the children:

•          Learn the street names of their own neighborhood
•          In an emergency will be able to give directions to their home
•          Become observers of their surroundings
•          Learn step procedures
•          Build confidence