Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Is this healthy mom?

So, I have a four-year-old. And somewhere along the way, he has learned about eating healthy. Part of this he learned at home, but I think it was reinforced at preschool. As a result of all this, I hear, daily, several times a day, "mom, is this healthy?". He will ask this about everything, and he is now well aware of what is healthy and what is not. He will still want some cookies, but knows he needs to eat healthy meals if he wants to have a treat sometimes.

He also asks to exercise quite often. Usually, he wants to go running, but sometimes it's biking or swimming. He says it's important to move your body and that exercise is healthy for your body. He's four. These concepts are very elementary. Somehow though, as adults, we try to complicate the issues. I don't know why. There's no reason to make things more complicated than they are. I will simplify it just like he does.

Eating healthy is important. Include in your diet, a variety of foods. Fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins. Basically, follow the Canada Food Guide. It's actually quite amazing how the body will eat what it needs to, when the mind doesn't get involved. I watch my kids and am blown away with how they eat. Granted, their eating is not always perfect, but it's amazing how if you put a variety of foods in front of your child, they will eat to fill their needs. Some days my kids pack away the protein, but other days it's red fruit they crave, and the next time, it's grains. Left to their own devices, they eat what they need. They have yet to develop a psychological relationship to food. So far, they are driven purely by need!!

And exercise. The body needs to move. It's good for us. It feels good. And it keeps us healthy.

It's time to apply his principles to my daily life. And to add in the extra bit of math that applies to weight loss. Eat less calories than you burn, and your body will have to find the calories it needs internally. So, I need to eat less calories than I currently am and exercise more than I currently do, and weight loss should follow.

My husband bought a scale this weekend that measures body fat as well as weight etc. The results aren't so pretty. Currently I am sitting around 193.2lbs, and my body fat is approximately 40.3% of my body weight. Less than ideal. I have about 40 pounds to lose. Compared to this time last year, I'm about 15 pounds heavier than I was. This is very not so good. But, I have some events coming up and a plan for them, so hopefully I can get things in motion.

To start that effort, I've been running on my night shifts. And, not only running, trying to find people to run with... and the other night, I ran with two people!! Tonight though, nobody wanted to run. I nearly skipped it, but decided to go out and run laps of our parking lot. And, I did. I got in 5km in just under 33 minutes. So, there is hope.

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