Like many of you, we treat “dieting” and “exercise” like they are curse words in our house. But, like
many of you, we recognize that we need to do what we can to be healthier. So how do we avoid those nasty words and
still get it done? We strive for a
“lifestyle” change, something that will stick with us and not be just a failed
attempt at “diet and exercise”. In the
next few paragraphs I’ll share with you some of the tips we’ve learned and
things that have worked and have failed miserably. We have found that it is worth trying a
little harder to live a healthy life rather than have to deal with health
issues related to weight gain and inactivity.
Let’s start with
the easiest and cheapest: accountability.
Find a friend or family member that you can bounce questions off of,
share your achievements with, and who will be uplifting when you are feeling
discouraged. I promise you,
discouragement will rear its ugly head.
If you have several friends and/or family members who want to journey
with you down the healthy living path then start a group on one of the social
media sites. You can share recipes, workouts,
joys and struggles you face on this journey.
Yes, it is a journey. It is not
something that just happens overnight. Some
mornings you will wake up excited about the journey and some mornings you will
wake up and be ready to give up. That’s
where your accountability partner or group becomes important. Utilize them and don’t hold back. There is a good chance they are feeling the
same way and you can work though it together and come out stronger.
Now on to
something that isn’t as easy, but which can be cheap (or even free) and make a
huge impact on your “lifestyle” change journey.
Fitness. Exercise. Workouts.
Words that make people cringe when they hear them. Instead of fitness, exercise, or workouts,
think of it as “activity”. Start small
and slow and (as improbable as it sounds) you will feel your body start to
crave more and more activity. In
February of 2015 I started by walking more.
Not far and not fast, but I had a friend I would walk with and we had a
great time visiting and solving the world’s problems during our walks. It was fun, it was not exercise. I was able to enjoy the walk without my brain
telling me I was about to die. Fast
forward to June 2015, and I ran my first 5K with my sister who is younger,
leaner and more trim than I am and can run a 5k without practicing. I never imagined I could run a 5K (or even
walk that far) but I did. While my time
was not the greatest, I finished and I beat my sister by two tenths of a
second! Sibling rivalry is a huge
motivator. Running a 5k was not my goal
on the journey I started in February, it was just a side benefit of what I was
doing.
I also researched and learned about crossfit. I will let you do your own on that, but I will say it can be fun and a nice change to walking, jogging. You will hurt in places you didn’t know existed, but it will be a good hurt and you will look back after a week of doing squats and think, “man my posterior is starting to look good!” Look to the World Wide Web for daily workouts and videos on how to do the or check with your local gym for classes. Many websites post daily workouts that can be done with items you have laying around the house. A 5lb bag of sugar weighs just as much as a 5lb dumbbell.
We can’t talk about health and fitness without talking about something we all enjoy: food. I love food. I love making food, eating food, and sharing food so that makes this part of the “lifestyle” change the hardest for me! I started out thinking I had to eat bland food that was expensive and no fun to cook. I was wrong.
One of the most
difficult things for a lot of people to give up is red meat, but there is an
alternative that is starting to become popular and is a very good substitute: bison. According to the National Bison Association,
“nutritionally you are getting more protein and nutrients with fewer calories
and less fat. Buffalo is a dense meat
that tends to satisfy you more while eating less.” Bison is also easier on your digestive system
than beef. While it is a slightly more
expensive than good quality beef, the health benefits outweigh the cost in the
end. I found that bison is very
satisfying and easy to cook with. It is
a little drier than beef, but if you cook it at a lower temperature it turns
out great. You can replace all your
ground beef recipes with ground bison and satisfy that red meat craving you are
having.
One of my favorite ways
to use bison and satisfy a craving is bison sliders with a sweet potato
“bun”. Wash a sweet potato and slice it nice
size pieces. Coat it with a touch of
olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, and bake at 400 degrees until the potato
slices are tender. While the potatoes
are cooking, make bison patties the same size as your potato slices, season to
taste, and cook over low heat until done.
Assemble like you would a “normal” burger with mustard, lettuce, tomato,
and grilled onions. The resulting
“burgers” are very satisfying and the sweet potato “bun” adds great vitamins
and nutrition to your meal. Bison can be found along The Corridor at
Ralphs Packing in Perkins.
Bison Sliders on "Sweet Potato Bun"
One of my failed attempts
at replacing beef was with turkey. Now,
I know a lot of people love ground turkey and use it in place of beef for
everything, but I think there is a few things to consider when doing that. First, do not buy the cheapest ground turkey
you can find. Yes it is cheaper than
beef but that does not mean the quality is better. Second, do not think you are eating something
that is going to taste like beef when you replace it with turkey. You *will* be disappointed. Take advantage of spices. Cajun seasoning helps make almost anything
more palatable!
We have eaten a lot of
chicken breast along our journey. Chicken
is reasonably inexpensive, high in protein, and full of nutrients and
vitamins. That does not mean you can
deep fry it and call it “healthy”. A few
ways to prepare it include grilling, baking, and stir fry. When grilling, you can find a marinade recipe
that is low in sodium to jazz it up a bit.
Stir fry can be a good, filling option and give you the benefit of a
good dose of vegetables. In a large
skillet, with a good dose of olive oil, put in a medium size diced red onion. Cook it until it is tender, and then add a
nice amount of diced bell pepper, zucchini, squash, or whatever other
vegetables you like and cook till tender.
Add thinly sliced chicken breast along with a clove of minced garlic and
cook until done. Use about ¼ cup low
sodium soy sauce, the juice of a lemon, and season to taste with salt and
pepper. Serve this as is or over brown
rice. Give yourself extra bonus points
if the vegetables are fresh out of your own garden.
Remember, one of the
most important keys in a healthy lifestyle food change is moderation. Our bodies are amazing machines, and can use
a vast range of foods as nutrition, but even “diet food”, when not eaten in
moderation, can cause weight gain. A
friend of mine has lost over 60 pounds in the last two years, and all she did
was switch from a full size plate to a salad plate. She eats the same things she always has, just
not as much of it.
Fads and diets come and
go, but a healthy diet combined with exercise is a guaranteed way to lose
weight and feel better. Find an
accountability partner (preferably not your spouse, but that’s another
article!), make an effort to be more active, cut back on eating fat, and simply
don’t eat as much. It won’t happen
overnight, and you don’t need to change *everything* at once. Start small and work up. The best time to change your diet and
activity level is five years ago. The
second best time to start is today.
Chicken Marinade
½ cup water
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 ½ tbsp salt
¾ tsp garlic powder
¾ tsp pepper
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp butter
Heat to dissolve all
ingredients
Marinate chicken for no
more than 4 hours and then grill chicken
*The Corridor January 2016
*The Corridor January 2016
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