Well Eating

Well Eating

January 18, 2011, 2:59 pm
Filed under: Wellness

Well eating? Shouldn’t it be “eating well”? No. I’m trying to be clever. Deal with it. 

“Eating well” usually means, “I ate like it was Thanksgiving and I was two hours from walking the Green Mile. I ate a lot of rich, butter-laden, cream-drenched, New Orleans style food. I pushed down a couple thousand calories. I can’t move. I need a bucket.” You get the idea. 

“Well eating” means “I use food as fuel to run this magnificent body, this gift from God, this only crate I get to run around in.” I admit that the former conjures thoughts of extreme pleasure, laughter, and joy. Food is a joyful gift. The latter, well, boooorrrrriiiiinnnnngggg.

You will admit, perhaps, that indulging in eating well–while joyful and right–cannot be sustained if one wants to sustain other things, like heartbeats. Too much joyful eating well and I cannot walk from the car to the restaurant without breathing heavy as a tea-partier at a gun show. Take a flight of stairs? Are you kidding? I was too busy eating well. Good report from the doctor? Shoot, I’m so busy eating well that I stay away from that lousy doctor. Energy at the end of the day to chase my kids–or my wife ;^]’ ?!? Gave it up years ago for the with a couple baskets of chips–gotta have me some Tex-Mex baby! 

Here’s what I’ve noticed. I work to well eat, and it pays off later when I eat well. I really enjoy eating well, and because I see the payoff, I also enjoy well eating. I cut my caloric intake. I eat a lot less fat, very little of it saturated. I reframe my grocery habits by shopping at the edges (junk food lurks on the center aisles), reading labels (can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it), and varying the colors of foods I buy (heavy on the dark greens, reds, and blues). As a result, sweets and hearty family gathering type foods taste better. Really. 

My doctor says I look years younger than I am. My kids are grown, but I can easily catch my little nephews. I sleep better by well eating than I ever do when I eat well. 

I’m not perfect. Not even a very good role model. Since starting my job last March, my exercise routine was often set aside. When I worked out, I cut a few corners and rarely pushed myself. My diet changed, just a few calories here and there, for the worse. Over the last holiday season, I ate well. Too well. 

I blimped up about 15 pounds. 

This does not make me happy. I know, however, that I can drop it. 
   – I set a goal to lose 15 pounds and 7% of my lard. 
   – I joined the “moist to lean” contest at work, which keeps me motivated. 
   – I had an annual checkup and sought my doctor’s advice. 
   – I told my wife and a trusted friend to hold me accountable to well eating. 
   – I joined a fitness class so complete strangers can mock my failure or cheer my progress (courage!).

So far, I’ve lost 3 pounds!! At this rate, it’ll take me about four months to hit my goal. Pass the celery.

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