You are what you eat…And you eat what you are?

Do we make healthy choices because we feel well?  Or do we feel well because we make healthy choices?  It seems that making healthy choices and feeling well have at least a correlative relationship, so is it even necessary to determine cause and effect?

Let’s consider some scenarios and possibilities.

If you were to take the time to cook a fabulous and healthy dinner, from researching the recipe, to going to the grocery store and hand selecting the finest and freshest ingredients, to listening to your favorite Pandora station while chopping, dicing, simmering, and steaming, to smelling the aromas and hearing the sizzles, to sitting down at an actual table with actual dishes, perhaps with other actual human beings, to eating something that tastes better than many things you’ve eaten out at a restaurant (with fewer calories and better quality ingredients), do you think you’re more likely to have a couple of squares of dark chocolate and berries for dessert or sit with a tub of ice cream and Entenmann’s cake and aimlessly feed your mouth as you watch Comedy Central?

Who is more likely to exercise regularly, keep their cars tidy, their bathrooms clean, and their closets organized and free of things they no longer need- somebody who feeds their body high quality food or somebody who fuels up on fatty grease and processed chemicals?

If your house was kept in tip top shape, would you sit in it and shovel Lay’s potato chips into your mouth?  Or would you use your clear countertop space to cut melons and berries and cheeses?

If you use natural house cleaning products, go to a gym or yoga studio, and drive a hybrid or ride your bicycle to work, would you want to eat Kraft macaroni and cheese and Doritos for lunch?  If you have a pile of dirty dishes in the sink and rotting food in the refrigerator, are you likely to make yourself lunch…or cruise through the drive-thru?

Who seems more likely to let go of extra pounds:  a person who holds onto memorabilia, sentimental items, and “stuff,” or somebody who gets rid of things throughout the year that they no longer use and need?

If you’ve struggled with weight loss or maintenance, perhaps it’s worth taking a break from counting calories and eliminating food groups and instead clean out your overflowing drawers, eliminate old clutter and items you’ve packed away, join a hiking group, or simply make choices that feel like healthy ones.  When we make positive choices in one aspect of our life, we are setting ourselves up for positive outcomes in other areas as well.

As a healthcare provider it is easy for me to see that the choices we make have rippling effects in multiple aspects of our lives.  So, it’s not “just a doughnut” when the crumbs attract ants and the ants attract bug repellent and the chemicals in the repellent stink up your kitchen and cause you to go out to eat.  Think about it.

Please share your thoughts and experiences – reading your comment can be one person’s inspiration to make a positive choice.

In good health,

Molly

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