(This is an excerpt of an article written for Kim & Jason magazine by Jill Fleming, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and amazing wellness speaker.)
Do you love your body? I do now, but I didn’t always. Nineteen years ago, I went to college and gained 40 pounds in just 2 years. I had a very low self-image and made terrible lifestyle choices. I now refer to these lifestyle choices, such as eating junk food, inactivity, excess consumption of food or alcohol, sleep deprivation and chronic (uncontrolled) stress as “Crap Choices.” I made crap choices daily and I felt like crap!
After earning two degrees in nutrition, I began to make better lifestyle choices. I call these healthier choices “Love Your Body Choices™.” I lost my excess weight and began to feel good again. The more Love Your Body Choices I made, the better I felt. The better I felt, the more my body craved these same choices.
Food—particularly fast food—is so readily available that we are rarely planning our meals in advance anymore. Our grandparents used to plan for meals a full day in advance. They would thaw the meat, prep the vegetables, and even bake the dessert. They planned meals that were fairly well balanced. Today, we go through the drive through after a busy day. Not only does our meal rarely include healthy options, like fruit and vegetables, but we are not even getting out of our car to get the food.
We are also much less active than we used to be. Advances in technology have allowed us to accomplish more, as we do less. One day I realized that our family was… (read the full article on page 18 in the FREE digital version of Kim & Jason magazine.)