only you can do it . . .

Are you living healthy? I wasn't. I am the only one that can change it. No more excuses, do it.

I have been making a concerted effort to live better since mid September. no fads, no trends, just making smarter choices for what runs the machine. the goal is to lose weight, lower the cholesterol, get the blood sugar under control and detoxifying the bod. at the beginning I made 2 lists - good for me and bad for me. fairly rudimentary - they looked something like this:

Good: water, fresh fruits & vegetables esp. those with intense colour, fibre, omega oils, low-no fat dairy, lean meat, fish, whole grain foods, legumes, natural sugars only, exercise, regular schedule and enough sleep

Bad: the whites - sugar, flour, salt, etc. cholesterol, fats, gravy, cigarettes, alcohol, couch or computer potatohood.

Hold on there nelly - back the truck up - this is no cake walk .... mmmm cake ... I mean it took a lot of work to figure out how to still eat while avoiding the wrong stuff. I was having so many problems reading the itsy bitsy teeny weeny fonts on the labels I went to the optometrist - well glory be - I needed glasses too. I was starting to feel like the walls of Jericho and it's all coming tumbling down.

so in the last 4 months I have lost 35-40 pounds (depends on the day), I have lowered my cholesterol levels by almost 5%, I'm only smoking a pack every 2 weeks or so, and I miss my buds at OHee's (though I do pop in every few weeks for a couple of pints). my blood sugar stays within the normal range ( I was diagnosed diabetic in September which is what started all of this), I walk a lot, and I have been doing stretches with my yoga ball. I look markedly more healthy - though I have had a couple of bouts with bronchitis which I can't seem to shake.

today I went to pick up groceries with my by-now edited grocery list. I have already figured out that "Lite" could mean reduced sugar or calories OR it could be reduced fats OR it could be reduced taste. I also know that if they reduce the sugar, they generally increase the fats and/or salt - so exactly what does that solve? I have replaced eggs with egg-beaters, the dairy is all 1% or less and I actually LIKE yogurt now - especially the activia vanilla with raspberries. rice, pasta, bread and flour are all brown now(whole grain or flax), cereal is Fibre1 or oatmeal. splenda is my sweetener of choice. I have also added mung beans and the occasional bit of feta cheese or avocado to the menu (though I still find zuchinni and eggplant just nasty).

Then comes the quandary: butter or margarine? Pam works for cooking but what about those moments when you just HAVE TO HAVE a sandwich? Butter is better for you than the regular run-of-the-mill margarine however, I need to reduce the amount of fat I'm intaking. well at first I was using "I can't believe it's not butter", and then they came out with an even "lighter" version with less calories, tried it but the taste just wasn't right(my son's comment: I'm not eating that crap.) today while shopping I noticed Becel now has 5, maybe 6 different kinds of oleo spread available, including one made with olive oil. so I chose the "RSF" version, it has reduced fats, calories and salt - and I am happy to say that it tastes okay on bran muffins. so for now we'll use that.

Next on the list of question marks was which salad dressing to use. Mayo has no carbs, but lots of fat. Miracle Whip (my fave forever) has a few carbs, a little sugar and less fat than mayo. Miracle Whip Lite has 40 % less fat than regular Miracle Whip but WAY more salt and some extra sugar. Best for me regular Miracle Whip - tastes best and is really no worse than the purported "Lite" version. Then we have the plethora of flavoured salad dressings which come in so many versions it's just stupid. So I choose the fat free/calorie reduced versions that have the least sugar and salt. Seems to be working.

Strange how it's the little things that we sweat over. If my biggest worries are which oleo or salad dressing to use - I had better be bloody thankful for my life.

I am.