National Nutrition Month
By now, you’ve already read about eating more fruits and veggies, avoiding processed foods, trans fats and saturated fats, and the benefits of moving your body more often. No doubt you’ve also gotten the news about the healing power of antioxidants and phytonutrients, the benefits of fiber, and the dangers of too many calories and too little nutrition, especially when combined with a sedentary yet stressful lifestyle. Yet, in spite of all this knowledge, you may find yourself, pendulum-like, swinging from rigid attempts at controlling diet to the rebellion of eating large amounts of “whatever”. Sadly, the joy of eating disappears – just as the joy of movement can disappear with militaristically regimented exercise. If this frustrating pattern feels familiar, try the following experiment. Try something new. In addition to eating mindfully and moving joyfully, give yourself permission to try something new: a new recipe, a new food (like quinoa, amarantha, jicama), a new restaurant (for example, if you always eat Chinese or Italian, try Indian or French). Experiment with new forms of movement. For example, if you are dedicated to high intensity step classes, try a dance class instead like Hip Hop or Salsa; bored with strength training, try a circuit/interval routine; feel your whole life is a fast-paced treadmill, try yoga or Tai Chi. In other words, give yourself permission to step away from rigid patterns while maintaining an over-all healthy lifestyle. Play a little.
If you find you aren’t fond of the new food, don’t like the new recipe, or didn’t enjoy your new physical activity, you still have the satisfaction of having tried something new and different which research shows actually improves brain function. That’s right, by challenging yourself to prepare a new recipe, or to move in unfamiliar patterns, your brain gets a good workout – and that’s a smart choice anytime!
Enhance your meals and your exercise with music ~ music is medicine for body and soul and can lift mood and enhance immunity while lessening anxiety. Light a candle, watch the sunset.
Oscar Wilde wrote that “simple pleasures are the last refuge of the complex”. Authors and scientists Robert Ornstein, Ph.D. and David Sobel, M.D. added, “they are more than an oasis in life: they may be the best defense against illness and the way to lengthen life . . . Appreciate and celebrate simple joys.”
Bon Appetit! Move Happy! Be Well!