To maintain a healthy lifestyle we all must eat correctly. Every day there must be the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and essential fatty acids ingested so that the body has the fuels it needs to function maximally. One of the most important things to remember is to eat something green every day. And I don’t mean green M&M’s. Fruits and vegetables are essential for health; it is what Nature intended. The less our food is processed, the better. Food taken from the tree, or the ground, is the most healthy for us. For the healthiest food, simply take it from the plant, wash off the dirt, and eat it. We gain more nutrients this way, the body is satisfied with less, and we stay lean and healthy. Any time food is processed, in any way, it is less healthy for us to consume. Instruction on healthy eating is everywhere but few people heed the advice of nutritionists. Many books and pamphlets elucidate good information from experts in the field of nutrition; why aren’t we listening? We would rather listen to grossly obese individuals who diet than to those who have always been healthy. Seems kind of backwards, doesn’t it? By now, most of us should know that diets never work. For a healthy body all of us need to stop the fads and start to do what we know to be correct. One of the best ways to start is by writing.

When you get serious about wanting a healthier body, one of the best ways to start is by writing down everything that you put into your mouth. Every bite of food needs to be recorded in a food journal. Start with breakfast, write down all foods and the quantities; leave nothing out. Continue throughout the day to record all meals, snacks, drinks, and extras. Everything that you eat affects your body in some way. If you eat mostly good food, your body will respond by operating well. If you eat mostly junk (fast food, sugar, candy, white bread, etc.) your body will be trying to operate on garbage and, of course, it will not be doing too well. In this society, unfortunately, the people seem to think that it is okay to ruin one’s health and then to take steps (like dieting, liposuction, bypass surgery, etc.) to correct it. This sequence is as wrong as it gets. The proper way to live is to do things correctly from the beginning. That is, don’t allow yourself to live on garbage. Rather, stay healthy by following the good advice that most of us received from our parents and teachers. Eat your vegetables, not too much sugar and candy, eat only for health, not because the food tastes good.

Start today by writing down what you eat in your food journal. You will be amazed at what you actually are consuming. Most of us think that we eat rather well; we are wrong. By writing down every morsel of food that we eat, we will see what our diet looks like. It may not be a pretty picture but it is a place to start. When you see something in writing you are less likely to deny it. Hopefully then you will do something about it. Start to regain some measure of health by first discovering what is wrong with the way you are eating. Eat write!