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Monday, November 19, 2012

Hungry For Nutrition


Hi healthy and wealthy peeps.  We are just a few days away from the kick-off of the season of gluttony!!!  Yes, Thanksgiving is just days away and people everywhere are jammed packed into grocery stores, deli's and anyplace where they can find a deal on food and lots of it.  While it's great to have a day to indulge in a few of our favorite foods, we should not overdo it.  "I know, I know, you're saying Alicia, but it's Thanksgiving, let me enjoy the day."  Well, I'm saying to you that unfortunately for hundreds of thousands of adults and children, Thanksgiving is the beginning of the end of any sense of eating consciously let alone nutritiously sound meals from that very day and most times for at least the next 6 weeks, 6 months and eventually a year, which sometimes leads to a lifetime of bad eating habits. 
 
I want you to enjoy the holidays and all of the culinary perks that come along with it.  But I want you to be aware of what you're putting in your mouth and understand why you're eating it and not beat yourself up about it later.  If you can do that, then you can also stay in control all those days and weeks in between special occasions and make sure you're never HUNGRY FOR NUTRITION
 
When you're hungry for nutrition, you are robbing your body of the essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients it needs to survive.  See if this sounds familiar:  You start the day off by having a cup of coffee and a bagel for breakfast.  I don't care if it's white, wheat, multi-grain - it's bread that's usually made with lots of added sugar.  Then about 2 hours later, you're feel famished, so you grab one of those "healthy" protein bars (usually with even more sugar than you realize which works against the protein content).  An hour or two later, it's time for lunch.  You have a hankering for a big sub sandwich, a bag of baked chips and to wash it down a 20oz soda that you think will help keep your hunger at bay until you get home for dinner.  But at 3pm, you start feening for something to wake you up.  So you run out and get a medium or large fancy coffee drink with lots of sugar and whip cream - so what you used sugar substitute, skipped the cream and asked for soy milk.  Another short 3 hours later, you can't get home fast enough because your body is yearning for food again!  And you're wondering, what is wrong with me?  I've been eating all day.  Then after you finish dinner, you still have that empty feeling and what more food or even better -- DESSERT!  Want to know why?  You filled up on simple carbs throughout the day and what your body really wanted was fresh produce and lean protein and maybe some complex carbs here and there - not the bulk of food you wolfed down throughout the day thinking that you were feeding that hunger feeling,   my friend.  You were unaware of the fact you were hungry for nutrition.   
 
If this makes sense to you but you don't know how to get a handle on it, you should consider reaching out for help.  Continuing on this vicious cycle is potentially setting you up for a lifetime struggle of health problems.  I don't necessarily mean obesity either.  Too little or too much weight are forms of malnutrition.  Not to mention both sides of the coin can lead to a number of other unhealthy side effects from diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, arthritis, digestive disorders, auto immune diseases, issues with morale and self-esteem and a host of other health concerns too numerous to name. 
 
I want each and everyone of you to live healthy and wealthy.  As I always say, your health is your greatest wealth.  And if you don't know how to nurture and cultivate your priceless asset, I am here to help.  Please feel free to post comments below or send me an email at alicia@ritechoicenutrition.com if you'd like to discuss something more personal. 
 
Living healthy and wealthy is a journey, not an overnight, wham-bam, thank you ma'am event.  Love yourself enough to live your best life so you can inspire others to do the same.
 
 

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