Life Plan

I was cleaning the pool and checking chemicals yesterday and  was reminded about pH and its role in our health control. So I hopped online and sure 'nough there are all sorts of well-developed sites talking about alkalinity and acidity and how it relates to what we eat and how healthy we feel.

Maintaining a balanced pH is the most essential element of a moderate, healthy and active life, they say. It is achieved through a complicated but highly logical series of choices - earth foods (naturally grown in our environment), leaner meats, less starches and fat.  In other words, eating the foods that remain close to their natural state revvs up the internal gearing to break down food into the nutrients we can absorb and use. That's what burns calories. That's what creates health. That's what keeps our body in balance. Pool water = people water.

You can tell right off the bat if a pool is out of balance and when it is not fit to use.  A pH imbalance creates all sorts of functional problems in us too when we eat carby, fatty, sugary overprocessed foods that are highly digestible with a minimal effort to break them down. When does our body get its workout? Never. Where are the proteins and nutrients that create energy? Gone. Fast easy absorption = Fat.

Diet plans talk about stress, portion control, exercise-intake ratio, hydration and pairing foods that maximize the dynamic duo (vitamins>minerals). But the word diet is a misnomer. We use it as a verb -- as in 'I am dieting' -- when it really is a noun -- as in 'I maintain a steady diet'. Everything subsists on a diet of something. So what we are really trying to identify is the process of shifting and rebalancing our pH to maintain a healthier, more sensible lifestyle to feel better and live longer. That sounds more like a choice. A series of logical priorities. A Life Plan.
The Nutrisystem food was packed up on Saturday and sent back because it taught the wrong lesson. Eating tiny processed meals is not an ethical way to force weight loss. It's also dangerous to encourage already overweight people into thinking a small over-processed 90 second meal or protein bar is an appropriate way to eat, or that it could ever be a substitute for more healthier options. And so how does one differentiate that from a 90 second grilled chicken sandwich meal at McDonalds, hold the fries?

Nutrisystem is trying to sell a magic shortcut to thin.  Truth is, there is no shortcut. You need to listen to your body, that it needs to be fed natural and lean foods, not too much or too little, prepared fresh every day that take work to process and digest. McDonalds is a treat, like a hot fudge sundae. 

Here in this house the Life Plan has already begun. We are committed to exercise, lots of water, and for meals to be a palm size portion of protein and carbs and the rest of the plate in veggies. Smaller plates that look full when a moderate diet fills them. No seconds and no snacking after dinner.

This is a huge change for us but we believe in not scrimping or going without because that is how it will fail. We will enjoy the 4th of July and Thanksgiving and birthdays with its starches and desserts and movie popcorn, just this time with boundaries. And Best Foods.

After a while I think our bodies will fall back in love with us and spoil us by feeling healthy and strong. Nothing can stop age or health issues, but there's no harm in keeping the doctor from the door as long as we can.  It's worth a try, anyway.