It has been one week since we started tracking what we are
eating on a daily basis. There have been
some very interesting learning’s from this first week.
First off in order to eat healthy and reduce the amount of
fast food in my diet it takes a considerable amount of planning. I used to grab a fast food breakfast sandwich
on the way to work because this was easy and it tasted pretty good. Well it tasted good because it is loaded with
fat and salt. I have been trying to eat
breakfast at home but this is still a work in progress. However, when I do decide to stop for a
breakfast from a fast food shop, I choose healthier options like fruit, yogurt
and oatmeal instead of the breakfast sandwich.
Lunch isn’t too bad as I like sandwiches’ and I take customers out for
lunch which gives me the ability to sit down and eat a slower lunch. Also when I take customers for lunch we don’t
dine at a fast food restaurant so I have the ability to choose from an
extensive menu. However, there are lots
of ways that restaurants fill your foods with fats and sodium so you still have
to be mindful of what you are ordering.
The biggest challenged I have found is with planning for supper. I don’t get home usually until just after
5:00pm and most nights I am leaving the house at close to 6pm to help out with
the beginner class on Mondays and Wednesday.
Tuesdays are San Shou class and Fridays are weapons class. My biggest issue is that I haven’t found a
way to make supper in a short period of time those days. I think I am going to have to plan to sit
down on Saturday and plan and cook (or prep) some meals ahead of time. This way even if the prep is done, the
cooking will take much less time to complete.
Second observation is the amount of sodium that is in our
food. I have been using a great tool
that I use to track my food intake. This
tool also logs calories and nutritional information and lays it for me to
evaluate. What I have found is that when
I eat foods that are somewhat processed the sodium intake DOUBLES for what I am
supposed to eat. For instance, I cooked
a couple of the Costco hot dogs and two hot dogs alone had a whopping 3,500 mg’s
of sodium! I couldn’t believe it was
that high until I read the nutritional on the packaging. Needless to say I won’t be eating anymore of
those.
The awareness of what is in my food is a great by product of
this initiative and one that has opened my eyes to nutrition and what exactly I
am putting in my body. I have found that
when I take the time to cook meals at home (which I love to do) things like
salt, sugar and fats are greatly reduced and are in line with what a person
like me should be eating. It’s not
rocket science to realize that cooking at home and controlling what you put in
your meals will do you body a wealth of good!
I am looking forward to week #2!
Ian Repay
Student Of Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, Alberta
Follow my journey @ ianrepay.blogspot.ca
