Last week we discussed some of the common excuses we present for not getting involved with lifestyle changes – particularly when it comes to exercise. We all know how important it is to be active. We know we will feel so much better for having exerted ourselves – not only psychologically (I did it!), but also physically. It is great to have mobile joints and a spring in our step. It is rewarding to be able to run around with the kids or grandkids and still have energy for more. It is pleasant to get up and not struggle with back pain and painful joints.
But it is so challenging to start the process. Change is difficult.
Here are some excuses that may relate to other aspects of lifestyle change
- Healthy foods don’t taste very nice
It is true that some people who are “health nuts” may use very little imagination or flavouring in preparation of their foods. In fact the food may be downright horrible. I have been guilty of making such food myself at times. It certainly does not encourage my family to relish my cooking skills. But there is a learning curve, and my family will admit that some of the food I prepare is very delicious.
Of course our taste buds have been trained to be lazy and expect overstimulation with salty or sweet or oily foods. We know that these highly processed foods are not the best for us – they are at the core of so much of chronic health conditions. Many of the tasty restaurant fare is also loaded with fats and sugar and salt, or prepared with highly refined grains. Once in a while our bodies will tolerate that, but the problem arises when that is our normal fare. Sometimes it pays to give our taste buds a short holiday – fast for a day or two to reboot the system.
Then mindfully concentrate on the profusion of natural flavours and textures of foods as grown or minimally prepared. When you savour the foods this way, you will be less likely to overindulge. Many of the highly processed foods inhibit your natural control mechanisms that notify you that you have had enough to eat. There are an increasing number of on-line sites for healthy recipes that are loaded with flavour. For some excellent and very tasty plant-based recipes, but also some healthy chicken and fish recipes if you are not quite ready to go vegan yet.
- Healthy foods are expensive!
My goodness, it is possible to go overboard with all the latest fad foods promoted by health nuts and the health food industry. But you definitely don’t need to go there. You can get by with a good variety of commonly available fresh fruits, vegetables and common grains and legumes. It is important to have a variety – the Creator gave us all the colours of the rainbow in foods for a reason – different coloured foods bring different nutrients, apart from visual inspiration. The secret is to utilise in-season foods. You don’t have to use watermelons in winter, or peaches imported from the Northern hemisphere.
Generally speaking the foods available in our particular season are the ones best suited to our needs for that time of the year.
Tips to save costs include: bulk buying and sharing with family or friends. When we lived in Lesotho at the Mission Hospital, we would buy big boxes of apples or bananas, then share in the costs amongst the staff. Another tip is to bulk cook over the weekend, then package meal-sized containers into the freezer for later use. This makes preparation when you are busy in the week much easier, but cuts costs of buying ready-made fast foods and the temptation to indulge in less healthy options.
- I don’t know how to cook!
When I first got married my wife couldn’t even boil an egg. Her first loaf of bread we used as a door stop it was so dry and dense. But over the years she has become quite an ace. At one stage at the Mission for social events for the staff she ran a “restaurant” at which she would offer a country-specific special meal with tables and service for whoever wanted an outing. Some of the student nurses earned a bit of pocket money acting as waitresses. It was a blast.
Practice makes perfect. These days with Google and YouTube, there is really no excuse not to be able to cook simple menus. It just takes a bit of imagination and effort. Next week we will cover a few more excuses. One of the buzz words in lifestyle medicine is self-efficacy. That is the opportunity to help ourselves. We can feel so much better about our selves, when we can see the fruits of our labour, and realise that we have what it takes to begin the journey to health.
Have a great week,
Dave Glass
Dr David Glass graduated from UCT in 1975. He spent the next 12 years working at a mission hospital in Lesotho, where much of his work involved health education and interventions to improve health, aside from the normal busy clinical work of an under-resourced mission hospital. He returned to UCT in 1990 to specialise in obstetrics/gynaecology and then moved to the South Coast where he had the privilege of, amongst other things, ushering 7000 babies into the world. He no longer delivers babies but is still very clinically active in gynaecology. An old passion, preventive health care, has now replaced the obstetrics side of his work. He is eager to share insights he has gathered over the years on how to prevent and reverse so many of the modern scourges of lifestyle – obesity, diabetes, ischaemic heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, common cancers, etc. He is a family man, with a supportive wife, and two grown children, and four beautiful grandchildren. His hobbies include walking, cycling, vegetable gardening, bird-watching, travelling and writing. He is active in community health outreach and deeply involved in church activities. He enjoys teaching and sharing information.
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