You Are What You Eat

Fast food or homemade?

We have all heard this saying: “You are what you eat”. What does this really mean though? One would hope that eating a whole box of DingDongs doesn’t mean that I am a ding dong, though some would argue I don’t need to eat any DingDongs to be a ding dong. Over the years of working on eating better I have noticed a few things that while not surprising have made me stop and think about the foods I am willing to consume. I write this as my stomach hurts because I decided to drink a Pepsi. Since I rarely have Pepsi anymore, my body is not used to it, thus the unpleasant feelings in my midsection. Foods can help our bodies feel better, stay healthy, and work smoothly.

One night I came home from work right when dinner was almost done. As I was getting changed the kids where setting the table. I heard my hubby ask which kid was going to make the salad, and I had to stop and check if I had heard correctly. Sure enough my Tabby girl was chopping up some spinach and adding it to the cucumbers and carrots she had already cut. My jaw was almost to the ground because if you know my family they like carrots and cucumbers when it comes to veggies, that is it. The fact that something else green was going into the bowl to finish off the salad was amazing to me. Sure enough though along with the carrots and cucumbers was lettuce and spinach. Every night since then we have had this salad and it’s been great. So what you say? This is important because there are nights when getting a healthy meal on the table is hard when there are other activities that take up the time it would take to make the dinners, so knowing that at least we are getting our veggies put this momma’s mind at ease.

The saying “you are what you eat” also goes along with the saying “you are who you hang out with” They both are saying the same thing, good goes in, good comes out. Bad goes in, bad comes out. If I can help it, my hubby DOES NOT eat beans or onions, and when he does we all know about it. Same goes for what my kids get to watch on TV or on their Ipads. If it is not something my husband I feel they should be watching it gets changed, end of story. As parents it is our job to bring up our kids knowing they are loved. The way we treat them and teach them will ultimately shape who they are when they are older. Just as we try and feed them good nutritious foods we try and fill their ears with good, healthy, positive words and show them the same types of actions. Giving them hearty salads instead of McDonald’s hamburgers.

My daughter went to work with me the other day. I love that she comes with me, since she is learning what it means to work hard and earn a little extra cash. I also love that she is surrounded by people who are amazing and great teachers. She is getting good poured into her that will help her through the days when she is exposed to the bad. On the flip side I have a friend who had a lot of negativity in her life, and when she is around certain people she does not have the confidence she normally has. She is working on it but it is like being fed Twinkies your whole life and now you are trying to eat oranges. Once the decision is made to switch it takes time, and there are instances where it feels like you are taking 1 step forward and 3 steps back but the act of moving forward is still happening.

If what we eat is so important and what we allow in our heads even more so, why do we get ourselves into situations where we are tempted to eat the bad foods and have the negativity within earshot. Sometimes it is out of our control what is put before us. I remember at a Christmas party I went to once, there was candy everywhere, almost like the hostess knew I (who loves candy) was coming…..wink, wink. The problem was, I was actually trying to stay away from candy and other sweets. I was doing it as part of a challenge, with a co-worker. I failed miserably that night. Once I had one candy it was like the floodgates opened and I couldn’t stop. The same goes with words. One morning I woke up, went on a walk with Jorj and came back without ever knowing that my hubby had to sleep on the couch for the night because my snoring was so bad. He was passively letting me know that he wasn’t too happy about the fact that the couch was his bed but there wasn’t really anything I could do about the situation, but since he was upset about it enough to mention it a few times it really set my mood for the day. I really don’t think he intended to change my outlook but in the end it did. I allowed negative words to enter my brain and then ultimately let them reset my day from starting out good to a so-so day in the end.

So what do we do from here? We have to build up will power to say no to the not so healthy foods, as well as say no to the negative words and thoughts that infiltrate our thoughts. It is not an easy tasks but even the Bible says this in Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy---meditate on these things.