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September 23, 2012

It’s Never Too Late to Make Healthy Choices

Healthy foods are within your reach
Credit: Photos.com

After visiting Miami’s Pritikin Longevity Center a while back, I’m happy to say many of the lessons I learned still resonate with me. Instead of using salad dressing, I drizzle my salad with the best balsamic glaze I can afford. I’ve cut my protein portions from eight ounces to about four, and find that it’s just enough, since most of my plate is loaded up with salad and veggies.

While some might have found the conversation with my various meal companions each night excruciatingly boring and a big yawn, each time we sat down together to break bread (that is the closest we ever got bread, trust me), the conversation inevitably turned to health. We enthusiastically shared a tip of what we learned that day, an aha moment, things we’d change once back home, changes we’d made just that week. What we all had in common was wanting to improve our health and tap into new ways to get healthier.

Come week’s end I left (sadly, I might add) – with a boxed lunch lovingly packed up for me by the chef. Inside the bag held the secret to continued success: a veggie burger in whole wheat pita and a big plastic bag of cut-up carrots and cherry tomatoes. This is the kind of meal that you might find in a pita pit franchise as a healthy alternative to typical sandwiches and their often greasy fillings.

And then when I arrived at the airport, there it was….the moment I walked through the doors, I could smell it.

Real life.

AKA Cinnabon (just how can you ignore that drool-inducing odor?). To boot, there was pizza, sushi, chocolate confections, ice cream and frozen yogurt, candy, burgers, hot dogs…everything. I’d lie if I told you it didn’t tempt me – a little. But I kept on walking, knowing that I’d just worked really hard at detoxing my body, and if there was anything to test my will, this was it.

Once the plane was airborne and I settled into my seat, I laid out my lunch. The Asian woman sitting next to me glanced over. “Oh, you’re so healthy,” she exclaimed, as I munched on my carrot sticks. “I have high blood pressure,” she continued, frowning. Ah, I thought to myself: it was fate! She was here so that I could tell her all about what to do for her blood pressure. But I demurred, not wanting to sound like, you know, a know-it-all. Although, I must admit, I snuck in the “do you eat a lot of salt?” to which she replied “oh, yes…Chinese food is full of salt.” She knew, yet accepted the blood pressure as her fate, adding, “but I’m 60 years old…it happens.”

Next to her sat a woman eating an oozing, acrid sandwich of something-or-other, washed down by three cans of Coke in the course of one hour. (Not diet Coke, either, but the high-test, original kind. The kind that removes rust and rots teeth.) I felt sorry for the poor flight attendant who kept running over each time the passenger repeatedly rang that overhead buzzer, demanding more.

Ah, real life. Temptations abound.

But the way I see it is this: we all have choices. The way we run our lives is in our hands.

Even if you choose to turn a deaf ear to the healthy messages out there.

What healthy – or unhealthy – choices have you made lately?

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jennifer Margulis says

    September 23, 2012 at 11:44 pm

    It’s so hard in real life, isn’t it? I’m able to eat well at home but then when we are out — especially traveling — I struggle to eat a semblance of a healthy diet. I did do something today that I was proud of: there was nasty white cake sugar-galore at a gala celebration at the library. I didn’t have any. Honestly, even though I was hungry I wasn’t tempted. Actually, maybe I wasn’t tempted because I was hungry and that cake just. wasn’t. food. We’re really having a nationwide health crisis in this country. Now, where’d I put those carrots?

  2. ruth pennebaker says

    September 25, 2012 at 10:49 am

    You know what I’d love from you — and any food bloggers who read your site? A weekly recipe of delicious, innovative, but easy-to-prepare vegetable dishes. As I’ve often whined, vegetables are my downfall.

  3. Irene says

    September 25, 2012 at 9:22 pm

    Thanks for the reminder. It’s so hard to remember that there are so many decision points that affect our health. Your blog is inspirational!

  4. Alexandra says

    September 26, 2012 at 6:02 pm

    I was cooking for my daughter and her husband over the past few days and made choices that were as healthy as possible. A salad of baby spinach and wild salmon, with organic potatoes, was one meal. It is so tempting to eat junk food when you have a new baby. Her friends also brought over healthy dishes, I was glad to see. I look forward to reading your suggestions for the next visit, soon, I hope.

  5. MyKidsEatSquid says

    September 26, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    I’m vacationing right now and I find my will power waning–my body is out of whack with the time change, schedule. I tend to crave carbs when I travel, I’m not sure why.

  6. Kris @ Attainable Sustainable says

    September 26, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    I had a chat with my acupuncturist about this today. I find that it’s a never-ending process to keep adding smarter choices to my diet, eliminating the less smart options. I’m not making earth shattering changes, but bit by bit remaking my diet.

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A High School Student and Aspiring Writer from Australia Reaches Out…

I would love to hear a few things on the prospect from a first hand-perspective, and would be thrilled to learn more about it from you. Your advice is well valued and I’m very grateful to have such wise words from someone with such first hand experience.

I will be looking forward to reading more of your wonderful articles in the future!

Best wishes,

Mikayla

 
Sheryl Kraft
2017-01-17T13:37:55+00:00
I would love to hear a few things on the prospect from a first hand-perspective, and would be thrilled to learn more about it from you. Your advice is well valued and I’m very grateful to have such wise words from someone with such first hand experience. I will be looking forward to reading more of your wonderful articles in the future! Best wishes, Mikayla  
https://sherylkraft.com/testimonials/high-school-student-aspiring-writer-australia-reaches/

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On behalf of our entire organization, we'd like to thank you so much for featuring our product in last week’s Parade Magazine. Due to your article, traffic and sales have been great this past week.! We are a small business that prides ourselves on excellent product quality and customer service. We work hard to make quality products and market them effectively but then sometimes you get a gift like your article which really takes us to the next level. We will be eternally grateful to you for choosing us as one of your eye product recommendations.  
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I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I am hoping you can share some advice, tips, or guidance as I work on this, my lateral career change!

Thanks for taking the time to read this - I know you probably have much more exciting things to be doing, but just know that your work is inspiring me to continue down this writing path.

 
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I'm a young medical writer trying to get a foothold in the industry, so the portfolio you have on your website showcasing your accomplishments is something that I'm aiming to achieve. I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I am hoping you can share some advice, tips, or guidance as I work on this, my lateral career change! Thanks for taking the time to read this - I know you probably have much more exciting things to be doing, but just know that your work is inspiring me to continue down this writing path.  
https://sherylkraft.com/testimonials/im-writing-to-express-my-admiration-for-the-work-you-are-doing/
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