Making changes for the better

With lots of new and exiting things happening in my life, I’ve decided that I want to do a complete overhaul so that I can be in the best physical shape and have the healthiest mind/body I’ve ever had.

I’ve decided to join Hello Sunday Morning (http://hellosundaymorning.com.au/) and have joined many others who have taken the pledge to give up alcohol for a minimum of three months.

I can honestly say I am pretty proud of myself for making this commitment – it’s not as though I rely on alcohol, but I do like to have a glass of wine from time to time. It’s more the excessive consumption on a weekend that I think I really need to cut back on.

I think binge drinking in Australia, especially from 18-30 year olds is a growing problem and it’s sad because it often causes irreversible damage to those who abuse alcohol.

As part of my total transformation I’ve also decided that I want to know more about the food me and my family are consuming. 

I love cooking, as most of my friends would know, and I’ve realised that it’s no good putting things into our bodies when we don’t even know what they are. For instance, if you read the back of a chip packet and there are several different preservatives, added colours and flavours and ingredients that you can’t even pronounce… why would you eat something that you couldn’t even say?

I’ve decided that anything I cook, I am making from scratch so that I know exactly what is in the meal I’ve made.

Cutting back on red meat and animal products in general is also something I’ve committed to doing and to clarify, I don’t mean turning vegetarian.

What many people don’t realise is that consuming meat-and-three-veg is not an ideal diet to survive on. It’s proven that red meat causes cancer if consumed on a regular basis (or more than four times a week).  Saturated animal fats are among the worst kinds of fat we can put into our bodies.

So in the spirit of understanding the things I consume, I’ve decided I am going to do a course in nutrition – not full time, but I just want to take it up as a part-time hobby, because I’m generally interested in making a change and being better educated when it comes to what I put in my body.

I have a couple of dear family friends who are battling life-threatening illnesses at the moment and they remind me that at the end of the day, being healthy and happy is the main thing in life. It’s not about materialistic crap – if you don’t have your health, you don’t have much of a life, so it’s important to look after yourself.

I am not judging anyone or making any outlandish statements by doing this – it’s just a personal decision and something I want to do for me. I still endeavour to be social and go out with friends who are drinking, but I’ll just stick to the mineral water thank you very much!

If anyone has participated in a nutrition course (on the Gold Coast) I’d really like to hear about your experience and what you got out of it.