Choices and Changes

My birthday is coming up this month and I’m thinking of my age and how old I’m getting. It’s a time in which I reflect upon what I have achieved and what still needs to be done. This year I am thinking about how much I have changed my diet and lifestyle. Making healthy choices is becoming more important to me as I know that it will affect the years ahead especially if I reach a very old age. Visiting my grandma recently, has made me realise that I need to take extra care of my health and I want to know that I did everything I could to live a happy healthy life.

Like every teenager during college and university, living the student lifestyle I did eat junk food, refined and processed food, like instant noodles, ready made meals and crisps. But as the years went past and as I studied about nutrition and health, I cut down slowly and soon enough I was able to live without the bad unhealthy foods which I know was doing no good to my body. This is not to say that I still don’t have my vices, but I do find myself thinking twice about what I eat and try to make healthy choices, because I know that I am the one in control and I cannot blame anyone else.

It’s not always easy. Sometimes it is hard, especially if you have grown up with it, but once you get your taste buds back and realise how bad refined processed food actually tastes, it becomes easier to not have it. I try to take steps by switching to alternatives, for example, having wholegrain brown bread instead of refined white bread, and now I just don’t like the taste of white bread anymore.

I have started to cook more and make my food at home rather than opting for takeaways or instant ready meals. My plan for 2012 is to carry on making meals at home and experiment with new healthy recipes. Also when I do go out, I want to really try hard to make a healthy choice rather than opting for what everyone else is having or what the ‘old me’ used to have. Good things do not come easy, hard work and perseverance is always needed and will hopefully pay off.