Good afternoon all,
After some thought about what I should bug you guys with this time I decided to tackle one of the most well known sayings in the English Language:
"You are what you eat"
Now, you can imagine what that saying means. Chances are, the originator of the phrase meant to convey the idea that if you put garbage into your body, your body will be garbage itself. I can talk about this at length, but I will only make a quick point. Just look around you. The incidence of obesity is an EPIDEMIC and it is only getting worse. I cannot tell you enough, how many overweight children I see on a daily basis while at work. It has gotten so bad that the people that look "thin", by definition, are probably still overweight (based on ideal body weights and BMI). This is a reflection of our Fast Food mentality. We are so busy as americans that we put anything in our mouth that can be prepared quickly and shoveled onto our plate. What happened to the days of taking time to prepare a meal, using healthy ingredients, and enjoying the time spent with family and friends consuming the meal.
This aspect is what I wish to discuss.....
As a child, dinner was a ritual in our family. We actually sat down together, talked about daily events, and took our time......What a concept?!?!? I believe this is beneficial far beyond the nutritional benefits. It was during these family meals that my parents were able to check up on my progress in school, the other children I was associating with, and my goals for the day, week, semester, or year. The info my parents were able to troll for, enabled them to be GREAT parents and make sure I was not straying off the right path.
Families today, routinely do not have this "ritual". Meals are prepared separately, families do not sit down to share the meal, and as we see in our everyday lives, some things have changed drastically as a result. First, the health factor, how can you learn to eat healthy things, as this is a life-long decision, when you are constantly gorging yourself on the fastest meal, the largest meal that one can consume in the shortest amount of time, or the meal that you eat while in the car?? In my opinion, this dumbing down of our knowledge of healthy foods has resulted in the average body habitus (i.e childhood obesity) we see all around us.
Second, how can parents keep their fingers on the pulse of what is going on in their kids life when they don't spend enough time to troll for information. Kids want and need structure in their lives although as teens it may seem that is the last thing they want. If I, as a kid, spent my meals alone, texting others, or trying to eat as fast as I can so I can watch Skins or The Jersey Shore, I can only imagine where I"d be now.
Long story short,
Parents, get back to the routine of eating as a family. I know schedules today are more hectic than ever, but try, try, try to at least share a meal or 2 as a family per week. You'd be surprised what you find out about your children and how easy it will become to get them talking. That's all you want; Your child talking to you. That way you know if school is tough, if they are being bullied, if they are experimenting with risk taking behavior. How else, can you ensure your child is developing in a healthy way. Remember, as a parent, it is YOUR responsibility to provide your child with the best chance at success. It is their responsibility to respond to the challenge.
So the next time you hear the phrase "You are what you eat"....try to find the deeper meaning. Although the health benefits are numerous, there is much more to be achieved by taking time to share a meal as a family. One can learn the value of hard work (preparing the meal), where our food comes from (talking about healthy ingredients and what makes them healthy), how to carry a proper conversation (No texting, no video games, and no social networking at the dinner table), how to know what proper portion size is (No super sizing at family dinner), and most importantly how to talk to your children and how your children can talk to you, etc.
So in essence, the "garbage" we eat or HOW we eat can have profound, long lasting consequences, that when done the right way can help ensure a fit body, sound mind, and functioning family unit.
Finally, hope this reaches at least one person and makes sense, and possibly, makes a difference....
These are after all,
Just one man's thoughts
One Love
