Adding to Subtract

My last post was all about getting back on track after vacation.  Whenever we start or renew our dedication to health and fitness, I think the general tendency is to start down deprivation highway.  In fact, I think that is the basis of almost every diet book around.  "Carbs are the devil!"  "Avoid Fat!"  "Only eat orange food!"  And we all know what happens.  The only thing you want to eat is the thing you are not allowed to eat (This doesn't not work with 4 years old though.  I tried it.  It failed.  The zucchini was left untouched even though he was "forbidden" to eat it.)  Pretty soon you are wolfing down that insanely good smelling loaf of French bread that has been taunting you in the grocery store.  You are devouring Ben and Jerry's or taking a magic marker to a donut to so it will "comply" to some crazy diet rule.  Deprivation messes with your head and it is the recipe for disaster.

So what are you suppose to do then?  If deprivation doesn't work, what does work??  Well, I recently read a blog post by TriMarni that I really loved.  It was a total paradigm shift for me.  She pointed out that instead of focusing on what we can't have we should focus on adding healthy food to our diets.  Awesome!  If you fill up on the good stuff you won't have much room for the bad stuff.  By adding nutritious food you end up subtracting the junk that is keeping you from being healthy.

So that is just what I have been doing.  I am focusing on eating more fruits and vegetables because I think I has been slacking there a bit. . .and I'm a vegetarian!  I know, how does that happen!  I don't feel deprived and I have not been obsessing about the chocolate ice cream my husband keeps buying (chocolate ice cream is a weakness of mine).

Food is not the only area where I want to add.  I want to be more active through out the day.  I am really good about my structured workouts but I am afraid that I have been too sedentary the rest of the day.  Sometimes I need to sit.  Like driving or reading to the kids.  But I don't need to spend so much time checking out celebrity baby bumps online (not that I do that. . .ok maybe sometimes I do that).  One hour in the gym is not a license to be a couch potato the rest of the day.  I have two little kids, I am not just laying around, but I do need to be conscious about how often I am just sitting.

Here's to saying yes to wholesome food and moving more!