12
Jun

Eating Healthy and Staying Organized

This month I took on the challenge of eating healthy and staying organized. And it has not been easy!

I’ll be the first to admit that my decision to eat healthy by joining a local a special group of ladies at Fit Body Boot Camp in Fredericksburg, Va has been harder than I anticipated.

I’m doing my best to stay on track with the menus (and I would say that I do that about 85% of the time!) So yes, I’ll do a little celebration dance for my success! Spinach Salad

Eating healthy and staying organized has been an adventure and challenge for me this month. The extra time that it is taking to shop for specific food items has caused some additional stress. Mainly because I’m having to shop for food items that I have never shopped for before and it is taking extra time that I didn’t plan for and I have found myself going back and forth across the store in search of another item. Before I started the program, our grocery shopping included a specific routine. We bought the same items every week and could make it in and out of the store in about 30 minutes! What great time management, right? I was so proud of myself!

That is not the case with our new food routine. About 80% of the items on our grocery list were not items that we would normally buy. I really didn’t know where to start! I couldn’t even organize my list because I didn’t know where half of the items were located in the store.

On that note, here is a funny story….several of my snacks and shakes call for Almond Butter! I’ve never used Almond Butter before, so the first week my husband and I went to the store to shop for our food list we searched all over the place (in the butter section) to find the almond butter. Who knew that it was in the peanut butter section!  DUH!!!  I felt so stupid. We found the nicest person in the grocery store who helped us find multiple items because we just had no idea where to find things like coconut water (in the asian section) and coconut flour and almond meal.

I have always thought I have been great at self management and time management but eating healthy and staying organized has taken more of my time than I imagined it would.

As the weeks go on, it is getting easier and easier to do the shopping. This week we only spent about 45 minutes shopping instead of the 90 minutes that we spent on week #1.

Another thing that this experience has taught me is that I have realized that I needed to take my own advice and prepare meals (as much as possible) in advance. In the past, our meals were quick and easy but they  were not as healthy and they didn’t take as much time to prepare. Now, I spend about an hour every Sunday evening cutting, dicing and putting meals “together” in advance in order to save time during the week. And, it is well worth the time and effort.

While eating healthy is a challenge (it has only been 3 weeks of change) I’m feeling better and this is important. I’m experiencing a change in my mental attitude toward my own organized space and helping me create more ideas to streamline my own areas. I’m experiencing an increased clarity in how I am managing myself and because I am managing myself, I’m managing my time better.

The other great part of all this experience is that my family is really enjoying the experience too! My husband loves the meals and my little girl loves the different type of salads. Because we are eating differently our bodies are reacting differently and we all have more energy and better attitudes.

Going through the process of eating healthy, preparing meals that positively affect my body and mind and attitude have impacted my entire life. It is the start of another part of my life journey. And the best part of this journey is that I am taking my family along with me.

As I write this, my husband is outside organizing tools and yard equipment. Yesterday, my little girl organized her bedroom. Eating better is making our family better, reducing our stress and helping us get more organized!

Eating healthy and staying organized…..happy life..it is all coming together.