I swear,
I’ve been told I’m colorful. I’m not bragging or trying to sound like I’m the
best thing next to sliced bread. (That spot is already held by my mother
anyway.) People have used all sorts of words and phrases to describe me—vibrant,
feisty, a spitfire, a ball of energy… Sometimes I wonder if it’s just their way
of saying I’m a WEIRDO. But whatever the case may be, I know that I like to
live life to the fullest and interact with as many people as possible. Everyone
you meet is a chance to learn something new and possibly change your life as a
result.
Speaking of
life changing experiences, I recently joined Weight Watchers. Yes, Oprah,
“We’re doing it!” That woman sure is inspiring! I'd love to be invited to one of Oprah’s member parties. I want to sit in the woods with Oprah and sing
“We’re having it all!” But all kidding aside, I think it’s the best eating
program I’ve ever tried. Truly. However, I’m not really here to tout the
wonders of Weight Watchers. It’s more to do with what I’m learning about food and
myself.
Weight
Watchers assigns point values to the things you eat. And you only get a certain
amount of points per day. I am on the strictest plan and only get 30. A tablespoon of peanut butter is 3 points –
10% of my daily allowance! When I think about how I used to dig my spoon into a
jar of peanut butter as if it were instead a container of Chobani non-fat
yogurt… well that fantasy is over. The
bottom line is this program has really made me stop and think about what I am
putting in my mouth and whether or not I should be doing so. And what I’ve
noticed is that I like eating colorful foods! Asparagus (even though it makes
my pee smell funny), spinach, sweet potatoes, beets, tomatoes, eggs, salmon… I
could go on, but don’t worry, I won’t. My friend offered to cook me dinner, and
insisted on white potatoes and white rice as the side dishes. The white foods?
Not so good. They had tons of points and little nutritional value. It’s the
colorful foods that offer the best value for your points and your health. Okay,
that’s not a total hard and fast rule, but a lot of the white carbs are super
bad if you want to stay within your daily point allowance. Sweet potatoes are a
way better bang for your buck than Idaho. And in my opinion, have a lot more
flavor!
I’m finding
that as time goes on, I reach for the colorful foods, in my fruits, veggies and
proteins. They make me happy and feel satisfied. And they don’t clog my
insides, if you know what I mean. (And I’m sure you do.) And perhaps the people
in our lives, like me, need to be colorful too! It takes all kinds of food to
make a person feel content, and the people we interact with should be no
different. My friends come in all shapes, sizes, colors, religions and sexual preferences.
They all provide me with something valuable – humor, adventure, wisdom, love,
inspiration… Each has their own color that they add to my life and it’s such a
blessing to have that diversity in my life. Perhaps we all need to step out of our
comfort zones and choose to try new
things… both in our eating choices and the company we keep. Variety is the
spice of life, after all. And Oprah, if you’d like me to be part of the company
YOU keep, I’m available to eat at your dinner table anytime!
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