Healthy Us!

For as long as I can remember, health and wellness has been at the core of my daily existance. As a young girl my mother taught me to respect my body by being thoughtful about what I eat and how I eat. Of course, there were the days of being forced to eat everthing on my plate before I was allowed to leave the table. However, those days came to an end sometime before I started junior high. And thank God they did! I believe that is a huge factor in America's obesity problems.

I teach my kids to eat smaller portions of healthy fresh foods, if they are still hungry they can always go back and get more. Don't eat until you're stuffed, eat until you are satisfied, then wait 20 minutes before eating more. As a result my children appreciate high quality foods and rarely ask for something out of a box! They also seem to be sick much less than their peers. Don't get me wrong, we've had our share of childhood health problems but that is the body's natural way of strengthening itself. My oldest developed migraine headaches at the age of 5 and suffered for years until we finally got them under control about 3 years ago. My youngest, Sean, has struggled the most with asthma as an infant and toddler, recurring ear infections and just a year ago underwent an appendectimy for a burst appendix. As my kids get older they seem to have less and less major illnesses and are understanding the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

In my quest for a healthier way of living I constantly research what I could be doing differently to accomplish my goals. It is an ever-changing process, it is a journey not a destination. Eventually, time will win in the long run but in the meantime I will fight it and, at the same time, hopefully teach my kids to put their health and wellness at the core of their daily existance as well.

For more information on healthy living visit Dr. Andrew Weil's website at www.drweil.com.