A Healthy Life

Ever since I can remember I have been on one diet or another.  From Atkins to Paleo to fasting.  You name it I've done it.  The worst diet I have ever tried is the Leek Soup Diet.  Oh my god!  Even today I struggle with leeks.  And you know, the strange thing is that I have never really struggled with my weight. Sure I have put on a couple of kilos over the years but at age 60 I think I can come to terms with that.  What really set me on a course of dieting was reading somewhere that you should be the same weight as you are at 21.  Why did I believe that?  Okay it might be true and if you lived in Ethiopia it might happen but I'm sure that whoever wrote that did not take into account childbirth and what it does to your body.  You see at age 21, I had a 6 month old baby and I was breastfeeding.  I was the smallest I have ever been in my whole life.  I was 8 stone (51kg).  On a BMI scale that would be almost malnourished.
So I have tossed all those silly diets away and now just concentrating on a healthy diet with lots of fruit and vegetables and small helpings of protein.  As we are beef producers with a freezer full of good quality grass fed beef, this is our main protein.  I have also introduced more oily fish into our diet.  We don't drink any alcohol during the week but on weekends we may have a glass or two.  I have found that I am enjoying red wine and port!
Of course exercise is still very important.  I walk for half an hour at least five times and week, take two yoga classes and stay active around the house.  On the days that I do my morning yoga I forgo breakfast.....not because I think it is healthy, just because it makes my yoga practice so much easier.  (Downward Dog with a belly full of food is not a great feeling!)
I have been a member of Maggie Beers Club for awhile now and was very interested in her latest cookbook that she calls Recipe for Life.  The recipes in this book help provide the nutrients we need for optimum brain health and to reduce our chances of Alzheimers.  No guarantees of course because many factors contribute to AD but the recipes are delicious, tasty and simple.  The first 65 pages of the book are devoted to nutrition and I learnt a lot of new things.
To quote Maggie.....
"My recipe for life is to have a healthy attitude to eating - it's all about balance, variety and choosing foods that give you the best chance of being in good health now and into your future.  This is not a diet book - it's a way of Life"

So here is a sample of what we have been eating....

Scrambled Eggs, Asparagus and hot smoked salmon

Old Fashioned oats with banana and sultanas

This was from Jamie Oliver - Shakin Ginger Beef with Bok Choy

Sweet Potato Fritters with Avocado and Salmon

Bircher Muesli

Stay healthy my friends!