Know Thyself : Food and Nutrition Self Assessment

english breakfast under water..., a photo by austinevan on Flickr.

When I first learned about my so-called essential hypertension, the first thing that came to my mind was the food I have been eating for the past few years.  Ever since I started living independently, I could not vouch for the nutritional value of what I am ingesting.  There was a time when I became a fast food junkie when I was just in my mid to late twenties. That was the time that I was going out a lot, and eating out seems to be the more convenient choice.  I don't smoke or take alcoholic drinks, but greasy fast foods laced with a lot of artificial seasonings and generously sprinkled with salt and monosodium glutamate has finally taken their toll on my body.  Where I work, the foods served in the canteen were no better, if not worse than fast foods.  Add to that dangerous combination is that when I do get to prepare my own food, it usually comprise of instant food such as noodles.  

In essence, I am literally digging my own grave with this kind of lifestyle.  I am now in my late thirties and should still be in good health.  But having to take Losartan for now says otherwise.  I don't want to be on medication for the rest of my life.  So I know it's more than just lowering my blood pressure with this medicine.  

A few months back when I started on my medications, I have also started to make some changes in my eating habits.  Truth be told, a lot of people say that I have slimmed down considerably.
I wouldn't believe them at first because I thought it's only because I was wearing better fitting clothes.  I have always worn loose clothing, those that do not show the female form.  I guess I like to keep people guessing hahaha!  Recently, I have been wearing form fitting ones so I thought that it's just a visual trick that the people are seeing.  Just to put an end to the "debate", I began taking my weight at least on a weekly basis.  My weight ranges from 119 - 121 lbs.  I stand at 5'3" and according to this nifty ideal weight calculator from Health Status I fall within the ideal range.  The people are right after all.  I realize, maybe that is the reason I can wear form fitting clothes now.

Alright, you're probably asking what I did to achieve that.  It's practically a no-brainer when I think about it.  Just the lifestyle self-awareness already points me to where I should start.  Here are the first few steps I have taken on the journey towards a healthier living.

1. Avoid dining out.  This takes care of the greasy, salty, and what-have-you's stuff.  Realistically speaking, we cannot altogether avoid eating out, but by making an effort not to, this makes a lot of difference.  If you're used to everyday fast food, limiting that to half the time is already a significant step.
2. Eat the right amount.  Simply put, do not over stuff yourself.  The Japanese calls this hara hachi bu that says you eat until you are just 80% full.  I could not actually measure that, but I get the concept.  I guess it takes practice to know when you are at the 80% level...and a lot of discipline to hold yourself from reaching the 90 or 100 mark.  On rare occasions, I think I still hit above the 100 mark.  The keyword there is RARE.  Sometimes, we overindulge but as long as it is not a habit, I think that's just fine.
3. Eat the right food, and may I just add, real food.  Generally speaking, the less a food resembles its raw, original state, chances are that it has undergone so many processing and has a good chunk of additives that go with it.  Our best bet for real food are fruits, vegetables, and nuts.  In the past few months, I have been eating more veggies together with the staple rice instead of meat.  I think, this alone significantly melted away those extra pounds.  I used to weigh 128-130 lbs.  Still within the ideal range but I kind of feel heavy with that already.  Eating raw meat is probably unthinkable to most people.  For my part, I could only go for sushis and sashimis, but no raw chicken or pork or beef.  I still include meat in my diet once in a while, but it's mostly white meat (fish and chicken). 

There are a lot of areas for improvement when it comes to food and nutrition.  Taking these steps, for me are just for starters.  I must say, the results are quite encouraging and I feel better about myself.