Julie's Take on 12 Days to a Better 2012
Feb
2Posted in [12 Days to a Better 2012], [CEO Julie Smolyansky], [Miscellaneous] By Julie Smolyansky
2/2/2012 2:44 PM
Two weeks ago we challenged you to drink Lifeway Kefir every day with the promise that you would feel better. Along the way, we have offered up healthy lifestyle tips and recipes for you and your family. The team at Lifeway asked me to contribute a post for the end of this challenge.
Losing weight is a top resolution every year – but studies show that more than half of people who make resolutions break them within six months. I think in part this is due to all the marketing by companies promising a quick fix. “Eat this and you will lose weight!” “Drink this and shed those pounds!” “Buy this and you too can look like this!” But in real life, no one looks like those images! So we can never achieve the unrealistic goals we set for ourselves, and when we don’t, we feel like we failed. Just last week I came across this spoof about Photoshop, it’s a funny video but the message is serious.
Frankly, I’m angry - just like we all should be! I’m sick of hearing about girls on diets as young as six years old. Recently Katya Zharkova, a size 12 “plus” size model stood side-by-side embracing a traditional model, and the image was shocking. She went on to state that most runway models meet the Body Maxx Index criteria for anorexia. On the other side of the pendulum, we have an obesity epidemic in this country - both children and adults overweight to the point that we have a health crisis on our hands. It is apparent to me that we have forgotten how to nourish our body and souls. We have lost our consciousness.
I stopped dieting, obsessing over fat and calories, and even buying fashion magazines when I was pregnant with my first daughter. I wanted to protect my children against comparing themselves to society’s brand of beauty and feeling bad about themselves. Instead of being victims to the diet industry, we focus on being a healthy family. We eat healthy and organic as often as possible; we stay active, and we contribute to our society. In other words, we live consciously and with intent.
We don’t call food “good” or “bad” - it’s all just food. We shop our farmers market every few days for local and in-season fruits and veggies, and we certainly get our fair share of probiotics and kefir daily. My partner Jason and I have been known to bike over 100 miles around the city in one week with our kids hitched on the back. I’ve trained for six marathons along Lake Michigan over the last 10 years – and I pushed a stroller along in two of them.
There’s still room for the occasional cupcake! I would even go so far as to dub my family a “family of cupcake connoisseurs,” and I personally love a Vosges truffle with my evening glass of red wine. (Dark chocolate and red wine - both loaded with antioxidants!) Instead of thinking of all the things you can’t eat while on your diet, try thinking of all the wonderful things you can add to your LIFE – even if in moderation.
How you eat does matter – but not in a calorie-counting sense. When you put wholesome, real food into your body - with ingredients you understand and can pronounce - you feel better! Eat 21-35 colorful, conscious meals and snacks over the week - loaded with fresh fruits, veggies, fish, grains and healthy dairy like kefir – and you’ll feel good (inside and out.) You’ll have more energy, and your skin will glow. You’ll even notice a difference in how you spend your time, your money, and your focus. Living your life with purpose and intent will lead to more quality time with people you love, and more time to be creative. Less time in front of the TV and on Facebook, and more time enjoying your Facebook friends in real life!
To quote my favorite artist Eddie Vedder, “I know I was born and I know that I'll die. The in between is mine. I am mine.” Own that “in between” and make it great; make it intentional.
This year I resolved to empower and inspire as many people as I possibly could. I hope to use this space to do that every now and then. I want to hear about how your life changed when healthy eating became second nature to you! Did you start a new community project? Did you reconnect with lost friends? Twelve days isn’t enough time to make lasting lifestyle shifts, but it’s a good start. Twelve days will turn into 12 weeks, and 12 weeks into 12 months of conscious living and by then, you’ll be well on your way to changing your life and maybe changing the world. Collective consciousness has a ripple effect and I can’t wait to hear what you have done with yours.
Here are some of my family’s staple pantry items to get you started. Do a big round of produce washing and chopping, or buy them pre-chopped so they’re ready to eat when you want them!
- Watermelon
- Mangoes
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Strawberries
- Carrots
- Jicama
- Oatmeal
- Almonds
- Coconut Water
- Lifeway Kefir & ProBugs
- Granola
- Cheese
- Sliced turkey
- Tuna Salmon
- Balsamic vinegar
- Whole wheat breads and tortillas
- Eggs
- Peanut Butter
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