This post is a bit late since the announcement was early last week, but I keep thinking about the interview I saw on the PBS Newshour where she made ever so much sense. The thing that resonated most was her no nonsense approach to changing the eating habits of her girls when a doctor's visit found that their BMI was not what it should be. This happened when Mrs. Obama was a working mother in Chicago with her husband away in Washington, D.C., when President Obama was a Senator. She had to juggle the responsibilities that a single mother would -- getting the kids up, fed and to school, herself to work and then dinner for herself and the children. It is so easy to rely on prepared foods and unhealthy snacks, because who has time to be the mother of two, the wife of a U.S. Senator, have a career and to make three well-balanced meals a day. Mrs. Obama said that with very simple changes -- and that is the key, because major, life-altering changes are so daunting -- she was able to make major changes in her daughters' health. No juice boxes in their lunches, desserts being offered only on weekends, etc.
The acknowledgement that parents are busy and major changes generally are a nonstarter is a necessary ingredient for success. Involving the agriculture department and other organizations responsible for feeding children is so important. New York City and San Francisco have some really interesting school lunch programs that involve fresh foods and local farms. I hope the White House looks to leaders in school lunch who say no to cardboard pizza and sodas and yes to homemade foods from local farms. Alice Waters and her Edible Schoolyard project is also inspirational in getting kids involved in growing vegetables, understanding where their food comes from and then cooking it. Not all kids will be into that, but many will. Anything that can get people thinking about what they put into their bodies is a big deal as far as I am concerned. It matters for overall health and it matters for the planet. Take your pick -- be inspired for reasons of self or broader global reasons. Whatever works.
The interview with Mrs. Obama really resonated with me, because the things she said are things that I found work for me. Any time I decide I need to go on a diet, I immediately begin feeling like I am starving and I crave pizza. I simply can't handle the mental idea of depriving myself. Being naturally oppositional, if I am told "no" -- even when I tell myself -- I rebel. So now when I notice my weight sneaking up and that my eating habits have been less than impressive -- 3 oatmeal cookies and two individual-serving bags of Cheetos in one day, for example -- I realize it is time to get myself in hand. Instead of going on a diet, I go on a cooking spree.
So after that theoretical cookie/Cheeto binge, I made a big pot of white beans with herbs and garlic. I have breakfast tacos in the morning with the beans, corn tortillas, perhaps some scrambled egg whites or some low-fat roasted potatoes and salsa. I might add a small grating of cheese for flavor. My goal is to eat a high protein breakfast with more calories in the morning and taper off at night.
I made a curried lentil stew with carrots, onion, garlic, curry, Swiss chard and homemade vegetable stock. Add some wild rice and you've got protein, vegetables, whole grains and something warm in your stomach on a cold winter afternoon. That serves as lunch.
Snacks are almonds, oranges, grapefruit or some oatmeal.
Dinner is yogurt, fruit and granola. I wake up really hungry, but don't get hungry throughout the day and very shortly the weight starts to drop off. If I have a craving for something sweet, I have a bar of bittersweet dark chocolate in the pantry and it will take me at least three months to polish it off one little square at a time. Although, I admit sweets are not my downfall and salty treats are, so I hardly ever buy those kinds of things. You will not find prepared foods, chips, etc. in my house. Not because I am such a health nut or so superior, but because I will eat the whole damn bag in one sitting. So I just don't tempt myself. I swear the corn chips call to me, begging to be liberated from the pantry and being so kind-hearted, I must stop the suffering. There have been times when I swear I can feel my legs getting fatter after one of those missions to free the chips and it is disturbing. So I just don't buy those things that will cause my thighs to turn to jello before my eyes.
I also have to make sure I get up off the couch and move, which is pretty difficult some days when the snow is falling and I have a sweet dog snoring away in my lap. It is much more enticing to stay under the blanket and dog and watch old movies. Even just mopping the first floor and cleaning the upstairs bathrooms is a start. But I really need to make it a priority to work in some cardio and weight training. I am never going to get those Michelle Obama arm muscles unless I pick up those weights and get my heart rate up.
So while I toil away at my flabby arms, I will also be keeping an eye on this White House and new task force. I have high hopes that with the combined intelligence of the folks on that panel and with Mrs. Obama at the helm, we're going to see some really interesting and doable proposals.
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