Walking in Beauty
BABY STEPS By Brittani Boucher
Health and fitness are my passion. I totally geek out when it comes to the science behind our food and its effect on our bodies. My interest in nutrition began after the birth of our first child. I gained 60 pounds during that pregnancy, growing a 10-pound baby! He was healthy and I am grateful, but I never wanted to gain that weight again. It was not healthy weight. I read that too much sugar can cause weight gain and high birth weights, so I started paying attention to sugar consumption. It was by reading labels that I realized almost EVERYTHING processed and packaged has sugar in it. Slowly I learned more and more. We were buying less packaged foods and more fresh meat and fruit and vegetables. Our eighth baby turned one in December. This was, by far, my healthiest pregnancy EVER. Since moving to Gallup 10 years ago, I have struggled with pregnancy-induced high blood pressure. I did not have this problem with number eight. I bounced right back to pre-pregnancy size a few short months after her birth. I feel great! I am in the best shape of my life. I feel like I’m 25 even though I’m pushing 40. Great nutrition was the key. The human body is incredibly complex in how it uses vitamins, minerals, proteins, amino acids, etc. to grow, to cognate, and to thrive. At the same time, humans are relatively simple: eat food and you will not die. But what I have learned is that just simply ‘eating food’ is not enough. Sure, you will not die. But will you truly be living? Will you be able to get up early?
Get a workout in? Put in a full eight hours? Enjoy your kids at the end of the day? Spend quality time with your spouse? Will you be able to do all of these things with excitement and diligence on sugarfilled boxed foods and McDonalds? In recent years, science has taught us a lot about food, which foods are beneficial, and which ones to avoid. Yet we continue to choose ‘easy’ foods. We don’t want to spend the little extra money on fresh or frozen vegetables and instead buy sodiumladen vegetables in a can. With the demands of daily life, we don’t have time or energy to cook a healthy meal. So we get a quick boxed-meal or take out. We ignore the knowledge gained for convenience. Because of this, we feel exhausted, depleted and worn down. We gain weight. Often, if we start exercising and ‘eating right’ we can’t lose weight. The good news is, we can reverse the damage done. The best news is that it doesn’t require massive lifestyle changes over night! We typically don’t like too much change all at once. Healthy eating is a lifestyle, not a diet. No quick fixes. No magic potions. Making consistent decisions to eat healthy foods over time makes a habit. That’s what we’re after: good habits. My passion for nutrition and fitness has led me to become a coach and mentor in healthy living. My passion is to empower people to take control of their lives, starting with their health. I want a healthier Gallup. Baby steps. We can do this together! brittaniboucher@gmail.com Facebook /brittani.boucher
LOVE YOU A
Latte!
306 S. 2nd Street Gallup, New Mexico 505-722-5017 camillescafe.com February 2018
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