Organic Schmorganic. Or not??

What I ate today: Peanut butter toast and coffee, Pop-tart scraps from Meagan at work, a Chicken McNugget Happy Meal, a giant cinnamon roll (split with Meagan... we were stressed over a 200 entry database we had to create) and for dinner- fried chicken from Publix, homemade (by me!) coleslaw, and a baked potato.

WTF!!?? This is not like me at all to eat this poorly. I'm no picture of health, but I usually only allow myself one "bad" food per day. Not five. My excuse today? No time. My solution? Plan ahead!

After grossly explaining what I ate to my mom and step-dad today, it spurred an interesting conversation about homeopathic medicine, organic foods, and general health. While I don't believe in totally forgoing Western medicine, and I never will, I believe in a healthy balance of holistic and western lifestyles. After a year long battle with sciatica, I finally broke down and went to see a chiropractor (Dr. Gregory Tenn at Tenn Chiropractic Clinic in Pelham). I have been going for three weeks now, and my lower back is pain-free. I also visit Terri Ray at Balance Massage Therapy in Pelham as often as my schedule will allow. She is reasonably priced and the total relief you get (physically and mentally) is worth any amount of money.

Back to my point. Everyone kept saying "go see a doctor!!" when I was complaining about my back. I hate to say it, but most MDs would have given me pain meds or sent me to physical therapy. I would obviously prefer PT to meds, but you see my point. Too many people are prescribed meds to mask their presenting symptoms rather than CURING the cause. Hence why I have only taken ibuprofen once since I started seeing Dr. Tenn and Terri. Coincidence? I think not.

On to my next point. Food. Whole, natural, the-way-God-made-it-FOOD. An exchange student friend of mine from Germany gained almost 30 lbs while living in America. She moved back to Germany and lost all of her weight by doing nothing but eating like she normally would in Germany. Why do Americans who live in the best country in the world not even make the top ten in life-expectancy? I'm no scientist, but jeez read an ingredient label on your favorite "healthy" cereal or your kid's favorite snack! Yikes!

Money. Yes, unhealthy garbage food is cheap. It is. But, a friend of mine who eats MUCH healthier than me says that you might spend more, but since the quality of food is greater you get full faster, therefore eat less, therefore equalling out the money you spend.

Wow. I could keep blogging about this topic forever. I have taken baby steps to living a more healthful lifestyle, but I haven't stayed on track. With tomorrow being the start of Lent, I thought I would try a mini version of Kathy Freston's "Quantum Wellness Cleanse: The 21-Day Essential Guide to Healing Your Mind, Body and Spirit." Oprah did it and blogged her way through, and I intend to get up the "want to" to actually say I AM DOING THIS! No excuses... any takers?