One Plate to Lose Weight
I am older and extra weight is harder to lose. So, to help me mentally, I came up with a saying, “One plate to lose weight”, since my biggest issue has been eating too much at each meal.
When I was a kid, we seldom had a lot to eat at a meal. So, I ate all that was available. We seldom had leftovers.
As I got older and more established, I could afford to buy plenty of food. Thus, I could eat all I wanted. Therefore, I gained a lot of weight, which is not healthy.
Though leftovers are not as tasty as when they are freshly cooked, they do allow you to save money and preparation time on a future meal or two.
Flavor to Savor
Since my goal is to help you build a better mindset for money, I want you to consider the savings that can come from leftovers.
For that reason, I want you to consider the seasoning aspect of your food. Sweet and savory are seasoning options. I am not the best cook. So, you might confer with your mom or grandma for advice.
Your goal should be to find a way to flavor your food to make it attractive as leftovers.
Learn to See Food
The appearance of food can affect how much you want to eat it. Was it cooked too long? Not long enough? Is it soft when it should be firm? Or, firm when it should be soft?
There are steps to take to determine when your food is finished cooking. Experience will teach you a lot about that. Just do your best and learn from your mistakes.
I am not asking you to become a food critic. However, some cooks are better than others because they can see what food should look like to be appealing. And they know how to season to make it taste and smell good, too!
What Food Is Good for You?
We do need to get a little technical about food to maintain good health. Too much of the wrong kind of fat or the wrong kind of sugar and we can build up problems for our body functions.
Certain meats and vegetables are better than others. A little study will help you see what portions and how often you can eat of each kind to not jeopardize your health.
Remember my earlier point that portions are important. Too much good food can still be a problem. Accumulating weight is not as good as accumulating investments.
What About Vitamins and Minerals?
Did I mention that what you eat can be a healthy study? This kind of education can give you long-lasting benefits. Although, you do need to pay attention to who is promoting the information. What do they expect to gain from sharing it?
There are books on what is good for your body and why, including a breakdown on what vitamins and minerals mean for your general health. Those books should add the best kinds of foods and portions to eat. Then, you can estimate how well your diet can supply most of what you need.
If reading on the subject is confusing to you, you might set up a meeting with a nutritionist to aid your understanding and get some suggestions for how you can improve your diet.
Health Incentive
I want you to work on being healthy as a financial goal. And a daily effort will benefit you greatly over time!
I cannot promise you pain-free living. However, once you understand the training effect, related to physical conditioning, you will have greater respect for what to include or exclude for your diet choices.
Some foods help with relieving stiffness in your muscles and some foods help with your endurance workouts. I know it sounds like a lot to learn but you can do well enough with some simple tips related to proteins and carbs. I am just trying to whet your appetite for learning more about how to eat!
To add a little incentive for you to make the effort to study foods, etc., I should note a few potential benefits. First, you will feel more energetic when your body gets the nutrients it needs to function properly. Second, hopefully, you can cut down on the need for blood-pressure medicine, digestive track medication, etc. Third, if your body is functioning well then you will have fewer reasons to see a doctor. In terms of finances, this could save you thousands of dollars over time.
Eat for Your Future
On the plus side of the financial aspect, your income potential will be higher when you are healthy. Learning the skills you will need for better employment will be easier to endure.
I have observed too many who let bad health habits build in their youth and carry them into mid-life when their bodies began to show the long-term effects of those habits on their health. I am hopeful that you will learn enough to avoid those pitfalls and set the stage for a long and healthy life.
Staying healthy is a learned skill. Knowledge will keep you aware of your health as you plan your days and set your goals. Add health measurements to your goals and you can see your progress and feel the progress!
Pay attention to folks living into their 90’s. Make note of those who say they ignore exercise and diet. There will be very few who say that.
The Leftovers
The long game in personal finances is to have money leftover at the end of each pay period. If you do not, then you need to make some changes.
The changes work best if you take a serious look at both your income sources and your spending habits.
Work on your diet to build more energy into each day. Then, you can focus on learning skills and learning what it takes to earn more income.
Then, learn to live on less than you earn, to include your food budget, where you can eat more efficiently by disciplining yourself to eat the leftovers to extend your food budget. When tracking my food expense, I found our food spending was bigger than what I would have guessed. Face your facts and determine what your food expense really is.
The choices are yours. Facts make the choices easier to make. Note that I did not say they will always be fun to make. Some choices are hard, like limiting how much ice cream you can keep on hand!
The key point of this post was to bring a simple fact to your attention.
Your future depends on your leftovers!