You Can't Do Fitness without Food

When I first started this site I didn't really think about making food such a big part of it.  I thought I might share a recipe here or there, but just didn't plan on food being such a focus.  While this is definitely NOT a food blog and I'll continue to say that, I do tend to share a lot about food.  I do not have the expertise to create new recipes and take the beautiful photos present on real food blogs.  I do not filter my photos, do not have a white board or all the pretty props.  I do, however, take quick, sometimes pretty, photos of foods to give you an idea of how a recipe looked, or inspire or tempt you with beautiful, delicious foods.The more you get into your health and make the decision to be well, become fit and strong, you realize how very important food becomes.  There is no way one can be active, fit and healthy without fueling the body with the proper nutrition. You have heard that all before - "you can't out train a bad diet", "abs are made in the kitchen", "you are what you eat", and one of my favorites, "you are what you eat so don't be easy, fast and cheap".  These are all good and all true.For me, the easy part is exercising.  In today's world, eating a balanced, healthy, real diet without modified foods, processed foods, unnatural additives and sugar has become the struggle for many people.Not to get all preachy or to scare you, but these facts ARE scary:

Unhealthy eating habits have contributed to the obesity epidemic in the United States: about one-third of U.S. adults (33.8%) are obese and approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese.1 Even for people at a healthy weight, a poor diet is associated with major health risks that can cause illness and even death. These include heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and certain types of cancer. . . .The risk factors for adult chronic diseases, like hypertension and type 2 diabetes, are increasingly seen in younger ages, often a result of unhealthy eating habits and increased weight gain. Dietary habits established in childhood often carry into adulthood, so teaching children how to eat healthy at a young age will help them stay healthy throughout their life.

Basically, you can't be fit, strong and healthy if you ignore what you are putting into your body.  Learn to gage how much you are eating and why.  Learn the appropriate portion sizes for your body.  Make the healthy substitutes to clean up your diet.If you are motivated to put in the time to exercise, to break a sweat, to work hard, keep that same motivation in the kitchen!  It really matters! We work really had in the classes I teach.  I always remind them that we've worked far to hard to ruin it with a crappy lunch! Because you just can't do fitness without food, and because I LOVE receiving comments, FB comments and texts that you tried and loved a recipe, I'll continue talking about food, sharing food ideas and recipes with you.  Some of the recipes are my own or ones I grew up on, others are inspired by recipes I read, test, try and tweak and others I flat out copy and share with you.  (like all those Cooking Light recipes I tell you about!)  Either way I hope to continue to inspire you to exercise, keep moving, be active, and feed yourself well. . . and to Enjoy your day!   What do you like to read about?  How are   your food choices lately?  Any food ideas to share?