A window to a soul

Health and Fitness

My ex-husband used to always joke that the way I eat I would survive my grandchildren! I attribute my healthy eating habits to the fact that I grew up in Italy, away from fast food joints, and the American 'snack happy' society. It is true that what you learn as a child will follow you for the rest of your life.

Italy is the land of food, yes, but healthy food. I did not eat my first hamburger and French fries until I was almost 18 years old, and at the time I did not understand the appeal! Ha Ha. 20 years later I will occasionally 'splurge' on this fat happy meal, but not more than 6-8 times a year. Give me some pasta, some meat and vegetables and... ohh... PIZZA and I am in heaven. What do you say? You think Pizza is junk food? Oh contraire, my friend. Pizza is actually the most complete food there is. You get your dairy in the cheese, your vegetables in the sauce, the meat in the ham or sausage, and the bread in the crust.

To grow up in Italy it meant food was an event, something to enjoy with family. Still when I go to Italy and I am invited to go to a family member's house is always for 'dinner'... and I couldn't be happier! These were my eating habits growing up:
For breakfast we would have a cappuccino with a few cookies or a brioche.
For lunch (around noon to 1pm) we would start off with a serving of pasta, followed by a serving of meat and vegetables, all accompanied by fresh baked bread, ending with a fruit or two.
For dinner, a light meal, usually a nice healthy serving of soup or a sandwich (with fruit).

Going to a grocery store in Italy is an event. There are isles of different cheeses and meats, and instead of having an isle of different potato chips, there are isles upon isles of different rice and pasta meals, dairy products, cookies and vegetables, along with baskets upon baskets of fresh baked bread (something Italians buy every day) and... yes, LOTS of wine!

So... you see, having grown up with this sort of menu, you will understand my cupboard if you ever see it. An interesting side note is that you will rarely find morbidly obese people in Italy. Even moderately obese. You can walk down to the piazza or have a nice stroll and I can bet you will not see anyone that is having a major weight problem. It's gotta be the diet and those espressos! It is probably for that reason that I have never been more than 20lb over my 'ideal weight' (except for pregnancies). My ideal weight, by the way, is far from that 'model' extremely thin body look. I believe a woman should be thin, yes, but with a bit of curves. The I_am_so_thin_I_could_have_been_in_a_concentration_camp thin is absolutely ridiculous in my book and a horrible role model for young girls. No wonder eating disorders are so rampant. Personally, I absolutely HATE throwing up (and hate is not even a strong enough word), so I could never, ever, ever be bulimic. How I keep thin is by what I eat. I don't believe in starving myself. If I am truly on a diet I will drink tons of liquids, and then one good meal a day. If I just need to maintain I will eat a late breakfast and then a good dinner, and that is enough for me to keep the weight I've got. Nowadays I weigh somewhere between 120 (going up and down a bit), my ideal is 115lb. At 5'5" is about right for my frame, without being too thin. I can still eat somewhat because I exercise, hence I keep my metabolism up, which is important.

But aside the food part, there is one thing that mom always thought me... no matter your age, ALWAYS take care of yourself. Not a day will go by that I don't put cream on my face and hands, and I like long hair because they do make me feel and look younger. I also try to dress 'young' as much as I can-not 'trendy' young, because sometime the fashion is just downright weird, but nice. I also cannot go anywhere, not even to pick up my son at school without putting 'some' make-up on. I also have my nails done once a month along with a foot massage... a girl needs to take care of herself!

Do I exercise? Yes and no to be honest. Over the years I have always tried to stay active, but many times I fell short of my own expectations. I have jogged, done the Jane Fonda Workout tapes and took the stairs when I could. I even had one of those walking carpet things, but it's only been since early 2001 that I became religious in doing exercise when I could.. meaning, when someone could watch my son for me. I do the Stairmaster, the bike, Yoga and even the Richard Simmons Sweating to the Oldies at least once a week. Perhaps I did not need exercise as much when I was younger, but as I am now in my 40s I know that if I don't do something now it will be harder to get back in shape later!

Have you ever noticed? Anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
- George Carlin

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