Take charge as Commander-in-Chief of your Nutrition.

The distinguishing mark of a great military force is its leader. When we read about great military leaders like Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great, we are told about what they “conquered” or “took control over”. Are you The Commander-in-Chief of Your Body Nation?

It is an important question to ask. Who is in charge? Maybe it is your doctor saying food does not matter? Your spouse who does all the cooking? Your children who bind up your time or demand fast food? Or is it possible no one is leading and your food choices are at the mercy of advertising forces, restaurant menus, or your mood?

In the practice of nutrition and in my own personal journey, I’ve noticed it is easy to make excuses for the reasons we don’t eat right. Most of us know what we should eat. Life is what gets in the way every day. We work long hours, travel, and attend corporate functions. We have a busy social life with friends. We have children with packed schedules, games to play, and homework to do. We are involved in weddings, divorces, graduations, or caring for the sick. We move, change jobs, or have financial difficulty. We celebrate. These are the events that seem to become our excuses for not making wise leadership decisions for the good of our Body Nation.

I want to challenge you to the truth today. You are the only person who can truly lead your Body Nation. You are the only person who raises hand to mouth to put food in it. You also have a highly organized and capable brain that provides the skills you need to learn, exercise choice, plan ahead, communicate with others and, most of all, protect and defend your Body Nation. I want to challenge you to own your nutrition pathway. You are The Commander-in-Chief and you can conquer the lifetime challenges that try to take over. If we don’t take care of ourselves, how can we take care of others? Taking ownership of your health and making your nutrition a priority along with quality sleep, exercise and stress management will lead to a life well lived.

Easier said than done? Here are a few suggestions:

• Buddy up with a friend for accountability.
• Ask friends and family to not enable your bad food habits.
• Practice Emotional Freedom Technique.
• Keep bad food choices out of the house.
• Schedule an appointment with me for help with meal planning and good substitutions to improve your pantry
• Make small changes at intervals rather than trying to make one big radical alteration in your life (e.g. wean off diet soda, start exercising 5 minutes a day, or change your snack from chips to snap peas and hummus)
• Recommended reading: Taming the Chew by Denise Lamothe, When Food Is Love by Geneen Roth, and Life is Hard, Food is Easy, by Linda Spangle.