Friday, May 15, 2015

It's About ... Time!

Several months ago I was in the grocery store when I ran into somebody that I knew. This mom of several active kids (that knew I had lost a lot of weight) looked in my cart and said, "It costs a lot more to eat healthy, doesn't it?"

My response was that it doesn't cost a lot more, but it does take a lot more time.

I got to see that this wasn't the response that she wanted to hear. In her world, time was a more precious commodity than money.

I was thinking about this past event because recently a checkout clerk commented that I was her healthiest customer of the day!

For me, the best way to maintain a healthy diet is to prepare your own food. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store where the meat, dairy and fresh produce is located. Stay away from the boxed foods and ready-to-eat stuff. It does take more time to prepare meals but at least you know what you are eating and you keep control of the fats, sugars and proteins.

This is a bit of good news/bad news.

The bad news is that I can't control how much money you have to spend on groceries.
The good news is that we all get the same 24 hours in a day.

There are no rich nor poor when it comes to time.
24 hours.
Nobody gets more time.
Nobody gets less time.
The only difference is in how we manage the 24 hours in our day.

I remember a time when I used cook meat for the week on the weekend. I would grill burgers, brats, pork steaks...whatever on Saturday afternoon and we would reheat and eat after work during the week. I know some people always make double portions and freeze half for the next week. Some people meal share and prepare a meal for their family and another on one night and have somebody else do the same for them on different night.
We have all found ways of multitasking that work for us--folding laundry while watching TV, listening to recorded books while exercising or driving, etc.

Sure, money does give you more options. You can always go out or you can hire somebody to cook and clean for you, but you still only get 24 hours.

24 hours to eat, sleep, exercise, work, play, write, build or maintain relationships, make plans.
We are all equally endowed where time is concerned.
How will you spend your 24 hours today?

Be wise.
Be well,

John <><

4 comments:

eViL pOp TaRt said...

There is a notion of stewardship of time that is well worth considering again. By doing something without delaying it makes the doing less burdensome. A good post, John! Have a nice weekend.

And that is GREAT grocery shopping advice!

Duckbutt said...

It's good to have a happy, satisfying way of spending those 24 hours.

allenwoodhaven said...

Time, the great equalizer...

Mike said...

Who says there has to be 60 minutes in an hour? Let's cut an hour back to 15 minutes. Think of how much more you could get done with all those extra hours.