Living a healthy lifestyle is not easy if you’re not eating the right foods. Remember, food is suppose to provide us with energy to live and not just for our enjoyment. It is okay to eat whatever we want every now and again because it keeps us from binge eating foods that we have been craving. It is when we over indulge on our favorite foods, especially those that do not have that much nutritional value. Chips, crackers,sweets, and pretty much any other junk food are not a really source of nutrition. Even though we cannot put all of the blame for our weight gain on our junk food consumption, it definitely doesn’t help keep the extra pounds away.

We are often told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. On average we go eight hours without eating, so every time we are asleep we are fasting. When I first wake up in the morning, I never really have much of an appetite. My first meal of the day is my lunch. Normally, I am in bed by 11:15 p.m. and I usually take my lunch around 11:30 a.m. the next morning, so I typically go over 12 hours without eating. I don’t think this is healthy because after my body wakes up from sleeping, I feel sleepy and lazy when I get to work. For this reason, I am going to start trying to eat a small breakfast before I go to work in the morning.

I believe the reason I don’t wake up with much of an appetite is that I am not as physically active as I have been in the past. Now, because my schedule consists of spending 8 and a half hours at work and 3 hours at school, I don’t have as much time as I’d like to have to dedicate to exercising. I know that by being less active, my metabolism slows down and I’m burning less energy, thus decreasing my appetite throughout the day. Even if I do eat something, I only end up taking one or two bites and then I get full. Every now and again, I am scheduled for a later shift so I have some time to spare before work. I didn’t feel like eating all of the empty calories that are in a breakfast sandwich from a fast food place. So, I decided to get a smoothie.

The blend of fresh fruit and protein gave me the energy I needed throughout the day. I wasn’t technically eating anything, so getting too full wasn’t something I was worried about. This particular day, I didn’t have to be at work until later so I stopped and got the smoothie before I went in. By the time my lunch came about 5 hours later, I had an appetite and I was still able to eat without feeling like I was forcing myself. While I can’t see myself getting up early to go and buy a $5 smoothie every day, I can see myself grabbing one before work on one of the days that I work a later shift and when I’m needing the extra energy. I’ll be sure to try a different flavor next time.