Overconsumption & the Poor House go Hand in Hand...

We all go through at time- you're leading a busy life as a single or married woman with no children or you're leading a busy life with children in tow. Your busy-ness has you on the go so often and when changes arise, you have to be ready to go with the flow. So, you grab a quick meal from a fast food restaurant and of course it's laden with calories, fat, and some indescribeable ingredients from Monsantos Corporation. Grabbing and going every now and again isn't so bad. However, it becomes a problem when it becomes "the norm" of your life. And at the end of the month as well as the year, you've spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars "grabbing and going" and it's affected your waistline and your pocketbook. I'm not pointing fingers, I believe last week alone I spent about $50.00 eating out when I could have put that towards a bill payment or in my savings account. I don't beat up on myself. I allow myself to still enjoy some things but I do so in moderation because I know that my life's goal is to have optimal health and wellness (mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually). Studies now show that 4 out of 5 African-American women are overweight. Mind you, we all know that Serena Williams made the medical community think again about the issue of BMI and physical fitness. However, many of us are dealing with habitual poor eating habits and lack of physical exercise. This is to our own detriment. In short, we must strive for balance in our daily lives in every area. It's okay to be busy but to be busy and taking several medications to deal with stress, bad food choices, lack of exercise, and work overload might cause short term gains but long run suffering. How to Create Balance: (1) Start with the goal of getting purpose exercise in at least 15 minutes a day. Move up 5 minutes per day every week until you make it up to 60 minutes a day. (2) Prepare and pack breakfast, lunch, and snacks in a bag before leaving home. When this isn't realistic and you're on a budget grab these items from the store: (1) a bag of fruit (mixed, apples, oranges, etc.)$5-7 , (2) box of ramen noodles (only use 1/4 to 1/2 of the seasoning packet for the entire pack of noodles to cut the sodium intake)$1.50, (3) a gallon of water to leave in the office and car ($1). This should set you straight for an entire week at work and you've spent barely $10.00. This is simply a suggestion. It works for me and has put at times over $100 extra dollars in my savings account during the month. (3) Walk in place, squat, lunge while watching the evening news and or a favorite television program. (4) Turn down working lunches when you can. No need to spend lots of money entertaining people or don't feel obligated to eat at a restaurant. Ask if the lunch can be at a park or the library. Better yet, eat before you go and simply order water or a cheap beverage during your working lunch. Don't obligate yourself to spend- it's your business about what you do with your money. It's not be cheap, it's being smart. Until next time, God bless, Yabo, Ashe'