Oola Fitness: Food is Fuel

This post is one of a set of personal reflections on the book, Oola Find Balance in an Unbalanced World. A balanced life requires that all seven areas of our lives are growing. Chapter 3 addresses the area of FITNESS. One of the biggest takeaways for me from this chapter is that FOOD IS FUEL. This made me realize that there are many more reasons why I eat food than just to fuel my body and that these can be obstacles to my being as fit as I want to be. I eat to be entertained; to be comforted and to relieve stress.

Now, I'm not saying food can't be entertaining and pretty. As a matter of fact, I get a great deal of satisfaction out of making food look nice for the people for whom I am cooking. The problem comes when I am eating more food (fuel) than my body is burning. So, the Oola guys make it easy for us to work on our fitness with a simple statement:

"Eat Less than you burn; burn more than you eat"

Since food is supposed to be FUEL, it is important that I put the best fuel possible in my body. For me, that means I need to eliminate grains, dairy, and refined sugars. When I don't eat these things, I know I feel better and have more energy. For example, the yummy pancake and bacon sandwich shown in this post is both gluten-free and dairy-free. You can find the recipe by Nom Nom Paleo as I adapted it and the nutritional breakdown can be found on my Holy Rolling Oilers website.

Below are a few other websites and YouTube channels that helped me to learn to eat better:

Nom Nom Paleo has great Asian inspired recipes and more. Michelle also has an app that allows you to build grocery lists from the recipes you select.

Mind Over Munch incorporates education on food as fuel in each recipe. Alyssia's YouTube videos are fun to watch

Downshiftology shares recipes for gluten-free treats as well as other healthy recipes. My mom enjoys Lisa's calming voice on her YouTube videos.

The Domestic Geek's YouTube channel is just fun to watch. Sara Lynn reminds me of Joy in the Disney movie cause she is just so bubbly and happy. Not sure every one of her recipes is the best "food for fuel choice" so you will need to decide for yourself.