Being Frugal & Loving your Body

(via)

Being frugal and living simply has become a big part of my life, and not just in the way of spending money. Living simply, for me, means so much more! It means being practical while still being healthy with food purchases, it means not taking more than I or we need, it means giving back whether to the earth, friends or family, it means learning to put my love into making and creating our foods that nourish us from simple ingredients, it means taking a second thought before buying on a whim and it means being creative when it comes to gifts for others and for myself and on date nights! I'm so grateful to be able to blog about this because its keeps me encouraged to continue living that way!

One very important part of being frugal and living simply, for me anyways, is learning to eat to save myself. Sounds kind of odd, but thats the only way to put it. There are so many people I see running from here to there all the time and just grabbing a quick bite at a fast food chain, and sometimes its even referred to as a "treat" or a "gift" for getting through the week. I give myself treats and I think its important to do that especially after a hard week, but with all the knowledge that is coming out about what horrible ingredients there are in fast food and what horrible things eating that food can do to the body, why call it a "treat"? And I got to thinking where does that mindset come from?

I've been working hard to change my "treats" into healthier ones, but ones that are just as much "treats", like a dark chocolate bar, instead of a hamburger. I realize this kind of choice is absolutely up to everyone as an individual and what people like, but it seems like a contradiction, why "treat" yourself for working hard, with something that is no good for you and can contribute to your body working harder? and therefore not actually feeling any better? I didn't always treat myself in the right way. During college I used to use smoking (I know sounds crazy now!) as a way to "treat" myself, and I think deep down I always knew it was one of those "treating" but hurting myself kind of things. I would smoke a cigarette on the way to the gym! How awful is that!? It turned out that it was just a habit that I had stopped questioning because it was something I had done for a long time.  There was a girl on the train last night coming home from school at 9:30pm, and she had McDonalds. She was eating  the McDonalds, and after she finished the bag about 5 minutes later, she put her head in her head in her hands, she was rubbing her forhead and her temples. She just didn't look satisfied afterwards and so that is another reason why I felt compelled to write this. Not to put anyone's choices down, but just to ask the question, Do you treat yourself for working hard?  What are the reasons why you choose to treat yourself with different foods or sweets or gym time or relax time?