Break cycle of more food, less exercise

It's gut check time. Literally and figuratively.

Today, chances are that there are bowls filled with leftover Halloween candy in your life. At your workplace. In your home and your friends' homes. At your kid's school. Even the most resistant can give in to temptation and grab some because it's free, available and, well, everyone's eating it.

For me, this week marks the beginning of America's annual two-month binge. Halloween candy merges with the gorging of football rivalry games and the stuffing of Thanksgiving and builds up with holiday partying and the feasts of Christmas and New Year's, at which time everyone vows to eat right and exercise.

Compounding the problem is noticeably less daylight. The most dramatic change came Sunday at the end of daylight saving time. The time change has many of us leaving the office in the dark. It is one more deterrent to take that run, jog or walk before settling in for the evening.

Maybe it's time to break the cycle and not fall into the trap of overeating and exercising less.

The conventional approach is to do it on your own. Certainly, you control what you eat and how much you exercise.

Not discounting that individual responsibility, however, I think you take it one step further by thinking of it as a family and a community mission, either overt or covert.

You can be an ambassador of good health, a true show of love to your family, friends and co-workers, by tweaking the ideas of "junk food" and "comfort food."

For the big game, go ahead and bring hot dogs (Tofu Pups or Applegate Turkey), potato chips (Kettle Baked) and beer (MGD 64).

For the family get-together or office party, bring a mac-and-cheese dish, but make it with fat-free evaporated milk, low-fat cheddar and whole-wheat macaroni. Nearly every recipe can be modified to make it healthier. (Check out Roper St. Francis Healthcare's Families for a Healthy Heart's "Heart Smart Home Cookin' " cookbook for examples.)

For the holiday party, bring fresh local and/or organic and/or unusual produce, such as sliced, crispy turnips with a sprinkle of sea salt; chilled pomegranates; or champagne mangoes. Or bring a healthier beverage, such as a Pom (juice) and sparkling water spritzer.

Besides it being the right thing to do, it could be fun as an experiment or for a conversation starter.

Will people notice the difference? If so, how will they react? And who reacts?

Considering our health care crisis, the obesity epidemic and even the widespread outbreak of flu this fall, making health a priority, as an individual and as a community, during this coming holiday season seems more important than ever.

Reach David Quick at 937-5516 or dquick@postandcourier.com.

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