COLUMN: Outdoor Type: Winter means less exercise and food challenges

A blast of cold air and snow straight out of the Arctic in January put an end to a fairly mild winter season, and now what do we have to look forward to, if you're an outdoors person?

There's always the TV, with lots of fishing and hunting offerings. YouTube is chock full of all types of recreation. The problem: both of those choices involve sitting on one's fanny, which is an American health problem.

Spring's coming, but it's still a ways off. Time to get off the couch.

It's challenging to get in physical movement outdoors in the winter. True, but Owen County folks are blessed with the YMCA.

Still, the other, perhaps even larger, issue with our health is what we put into our mouths. I just looked over a news item that listed 28 healthy snacks for parties.

Some of those actually looked pretty good, but we all know we've put a lot of poor-quality food into our system lately. Since we're surrounded by poor food choices, healthful eating gets even more challenging. It's worth your while to consider some changes.

Bad food choices have been a bane with me since I was a little kid eyeing the Nabisco chocolate chip cookies that my parents stocked in our Perry County convenience store.

Those little bite-size gems whispered my name every time I passed by the cookie display. If no one was watching, I could easily down half a box.

But my mother threw cold water on that craving because she thought chocolate caused pimples, of which I had a few. Once while standing in front of our large hall mirror working on doctoring one of those nasties, my mom passed by, gave me the evil eye, and told me I looked like I had leprosy.

At the time, I wasn't sure what lepers looked like, but I knew it couldn't be good.

Since then, like most Americans, I have consumed a mountain of cookies, cakes, pies, brownies, low-nutrition bread, ice cream and sundry other sweet treats like "power" bars that didn't do my body any good but just tack on more sugar and preservatives.

After listening to an audiobook by a well-known brain health expert, I'm working on change. After all, it's the beginning of a new year and resolving to make changes goes with the territory.

But how to keep the changes in place long term is the challenge. Maybe the trick is to go in stages and realize the benefit is worth the effort, and it really takes effort.

The experts' theory: better food equals a better brain and body. One problem: At some grocery stores you must pass the doughnut rack in order to get to the fruits and vegetables and boy do those round morsels call our names.

The temptation for a sugar fix is all around us. Billboards show us hamburgers and fries, but seldom is a good salad pictured. Fast food should be an occasional treat for us, not a staple of our diets.

For me, feeling good is a priority, but I don't always act like it. I want energy and a clear mind, or as clear as it can get as I near 80.

Having some zip when I was teaching high schoolers was a must, and a clear mind was helpful because someone in the class was smarter than I, maybe a lot smarter.

Six classes a day can really drain a person. If you're off physically or mentally or have some personal issue you're dealing with, that complicates things since you're staring at a classroom of kids who have their own personal issues.

Even now in retirement, I want to walk into a room and remember what the heck I came in there for. I want to go to the grocery store for five items and remember them all without a note.

I want to look at my income and decide how much of it I can safely give away. I want to write a column that makes sense, and I don't want to die before my time. I want to have health into my 80s and 90s.

So, I try to take care of myself. The Standard American Diet, otherwise known as the SAD diet, is a problem. It's loaded with fast food, sugary junk and drinks, overly processed food, and concoctions that pass for food.

It all tastes so good, making it very hard to resist. We tell ourselves that we've had a hard day, or we didn't get enough sleep, or our boss just yelled at us, so we owe ourselves a treat, i.e. sugar, salt, or carbs.

We've all read many articles and seen televised reports about the impact of what we eat, yet change comes very slowly, if at all.

My wife has some health issues, and she is a serious food label reader. I'm working on improving, starting small and trying to stick with a plan.

For example, instead of the usual ice cream or cookies or whatever junky sweet we have on hand, I've been having a few bites of yogurt mixed with fruit for my dessert. Occasionally I mix in a bit of brownie or cookie or similar item to make me think I'm still having a treat like the old days.

I need something hot in the morning, so instead of my old instant, I tried chicory coffee. I normally don't care for brewed java, but just one teaspoon of this stuff in my maker gives me a decent taste of coffee while perking up my system, and it seems to agree with me.

Before the coffee with my breakfast, I have a smoothie made of protein powder, yogurt, fruit and whatever else I can find. I feel lighter and more energetic, and my brain works a little better. Every little bit helps.

I also strive to have some protein at breakfast, usually eggs, meat or peanut butter.

Get a plan and do your best to stick with it. You wouldn't put cheap gas into a Mercedes, would you? Our bodies are amazing machines built to last, if we only maintain them.

Changing eating habits can be tough. Realizing immediate gains helps, and you will feel better, making those gray winter days seem a little less depressing.

Find food that you like but that likes you back. It's a challenge, but worth the effort.