The following is an excerpt taken with permission from Take Good Care: 7 Wellness Rituals for Health, Strength & Hope by Dr. Dwight Chapin.

What you eat, when you eat, and why you eat are all critical choices that profoundly impact your state of health and well-being. Unfortunately, far too many relinquish this power and bounce from one fad diet to another, destroying their relationship with the healing power of food along the way. Our emotional response will hijack the best intentions if a healthy eating strategy isn’t structured with support, discipline, and authority. Turning a blind eye to the cumulative consequences of poor nutritional choices is dangerous. The commanding biological force you are looking to control has a dark side too.

The desired outcome of healthy fueling is a consumption strategy that provides you with the energy to be the best version of yourself. In other words, how can you use food and drink as a therapeutic tool to intentionally elevate your health and performance and bring an end to self-sabotaging behavior? The number on your bathroom scale or photo of you in a bathing suit may have some influence, but for most, this influence is fleeting. In my experience, patients inspired by the healing potential of the body, who are armed with the current evidence and an understanding of how the body works, are the ones most likely to make meaningful, lasting changes.

Humans tend to make poor choices when “hangry” (bad-tempered or irritable due to hunger) or simply when they are ill-prepared and haven’t given much thought to what, when, and why they need to eat. To avoid this pitfall, I would ask you to accept the following three principles of Consuming Healthy Fuel. If these principles do not sit well with you, I suggest you voice your opposition to the senior VPs on your healthcare team and clear up any misinformation or old baggage you may still be carrying from days past. The Consume Healthy Fuel Wellness Ritual requires a discipline that leaves zero room for doubt.

THREE PRINCIPLES OF CONSUMING HEALTHY FUEL

1. A healthy diet will add quality years to your life. An unhealthy diet will shorten it.
2. Healthy fuel today will give you more energy to bring to tomorrow.
3. You are what you eat, when you eat, and why you eat.

The cellular damage caused by poor food choices is often hidden from view until the day it is not. And on that day, illness and disease can be well underway. You are less likely to be caught by this unwelcome surprise if you become an active observer of your body and its function. Smartphone apps make it easy to maintain a performance dashboard that tracks key health metrics. Body weight, body mass index, blood pressure, resting heart rate, fasting insulin levels, cholesterol profile, steps per day, and any noticeable changes in bowel or bladder function provide valuable insight over time and can be easily monitored without much effort, expense, or inconvenience.

It is worth emphasizing that what many patients consider to be a decline in health related to aging commonly has more to do with poor choices than with the advance of the clock. Watching the trend lines on your dashboard can help trigger an early warning bell, allowing more time to course-correct. Surviving the scare of a heart attack, stroke, or cancer diagnosis will spark urgency to change lifestyle practices, but there is no need to wait for that day.

The message is to be a mindful eater and place a high value on the food choices you make in addition to why and when you eat. When tempted, make a healthy choice. If you have been eating without a strategy designed to support your performance and longevity, you likely have picked up a few bad habits along the way. You may have  also misplaced, forgotten, or never fully developed an appreciation for the influence of meal-time choices. Consumption that features fast food, refined sugars, unhealthy fats, and processed foods comes at a high cost. Dietary indifference is like playing Russian roulette with all but one chamber loaded. Find the urgency to set this ritual right. Remember, the goal is not perfection; there is no such thing. Connect with the three principles of healthy fueling, and your body will do the rest.