Original Air Date:
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Peter Walsh's Message:
Peter Walsh states in his book that "eating more and buying more is an attempt to fill a need for something more." Peter explained that many people are trying to fill themselves up with stuff, but until they deal with the underlying issues, the rest is a waste of time.
A Family Reaches Out for Help
Amber and her family need help with both their weight and their home. Amber lives in California with her husband and 2 children. The kitchen, basement, kids' room and office are the areas Amber is most concerned with, but the entire house needs order.
Amber and her family eat out at least once a day and her daughter Isabella started getting teased at school for being overweight. On top of that, Amber and her husband lost a baby while 6 and a half months pregnant and Amber is suffering from kidney failure. She shared that it was a life or death point for her.
Peter started by examining the clutter in the home and the food in the fridge. He explained to the family that they were choosing the easy rather than the good - high fat, pre-packaged foods, and also not taking care of their property or their bodies.
Clearing Out the House:
Peter Walsh and his team helped the family start to purge their clutter; he instructed them to separate items to trash, donate and keep. In just 10 minutes, the volume of stuff was reduced by half. After working on the main level of the house, they moved on to the basement. Peter described the wall-to-wall stuff as a "foundation of emotional clutter your house is on." Peter recommended that the family keep activities accessible to the kids and give meaningful items a place of respect in the home.
Moving on to the kitchen, Peter explained to Amber that the room should be the space that nourishes the family and thus should be organized and clean to promote a healthy diet and lifestyle. To do this, Peter showed Amber that when items are not organized to the point that they can be used they are just cluttering the home. Peter's instructions to Amber were to keep things: clean, functional and organized - she needed to rid all of the things that she wasn't using.
Lifestyle Changes with Bob Greene:
Bob Greene described 4 steps for Amber and her family to follow to change their eating habits. Step 1 involved introducing exercise to the family by adding 20 minutes and building up to 30 minutes a day of activities, inside or outside.
Step 2 required Amber and her family to eat at home. Not only would it save them money, but it would instantly improve their diet.
Step 3 introduced meal planning to the family. Bob showed Amber how to plan all 21 meals for the week plus 1-2 snacks for each day. Bob explained that preparing for the grocery trip before leaving saves time and eliminates impulse buying.
Step 4 included a healthy shopping trip to the grocery store with Amber where he showed her how to choose the proper foods. Bob instructed Amber to shop for fresh produce weekly and supplement with frozen fruits and vegetables when needed, choose healthy sweet treats like Skinny Cow products and frozen juice bars, and to look for the Best Life logo on packaging when in doubt.
Helpful Advice from Peter Walsh Throughout the Show:
- The house, head, heart and hips are all connected.
- Your house should reflect the life you want.
- Children will model behavior that parents give importance and respect to.
- When you live clutter-free, the choice becomes easier to choose the good over the easy.
- Create the home and environment you want and one that will help children make good and healthy decisions.
- You can talk as much as you want about the food and the stuff, but until you deal with what's causing it, you will never get anywhere.
- You can't make healthy choices in a messy home.
