I love pizza! I love Chinese food! I love burgers! And don’t get me started on bacon! Man, if you tried to eat my bacon good chances you would be pulling back a bloody nub! I love food in general. It is my biggest weakness when it comes to the health and fitness equation. I am active through the day. I workout 5-6 days per week (sometimes 7). My workouts are designed appropriately for me (I know a good trainer!). I get 7-8 hours a sleep per night (most of the time). But food….oh food, that is my Achilles heel.
When I was younger (see my Blog “All about those pants”) this love of food and my lack of physical activity really caught up to me. So I made some changes. Not only did I start to exercise, I started paying attention to what I ate. At times I was misguided. I used to eat white rice with ranch dressing on it thinking it was healthy. I didn’t know. I was doing my best, but I have learned a lot since then. But most importantly I realized then that in order for me to change the way I looked and felt, I needed to make a change to how I was living my life.
Change is something that people struggle with. It’s different. It’s uncomfortable. It’s strange. But, unless a person changes the way they do something, the result will be exactly the same. If the result is not desired, the factors that influence that result have to be changed.
But here’s the thing…….these changes don’t have to be extreme. I have always said that extreme measures rarely last. If it doesn’t last what is the point. The goal should be able to find a nutrition “lifestyle” and not a nutrition “diet”. Find something that you can live with for the rest of your life. After all, that is what we are talking about…..a lifelong pursuit of optimal function and health.
I would love to say that “you need to completely cut this out” or “you need to only eat this way” but in reality, we both know that won’t last. Life is to be enjoyed. However, moderation is the key. We can’t enjoy life to the point of it being a detriment to our health, function or attitude. So let the times of enjoyment be earned through times of discipline.
Make small changes and let them build to big ones. Cut back on certain foods that are bad for you and increase foods that are good for you. Live 80/20, 90/10……or whatever percentage that helps you realize that you should eat healthy a majority of the time. If you are realistic in your approach your results will be permanent and you will be a much happier person.
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