How healthy do you eat?

So I think we can all agree that losing weight is as much mental as it is physical. I’ve talked about a ‘healthy’ balance of exercise and improved eating lifestyle (no- not a healthy diet). Have I mentioned I despise (bordering on hate) the word diet?
It really is a matter of better food choices. Exercise versus nutrition? You can’t out train a bad diet (this all sounds so familiar).

But what about when you ‘know’ (or think) you’re eating as healthy as you can and you still aren’t losing the weight? It’s in the small details.

The other day I saw some nurses eating their lunch. It consisted of some fruit (grapes I think it was) covered with a glazed dressing of some sort. I found out later it was a home-made recipe. A recipe that was so sugar-laden and fattening that I think I started breathing heavy just listening!

Then you have another lunch goer’ who is choosing a salad over the latest grilled cheeseburger, but then drowns the salad with croutons and calorie-rich dressing.

Or how about the meal that includes a healthier choice 100-calorie snack for dessert. A sensible and honorable decision if you were only eating just one, not three or four!

I’ve also seen the meals where you have your water to drink with a healthy helping of fruit, but then your dessert includes a slice of cake, or cookies, etc.

It’s all in the small details. This is where it gets hard. Hard to understand and hard to accept. You ‘think’ you are eating healthy, but in reality you are simply appeasing your guilty conscious. I don’t think any of the aforementioned thought they were making bad food choices – but they were.

Changing your eating lifestyle is hard work. You have to dig deep inside and confront your worst fears about yourself and your own debilitating habits and cravings. Losing weight is, in my humble opinion, more mental than physical. The physical challenges, while tough in their own right, are temporary. The mental game is non-stop. Every time you put something in your mouth you need to be honest with yourself and honest with your habits. Your subconscious is the ultimate foe. And remember, it’s making the right choice over and over again, not just once. Once is easy, consistency is hard.

Once you can overcome the mental game (and yes, it is a game) the remaining pieces of the puzzle fall into place almost naturally.

So, how healthy do you eat?