When it comes to eating healthily I would say around 90% of the time I am pretty good. I get lots of protein in (maybe too much), I get my green vegetables and occasionally I get some good healthy fats in. I would also say that when it comes to resisting snacks likes chocolate, crisps, fizzy drinks, etc. I am also pretty good at resisting the temptation when others around me can often succumb to the temptation much easier.
This is pretty good right?
Yea, I thought so.
However, the reason I am so good with my food is because I am scared shitless of what is going to happen if I fall off the wagon. I do not want to fall back into old habits and become or feel like the skinny fat kid again checking the mirror every morning and night. As a result, I eliminate the potential of this happening by being so good with my food, drinking alcohol very rarely and trying to avoid any temptation.
For example, if I was to do a food diary right now, it would probably look like this most days.
Breakfast – Protein Porridge (60g Protein Powder & 200g Porridge Oats)
Lunch – Turkey Pieces with Cabbage, Leeks & Spring Greens
Dinner – 2-3 Chicken Thighs with Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables
This might be really quite healthy, but even I would admit this is probably not the typical lifestyle of a 24 year old, who I imagine is probably going out with his mates on regular nights out and not panicking how many calories are in a cheeseburger and how this is going to affect the belly fat in the morning.
So before you go thinking that I am this super health and fitness guy, trust me, I still have plenty to learn when it comes to getting a good balance between nutrition and life.
But over the years there are plenty of things of which I have learnt and got better at implementing myself which has helped me start to gain a better balance and learn not to be SO rigid with my food patterns.
I now feel much more comfortable in being able to enjoy myself on occasions like when I go on a night out with my mates or go out for a meal, and not worrying too badly about how I am going to look in the morning. So don’t think for a second that I am not going to enjoy myself this Christmas because I am definitely going to make the most of it.
So I now understand that food is to be enjoyed and help us feel the best we possibly can do each and every day. One of the best quotes for me is:
“Food can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison” – Ann Wigmore.
If we can get that balance right between enjoyment and health, then food can do absolute wonders. But this can take time to build, especially when we are so ingrained with specific habits that we have lived with for years and years. For example eating cereal for breakfast, or sandwich, packet of crisps and a chocolate bar for lunch are not great habits when it comes to healthy eating, but it is something I am sure plenty you have done for years and years. Consequently, these habits have led this country into a state of obesity and adults and kids are getting bigger and bigger.
But if we can start to build new habits gradually where we start to begin eating to a 80/20 or 90/10 rule then we are well on our way to building a healthy eating lifestyle through which we can reap the massive benefits of good healthy nutrition, but also enjoy the niceties like chocolate, cake, bread, alcohol, etc, on certain occasions. With this we can then start to improve our health, lose weight, be more active, but also still enjoy our food and the pleasure that nice food brings us.
This might sound a simple concept, but again it is not easy, as even I still need to improve the balance of my nutrition. But it can be done with gradual work and that commitment to start to change of which