A question I have wondered for a while is how difficult is eating healthy for an individual? Exercise is not as difficult, it’s just being motivated enough to do it. In my honest opinion, I think eating healthy is really difficult because a lot of us are busy people, and eating the right foods are not as convenient as eating the foods that are readily available. Also, if there are healthy foods readily available, it’s hard to come by and costs a lot more.
For me, I really try to plan the rest of the week as far as snacking and lunch at work because I spend a lot of time at my desk. Salads with lean protein, sandwiches with wheat bread and thin sliced meats, fruit and sugar free snacks are the foods that I’ve been consuming lately. Recently, I’ve decided to find something new at Whole Foods, since its a mecca of healthy eating, and its fun finding new things.
How difficult is eating healthy for you, and what are your healthy eating habits?
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Eating healthy is my biggest challenge. Working out is the easy part. But for me, aside from time/money constraints, there is also the fact that my metabolism is so kicked up that I can eat a LOT. Unfortunately, carrots and hummus only go so far when you are as hungry as me, so I resort to cookie dough!
It was was *so* hard at first for me as my habits were more of the poptart variety than the flax seeds & salads but now that it’s (finally) a habit it has become a smidge easier.
that said I wrote this morning about setting yourself up for success (with regards to food/preplanning) and it still amazes me how many people dont FOR THEMSELVES but DO for others (their children etc.)
M.
My wife constantly tells me that we need to eat healthier, and every time I have to remind her that I am perfectly content with the healthy content of my diet. I eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, snack constantly throughout the day on mostly healthy snacks, and cook most of our meals. (When I cook, the meals tend to be a bit “healthier” than when she cooks.)
I don’t find it difficult at all, or all that expensive. I have a food dehydrator, so I make my own apple leather and jerky (beef lately, although hopefully next year my Uncle can shoot another deer and I can go back to venison jerky.)
I make my own protein/energy bars, which may not last as long as store-bought ones but I can get through a batch in about a week or 10 days so it doesn’t really matter. I don’t use any preservatives.
Not so much in the winter, but the rest of the year I usually bake our bread for us.
We eat mostly vegetarian meals at least a few times per week, eat fish at least once or twice per week (depending upon what it costs in any given week) and I don’t cook with very much salt or fat except in a couple of dishes.
I buy eggs by the 5-dozen, although I eat probably 85% of them.
Most sandwiches and wraps include plenty of veggies.
While my home made snacks might take a lot of time to actually cook, preparation is usually only 5 to 15 minutes and then you just need to wait anywhere from 30 minutes to 12 hours for it to finish. Take it out of the dehydrator or oven, let it cool, package and refrigerate and you are done. Maybe 20 minutes tops for actual labor.
On top of the snacks I make at home, I keep a 5 gallon tub of pretzels and a 2 pound container of either almonds or mixed nuts (depending upon what was on sale when I bought them) at my desk. If I make anything with carrots for dinner (which I do at least 3 or 4 times per week) then I will slice up a few extra and put into baggies to snack on at work. They stay fresh cut up in the fridge for at least 2 or 3 days, so the trick is just remembering to throw a baggie of them in my lunch bag in the morning.
I also bring an apple and a banana to work to snack on or eat with lunch every day.
I usually cook for 6 to 10 people (unless we are eating fish) so that there’s leftovers for lunches throughout the week. My wife eats a normal portion, I usually eat 2 normal portions, and the rest feeds us for lunch. If we run out of leftovers and I don’t have time to go go home for lunch and need to buy it, then I go to one of the local delis or butcher shops where they slice my meat and cheese and bake my bread locally and get a sandwich. Usually I run at lunch time, so the fastest and cheapest meal that I can get is a double egg and sausage sandwich on an English Muffin at a small deli on the way home that only costs a couple of dollars, which is cheaper than driving home for lunch right now given the price of gas and the poor mileage of the vehicle I’m currently commuting in.
If you want to eat healthier, the first thing to do is just plan ahead a little. I may not know what I’m cooking for dinner each specific night, but I have a list of meals for the week before I go to the grocery store (with the exception of the fish, which depends upon what is available and is spur of the moment.) Other than that, just get some basic ingredients and spend an hour every weekend or two making up some snacks.
The hardest part about staying in shape is definately eating healthy! I tried Eating for Life after I read an article about fast food and hydroginated oils, and it was a great book. I lost some weight from following a strict eating plan, six meals a day, and controlled portion size. But it’s so hard not to eat more of a delicious meal!
eating healthy is my downfall. I can exercise for hours, but just can’t get back on the smart food bandwagon. (that I fell (hard) off of when I was pregnant) MizFit and Blaine have some great ideas though so I need to just do it!
Generally I manage to eat healthy. It’s usually the weekends that get me because everything (including my eating) tends to get a little less structured. This is an area I could improve on if I planned for the weekend as well as I do for the rest of the week. I just never seem to get round to it lol.
With a horrible love for chocolate and sweets, eating healthy is extremely difficult for me! Glad to see I’m not alone!
I see that the results are leaning towards most folks having a difficult time with the healthy eating part of fitness. It takes 21 days for your body to break an eating addiction. Once you can get over that hurdle it gets much easier. Eating healthy is much easier for me than working out. I have to get off this computer and go for a walk one day or something, at the computer I can still munch on celery sticks and carrots.
This is such a good question. You sound like you have a good grip on what you need to do. I am doing the same thing. I think about my carbs, fats, and protein sources and go from there. One thing that can help you is just standing in the store and being in awe of the choices. EVERYONE, don’t forget that. It is truly amazing what you can do when you just refocus on something much deeper. That is how I get back on track. Thanks.
Eating Healthy is hard, but there are ways to learn how to control your eating habits. Part of it is having positive influences around encouraging you to eat healthy. Other ways to control how much you eat is eating a diet high in fiber, keeping busy, planning ahead, drinking a lot of water, not eating while doing other activities, staying away from foods high in sugar and eating balanced meals. It takes some time to develop these habits. Also stress and other habits can trigger eating too much food and eating unhealthy foods. Northwest Influence, http://www.northwestinfluence.com, focuses on being a positive, healthy influence for women and children. Many of us know what we need to do, we just need someone to guide us.
I really like your blog, I just found you on blog catalog.
Desk eating is the bane of my life, I usually end up skipping meals rather than eating at my desk because I get busy at work and forget. Prevention magazine talked about desk dining recently, they posted an article on their blog (http://buzz.prevention.com/smart-dining-al-desko/ ) – it was eye-opening because apparently 74% of workers are desk-eaters. Why can they figure it out by I can’t? At least Prevention gave some suggestions for what are great at-desk meals for breakfast, snacks, and lunch.