The Struggle of Eating Healthier and Mindfully

August 17, 2010 by 12 Comments

Image Credit - happyhourmom.com

I am a HUGE fan of food. I love trying new food and checking out new places to eat where I live. I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that my parents owned a take out restaurant and I was always trying out new recipes and eating the leftovers from the big catering order. Eating a lot eventually caught up to me, as my metabolism became slower and I slowly realized the jeans feeling a bit snug.

Fast forward to today, I’ve become more mindful in eating, and realized that dieting isn’t for me. There are a bunch of definitions to the word ‘diet’ and most people think dieting is restricting themselves from certain foods. It does make sense, but usually, dieting that way usually works against you. I really don’t like deprivation because as I’ve said before – food is life! A whole movement of people, referred to as foodies have revolutionalized food as a way to bring people together, enjoy different flavors and highlighted all types of cultures with food. I know I personally have looked at food in a different light in the past few years.

I recently read an interesting blog post from Lisa over at Lisa Johnson Fitness and she discussed a term called ‘healthwashing,’ which is introducing a product as being healthier for you than it actually is. The post really opened my eyes in how food marketers are deceiving people into thinking they’re eating healthier, when they’re really not. It makes me upset because as someone who still struggles to eating healthier (not dieting, remember?) I could definitely be one of those people who are being deceived! I’ve found an awesome site as well, called the True Food Movement, which is pretty interesting so far. We all deserve to eat awesome quality food that will keep us healthy.

I have been slowly bringing more fruit and veggies into our diet (“our” meaning myself and my husband – since I always cook for 2) and finding ways to incorporate more veggies in our homecooked meals, and it’s still a challenge! I want to know from YOU: how easy is it to incorporate veggies and fruit in your everyday meals, and what do you do?

By the way, I am a huge advocate in eating healthier, but I am in no way saying that eating barbecue, cheeseburger or a yummy slice of cake is off limits. I love my comfort food too! And I’m a huge fan of food trucks too. It’s okay to indulge once in a while – I truly believe that. But lets face it, we all should feel good after we eat food, not like complete crap, right?

Links Referenced in this Post:
A blog about places in South Florida to eat at (updated periodically).
My video talking about eating mindfully and cooking one of my fave dishes, chicken teriyaki with brown rice.
Lisa Johnson Fitness’ post on ‘Healthwashing’
True Food Movement Website

Filed Under: Mindful Eating
  • Michael

    That is a big problem with the understanding of what is healthy to eat nowadays. Marketers do great jobs in making people think certain foods are healthy, where in reality they are totally bad for you. My friend Paul wrote an interesting article on this http://wp.me/p10dKo-4f (The Economics of Losing Weight).

  • http://www.sohifitness.com/blog/ Damon Clark

    Fruit is easy for our family, it’s natures candy. We go through all kinds at every meal and as snacks (blueberries last about two days). If people replaced processed snack food high in sugar with fruit alone I think we would see a significant change in obesity. However, I believe the relationship between Americans and food is one of quantity and not quality. You can buy a huge box of cookies from Sam’s Club that will last several weeks and costs significantly less than some fruit that will spoil in less than a week.

    Vegetables we don’t cook into our meals, we eat most raw. We make sure to include a serving with every meal from lunch to dinner. Would you believe broccoli with Italian dressing is a favorite for our kids (ages 5 & 3)? I think what happens with eating more whole foods instead of processed foods is your taste buds are more sensitive to natural flavor – I mean you can really taste the sweetness of a carrot even a raw potato (I eat mine like apples).

    So, Megan and I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and our boys eat how we eat, but we also have things like cookies and ice cream, because for us it is about balance (like you stated). Food is meant to be enjoyed. And, you’re right indulging is fun – I love having a bowl of Fruit Loops or Oreos and milk with my boys while watching a movie.

  • Kristen

    I really hate how marketers/the food industry try to deceive people with words like “no fat”, “low fat”, “diet soda”, “no sugar”, etc., but they just replace all that stuff with garbage. And, some fats are good for you. So why keep telling Americans not to eat it? It’s definitely not fair to the consumer, and it’s sad how the FDA is okay with keeping Americans uneducated, and eating crap.

    Haha, end of rant! I have to try to incorporate more fruit, but I usually just buy frozen fruit at at Trader Joe’s and have them with some kind of dairy for breakfast. Blueberries with yogurt, and mango with cottage cheese. Since it’s summer, I’ll have watermelon slices as a snack. As for veggies, I think that’s easier. I just eat them as a side with everything. Usually we’ll have spinach or greens like kale and corn or potatoes or rice for starch.

  • http://www.workinonmyfitness.com Susan Jane

    What an interesting article Michael, thanks for sharing!

  • http://www.workinonmyfitness.com Susan Jane

    I actually like broccoli with Italian dressing too! I’ve never really eaten raw veggies, but I know there are a lot of people who eat that way everyday! i’m trying to educate myself on eating more organic and including more veggies and fruit. it actually is quite interesting so far!

  • http://www.workinonmyfitness.com Susan Jane

    I hate it too, after reading that post, I totally look at labels before I buy at the grocery store. If there are ingredients with funny words I put it back on the shelf. I also read it’s a lot better to make your own junk food such as cupcakes, cookies and such… instead of buying it already made at the store. Fruit is good. I wish we had Trader Joe’s here! And btw mango with cottage cheese sound pretty good! :)

  • healy

    I love food, I think food loves me too lol well basically if we want to go on a diet, please dont starve yourselves just to reach their ideal weight. Exercise as a daily habit is still one of the best and safest way to reach your ultimate goal of losing weight. But, with the kind of lifestyle people have today, more and more people are trying to forget this fact. They follow a lot of diet programs that almost always tend to lead to a “no eating” plan. Chances are, they mostly take the “T” from the word “DIET”.

    from: http://tinyurl.com/286mzn5

  • http://exercisetothetop.wordpress.com/ Exercise

    I love food too! The problem for me is to actually incorporate vegetables into my diet. In the last few months, after deciding to get fit, I have learnt a very good habit of replacing bad food (too much chocolate, and cola) with fruits. I have come to the point where I now enjoy eating fruit! This was not the case previously. However, I have yet to tackle vegetables. Yuck! ;)

  • http://hollyfulfordjef.com Holly Fulford-Jeffrey

    I have to admit I eat raw veggies and lots of fruit, especially when it is in season. Getting the kids and hubby to do the same isn’t so easy! I did succumb to my kids wants this summer and actually bought cheerios ( instead of chips) for movie night!! Occasionally we do have hot dogs at the campfire but overall I do push the healthier eating choices. Quantity is a huge part of the issue I believe. In this whole concept of eating healthier it is a process, little by little we are getting more conscious of what and how and why. I do hate the way they advertise and abuse the info about food and food products cholesterol free, fat free etc.( jello was always fat free!) Don’t you find that when you indulge it is harder to eat the better stuff after wards?

  • http://www.workinonmyfitness.com Susan Jane

    I agree Holly, it is a process. When wanting to eat healthier it
    takes a lot of choice making. I think its entirely ok to indulge
    though, and as long as you get back on track to eating what is good
    for you. Even better, if you find out healthier options of those
    indulgent foods, then it isn’t indulging really, right?

    Thanks for visiting the blog! :)

  • Michael

    Oh yes, you hit it right on the dot, “labels with funny words”. That one major problem with foods nowadays is it’s all processed. Watching the documentary “Food, Inc.” changed my perspective about food quite a bit. As I continued learning, it’s the processed foods that are really doing the damage on our health. The best thing to do is eat foods as least processed as possible. In other words eating whole grains, fruits, veggies, etc. You got the concept down…thumbs up!…http://wp.me/p10dKo-4t

  • Sejdreng21

    Theres a couple of cool health articles which you all might find interesting on my friends website. http://www.med-street.com