Uplifting Foods - Eat well to feel well
The What -
If you struggle to eat as healthily as you know you should, then try just eating more of the healthy foods that you actually enjoy. Life is short and you want to take care of yourself sure, but don’t waste it making yourself eat broccoli if leafy greens just make you gag. If pineapple brings you happiness, eat pineapple. If you only like fruit when it's sliced then slice and dice away! If you only enjoy vegetables with your dinner, if you roast them or even put a sprinkle of cheese on them, then do that.
You don't need to go on fad diets or change your whole eating habits in one go, to eat more foods that are good for you. For now, just focus on adding in more of the healthy foods you like, however you like to prepare them. Eat the healthy foods that leave you feeling uplifted, rather than hungry and hard done by.
The Why -
We are constantly bombarded on social media by the latest fad diet and exercise regimes and many reminders that we need to eat well and exercise. Of course, eating well and exercising is extremely important for your physical well-being and for your mental health but what if, like so many others (and certainly I do) you really struggle with this?
Cucumbers for instance are super low calorie, healthy, mostly water and to many very refreshing. But to me, they are slimey sloscumbers and I feel the same way about being near them as cats do. And when it comes to exercise, going to a gym and being subjected to seeing the reflection of my face redder by the second, wobbly bits going in all directions, is my idea of a nightmare. Seriously, why the need for all the mirrors in a gym?!
A sad day for cucumbers
So if I bought cucumbers in order to 'eat more healthily' they would stay in the fridge, sad, alone and slimey, never getting to see the light of day again. If I paid for a gym membership, it would be useful until about week three, when I would give up. If I joined a sports team, I would probably fake an injury and just join them for the drinks at the pub afterwards.
I do however love cheese and pineapple and fruit and nut mixes and swimming with my best friend. So I eat and exercise in a way I actually enjoy. Is it perfect? Nope. Would a nutritionalist or personal trainer suggest this? Probably not! But trying to eat well and exercise in the 'recommended' way would probably leave me with less money in my pocket, surrounded by mouldy cucumbers and eventually succumbing to just eating a packet of crisps. So, if like me you really struggle to eat healthily and exercise, surely adding a little of something healthy(ish) that you actually enjoy to your diet is better than just eating the crisps!?
Fancy a rocher, darling?
There are also some obvious pitfalls that let's face it most of us succumb to. One is the confectionery isle at the supermarket. It's full of wonder and magic but it's not a safe place for us junk food lovers. Suddenly mars bars are jumping in to your trolley, strawberry laces are hiding under the bag of spinach and dolly mixtures now somehow feel absolutely a necessity for survival. So let's not go down the confectionery isle without being armed with a plan first.
My plan is this - I decide first what I want to eat more than anything today that resides in the magical isle of sugary wonder. Maltesers? Maybe, they are the lighter way to enjoy chocolate after all. No, I want something more substantial today. Oooo I feel fancy, I want Ferrero Rocher. Yep, that's it, it's a Rocher day today. So my plan is now to get down that isle with absolute ferocity to track down the Ferrero Rocher's. It is my mission and I have chosen to accept it. I will find the Rocher's and nothing and no one will stop me. And as soon as they are safely in my trolley, i'm off to the till.
So now i'm home, mission completed. The fridge is full of healthy goodness and a golden box of chocolatey hazelnut delights is safely mine to enjoy - aaahhh today's been a good day.
You see, the worst thing you can do is tell me I can't have something. If you tell me I should cut down on the chocolate, I will be stuffing my face with M&M's before you've even finished your sentence. So instead of thinking 'I should cut down, I shouldn't have that'. I decide instead on what I really really want (and deserve!) and I make it my mission to get it.
Now suddenly all the other temptations seem a little boring and I don't feel as though i'm missing out on them. If they aren't the thing I want the most, they are basically second class treats now anyway. Sorry Maltesters, you just didn't make the cut today. Better luck next time.
So I go home happy as Larry that the result of my weekly shop is lots of healthy yumminess and also a box of Ferrero Rocher to enjoy. I mean, why shouldn't I? Life is short so eating healthily most of the time and treating yourself to a box of Rocher's in your week is what it's all about right?!
Sure, but what's your point, hun?
Well my point is this - it sucks to try and eat healthy and try to be all Gwyneth Paltrow when you feel more like a young Monica Geller. So dip the strawberries in chocolate, add some cheddar chunks to your pineapple and make it your mission to get that one delicious thing you really deserve in your trolley. It's all about perspective people so let's not leave ourselves feeling like we are missing out yeah?!
If you've tried all the sensible advice to get yourself eating well and it's not really working, try the feel good approach. Any improvement to your diet is better than none right? And hey, why not have some fun with it and make it your MI5 style mission to actually enjoy eating better to feel better?
The Who -
This feather is inspired by a colleague I used to work with who kept a treasure trove of healthy treats in her desk drawer. If anyone one needed a pick me up, she would whip open the drawer and present them with an array of colourful healthy snacks. The selection looked like the food to go shelves in a Holland and Barrett.
She made getting something from the healthy snack drawer feel like a real treat and spread the kindness by offering them to anyone who she thought needed a little boost. It brightened everyone's day and made me realise that with a little perspective shift, eating healthier foods doesn't need to feel like missing out.
Lou @ Feathered Paths Xx
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