But Eating Heathly is Hard

Food is a beautiful thing. It brings families together. It brings memories of loved ones past. It reminds us where we came from.  However, with all this good comes a lot of bad.

Did you know that you could work your butt the hardest it has ever been worked...ever... and not lose a pound. In fact, you could gain weight. Not the good weight that is actually muscle, either.

Learning to eat right is hard. It takes time, organization and a little dedication. The hardest part is giving up habits. For me it was a series of habits:

• I would get a doughnut and a Red Bull before each work day.
• When I was at work late I would get through it by eating a cookie. (P.S If you haven't seen how huge a Panera Bread cookie is go to a Panera and look. They are huge. And Delicious. It's hard to resist.)
• When I was really stressed out I would let food give me comfort.
• I like to eat what is easy to grab. So, I would buy easy to grab things. Chips. Chips are awesome and delicious easy to grab items.

The biggest key to eating right is making healthy items easy to reach, easy to eat, and the bad food needs to be hidden.

This is what my fridge looks like all the time. There are already prepped breakfast options, already chopped fruit and already chopped veggies. Everything is easy. I even quarter my oranges so I don't have to peel an orange to eat it.

Here's what you do to have this awesome fridge. When you make a trip to a grocery store make sure that you have a couple of hours. As part of your grocery check list, make sure you have plenty of zip lock baggies. Part of unloading the groceries is chopping up the vegetables and fruit. If you can't chop your veggies and fruit right when you get home then you need to give yourself a time frame.

"I have to chop my fruit and veggies by 5:00PM tomorrow."

The reason you want to put them in Ziplock bags instead of bowls is because you can see exactly what is in what, they hold better and you can fit more in your fridge.

Bowls are for mixing not for storing. She says while picturing her chefs in culinary school throwing bowls across the room.

A lot of you out there are moms. Hi moms! You have kids that need to be bribed for when they poop on the potty, do their chores, or go a whole day without pulling on the dog's tail. You also need them to eat something, anything. So for this you need Goldfish, Poptarts, those delicious chips I was speaking of, little Hersey Kisses, and who knows what else. Those things are in your house and are not going anywhere. So, how do you avoid them? What if you want some? What do you do?

First, put all the "crap" in your kitchen in the same cupboard. Either put them up really high (like you have to get a chair to get them) or put them behind all your cans. Like your stacked cans. This way they are hard to reach. It will literally be easier for you to eat healthy. Let's say that again...

It will literally be easier for you to eat healthy.

 You can just open your fridge and eat an already cut orange. Or you can grab a chair to get the chips.


Probably the #1 to fail on having healthier eating habits is cutting cold turkey. (That reminds me buy ground turkey instead of beef. It really does taste almost the same and is a million times better for you) When you are trying to change your eating habits you need to offer yourself some rewards.

"If I go one whole day with eating clean and fresh then I can have a Hersey Kiss with lunch tomorrow."

"If I go Sunday-Friday with eating clean and fresh then I can have Jack-in-the-Box for lunch on Saturday"

Warning: If you eat clean and fresh Sunday-Friday then eat Jack-in-the-Box, you will be sick. It will suck. It might be good for you though. Then you will realize how crappy that kind of food treats your body. So, ignore my warning and totally do this.

Let's chat about stress eating.

Why do we eat wen we are stressed? It brings us comfort.

How do you fix that?

What else gives us comfort? Everyone is different. For me:

• Snuggle time with my dogs
• Reading the scriptures
• Hymns
• Talking on the phone with a loved one
• Sewing
• Shopping (this is a whole can of worms in itself but we will just ignore that)
• Modern Family
• A good movie
• Reading an awesome book
• Bubble baths
• Grocery shopping
• Catching up with an old friend
• Blasting Bad Romance by Lady GaGa and dancing like no one is watching

With all of these things why chose food? When I'm stressed I learned to turn to something else besides food. You need to find quick fixes to a stressful situation (like rocking out to Lady GaGa) and ways to unwind from a stressful day (like reading your scriptures). This will replace your need to eat when you are stressed.

In the end it all comes down to YOU and YOUR mind. It's all mental You don't really NEED that back of chips. I promise. Your system won't break down if you don't get your daily fix of an afternoon cupcake. You can do it. Just chose and make it easy for you. Make it easy for you

Because there is NO better time than NOW!