Balancing healthy food & unhealthy food

What motivates you guys to eat more healthy foods instead of just smaller portions of unhealthy foods all the time? I find myself choosing kid's meals at fast food restaurants for my meals a lot of times instead of making a sandwich or salad at home. The kid's meal of course sounds more appetizing to me, & can have around the same amount of cals as something healthier I can make at home, etc. I know from experience that healthy eating isn't completely what makes you lose weight, & as long as you stay within cals (unhealthy foods or not), you lose weight. But I know eating healthy is better in the long run (for obvious reasons), & I want to enjoy healthy foods & WANT to choose them over unhealthy foods more times than not. I'm just trying to find the discipline to choose a banana over a 100 cal pack, or salad over a kid's meal (not all the time, but most of the time). Where do you find your discipline with doing this? Where do you find your balance?

My children are one of my motivating factors. They watch and take in everything they see. I want to set an example for healthy nutrition for the rest of their lives instead of them having to deal with health and weight issues later on.

Another motivating factor is the way I feel. My stomach used to hurt (or was tender) all the time when eating fast and junk food. Now that I'm eating cleaner than I've ever eaten in my life, my stomach no longer hurts. I feel great actually! Never thought it would make this big of a difference, but it really does. Now I don't crave junk food. I crave fruits and veggies... and dark chocolate. Occasionally, I will want a hamburger or one of the more carb-loaded, fatty menu items at a local diner... but it's not very often.

We have changed our eating as a family, so healthier choices have become so much easier. I prepare all of our meals at home, and it has saved us some money (not eating out), and you will find that your tastes will change and you will actually prefer the healthier choices over the less healthy choices. It took about a month or so before it became habit to choose healthy foods. Good luck!

Heh. My cooking is MUCH more palatable to me than what I can get in a restaurant! :-) Actually, though, it's not entirely true that you'll lose, regardless. Your body may just adjust its function, and you won't be reducing certain things that adversely affect your health (like the SODIUM). If you do not give your body sufficient nutrients, it will fight you on weight loss. I try to eat a well-balanced diet AND take my multivitamin, because I don't LOSE unless my body knows that I am going to give it what it needs. Also, the excess sodium in processed foods can make you bloat, and the unbalanced intake lowers your energy. When I eat my own cooking and have good nutrition, I feel ten times better. That means that my workouts go better, which means that I burn more calories, which means that I lose weight, better.

Frankly, I've been eating fairly healthily for longer than I've been trying to lose, so the "kid's meals" simply don't APPEAL. I came home, this evening, and I wanted nothing as much as I wanted to have my sauteed kale, for instance. You get your body used to being well-fed, and after a while, you CRAVE the things that make you feel better. You just have to get started. For me, eating healthily requires a regular Sunday cooking marathon. Then, I have a refrigerator full of mix-and-match healthy options without having to find the time to cook when I get home from work. It seems to work from me.

Bottom line -- get your body used to what is good for it, and that will become what you WANT. Find INTERESTING ways to do this by cooking from scratch as much as possible. After you've started varying your seasonings and flavor combinations, what you have at home will be FAR superior to what you can get at a restaurant.

I plan ahead our weeks meals & shop from a list. The only food I buy after that is fresh fruit & veges if I need them.
I plan my day in my food diary the night before & some weeks I plan out dinner for every night in it a week ahead. I'm still very reliant on my food diary but I'm still learning how to eat healthily & I'm losing weight in the process.

My 12 year old daughter is a huge motivator for me, she's still at an age where she copies a lot of what I do & she's starting to eat a lot healthier now too. I no longer by junk food snacks & if I'm cooking a meal she doesn't like I adapt it for her & she's more willing to try new things now because I am. Yesterday I had her eating hummus & rice crackers, it was such a buzz seeing her enjoy them!!

Work on finding tasty was to slowly add better versions of some of the things you love to eat and you will get used to the healthier version. For instance, I greatly prefer a grilled turkey burger w/ spinach, cucumber, tomato and light miracle whip over any Mcdonalds fried burger. Just try some substitutes, and it doesn't have to be all boring salads and sandwiches! Experiment to find things that are better for you, but still taste great! And try to prepare some things ahead of time and store them so you're not as tempted to grab the fast food if you have healthier choses readily available. Hope this helps!

What motivates you guys to eat more healthy foods instead of just smaller portions of unhealthy foods all the time? I find myself choosing kid's meals at fast food restaurants for my meals a lot of times instead of making a sandwich or salad at home. The kid's meal of course sounds more appetizing to me, & can have around the same amount of cals as something healthier I can make at home, etc. I know from experience that healthy eating isn't completely what makes you lose weight, & as long as you stay within cals (unhealthy foods or not), you lose weight. But I know eating healthy is better in the long run (for obvious reasons), & I want to enjoy healthy foods & WANT to choose them over unhealthy foods more times than not. I'm just trying to find the discipline to choose a banana over a 100 cal pack, or salad over a kid's meal (not all the time, but most of the time). Where do you find your discipline with doing this? Where do you find your balance?

The key is to try to open yourself up to some new ideas and be honest about what you like to eat. I never used to cook with as many veggies as I do now because I always thought of them as bland and mushy. My mom always overcooked and underseasoned them. I keep a stock of tomatoes, onions, and peppers and make my own salsa, toppings for fish and chicken, and use them in the crock pot for slow cooked meals. We also keep a stockpile of oranges, golden delicious apples, banannas, pineapples, avocados, mangos, and other seasonal fruits in the house. That being said, I still hate carrots, most varieties of red apples, white grapes, and beets. I eat the veggies and fruit I like and incorporate them into my diet as often as possible.

Another thing we do in my house is eat dinner together every night. It's my husband and I's special time to sit and enjoy some quiet time together. We often cook together as well, although mostly he just chops things and cleans up. Instead of dreading cooking, I now enjoy it a lot more.

I would recommend taking a cooking class or picking up a light cookbook and start experimenting with new flavors. Try to rediscover what you like. Make time to prepare your meals and find some joy in doing it. Cooking can be so much fun.

My motivation is to continue feeling great. Eating well has improved my mood, my ability to sleep through the night, and has given me more focus than I ever had before. Working out has been amazing for keeping my stress level in check also.

In the end, it's all up to choice though. You make decisions every day what you eat and how much of it you eat.

I think about how disrespectful it is to my body when I put junk in my mouth. It is easier to grab processed foods, but it has no nutritional value. My body needs foods that are dense in vitamins and minerals to be able to function and ward off disease. I have learned so much about nutrition.

For years, I had constipation. It was to a point where I would only go to the bathroom once a week. That is unhealthy. I was getting very sick. I almost died from a small intestine infection. Doctors wouldn't do anything. I tried adding more fiber, laxatives, nothing worked. I realized last month that the problem was the food I was eating. Even though I wasn't eating fast food or soda, I was still eating cereal, bread, and other overly processed foods. I took all those out and lost 14lbs in a month. I realized I was lactose intolerant. When I started eating fruits, vegetables, yogurt, and some meat, I finally was able to go to the bathroom everyday. This is a huge deal for me.

This is what motivates me to eat healthy. I know that my health is in jeopardy when I choose unhealthy food over healthy foods. I listen to my body.

Satiety. I just get too hungry eating little portions of the bad stuff. I need to eat a metric buttload of veges, fruit, and other low cal stuff (low fat yogurt/cottage cheese, popcorn) to feel full up.

Satiety. I just get too hungry eating little portions of the bad stuff. I need to eat a metric buttload of veges, fruit, and other low cal stuff (low fat yogurt/cottage cheese, popcorn) to feel full up.

i'm totally going to use the phrase "metric buttload" in conversation tomorrow

There's a ruder version of that one that I can't use here!

Satiety. I just get too hungry eating little portions of the bad stuff. I need to eat a metric buttload of veges, fruit, and other low cal stuff (low fat yogurt/cottage cheese, popcorn) to feel full up.

i'm totally going to use the phrase "metric buttload" in conversation tomorrow

Me too!!! LMBO!

I simply mix some healthy and some less healthy into almost every meal so I'm never really tempted. With breakfast and lunch I usually have 1 cookie with each. Newman's Own makes some awesome cookies and they're actually not too bad for you. With dinner I usually have another cookie or a small piece of candy. This is the 10% eat whatever you want rule spread throughout the day haha