What's Your Excuse

A new poll in Shop Smart magazine polled 1,000 women, asking what the main reason why they didn't eat healthy.  I thought it would be a good idea to look at the most common excuses why people do not eat healthier and see if we can find solutions or at least persuade you to start changing some of your habits. 

Here were some of the top answers:

57% Eating healthy foods is too expensive.
47% Social settings are too tempting
395% Life is too short; I want to enjoy what I eat
25% My family prefers less healthy meals

Let's take these one by one and see if we can help you out. 

Eating healthy foods is too expensive:

Yes healthier foods are typically more expensive.  Organic foods will usually cost much more than non organic, grass fed beef will be more expensive than corn fed, free range chicken is more expensive, and organic milk is way more expensive.  It is not necessary to buy all organic foods if it is going to break your budget.  Regular beef and chicken you find at the grocery store are still going to be better quality than In and Out or Jack n the Box. 

For fruits and veggies if you can just buy organic for the foods that are highest in pesticides.  Check out the list below for foods you might want to buy organic:

The Dirty Dozen:
1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Sweet Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Pears
9. Grapes
10. Spinach
11. Lettuce
12. Potatoes

Depending on your current eating habits, eating healthy may actually be cheaper.  I have had clients tell me how much money they were saving by eating better.  If you eat out for lunch often, go to Starbucks everyday, or eat more on the go you probably are spending a lot more than you think.  Try preparing your own lunch or giving up Starbucks for a while and see how much you maybe able to save.

The bottom line is the majority of your diet if you are eating healthy is primarily plant based and vegetables really are not that expensive.

Social Settings Are Too Tempting:

This is a tough one.  I've been there.  You meet up with friends and everyone is drinking eating and having a good time.  My biggest suggestions here are to let your friends know what you are doing and bring your own foods when you can.  If others know you are trying to loose weight and eat healthier they will more than likely be supportive.  If they are not you might want to avoid people that are sabotaging you.  Or you can just bring your own dishes.  If you know there is going to be foods that you probably shouldn't be eating you can bring a salad or other dish that you can have as well as others who may be in the same boat as you. 

Life is too short; I want to enjoy what I eat:

Well depending how much you enjoy that food life may be even shorter for you.  Eating foods high in trans fat and high in Omega 6 fats will lead to heart issues, fatty livers, and internal inflammation.  What you put in your body will put a toll on it.  Those that eat bad food are usually the ones who die early or live less quality years. 

That being said, you can still enjoy all kinds of foods.  I would be lying if I said I never drank alcohol, french fries, hot dogs, pizza, ice cream....I better stop before I get hungry.  The key is to have cheat meals throughout the week so you are not as tempted as much.  Have 1-2 cheat meals then get right back on your normal routine.  If you can eat healthy 80% of the time you are in pretty good shape.  If there are 21 meals per week then try eating very healthy for 17 of them.  That would be 80% of your weekly meals so you can still enjoy some of the foods you currently eat. 

My family prefers less healthy meals:

Again this can be a tough one.  Just as in social situations make sure you family knows you are trying to eat better because you are concerned with your health and theirs.  You are looking out for their best interest so they will need to start eating healthy as well. 

Tough love might be appropriate too.  If you are the one preparing the meals then they will eat what you put in front of them.  If they aren't happy with it they can start learning how to cook for themselves.  It may sound mean but you want your family eating healthy, not just you. 

If you have kids than this is even more important.  Childhood obesity is a growing problem and as parents it is your responsibility to teach them proper eating habits.  Teach them that they need to have fruits and vegetables in every meal and fast food or pizza is a treat not an everyday meal. 

So hopefully we have helped out with some of your excuses for not eating healthy.  If you still have excuses let me know and we can see if we can get past them. 

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCs
San Diego Premier Training