Do healthy YOUR way

Someone recently asked me for weight loss/dietary advice and the first thing that came to mind was gradual changes. Speaking from personal experience, drastic changes which leave no room for error are barely maintainable!  When setting his menu plan, my mom suggested a lentil loaf.  Sure you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. I love lentil loaves but I doubt the average Joe would drool at the thought of it 😆 !  It’s all about baby steps and making healthy changes which you CAN and WANT to sustain .

I decided to get my act together in terms of fitness & eating habits 7 years ago yet I still don’t consider either of them anywhere near perfect. I doubt I ever will but all that matters is that it’s working for me.In the tune of Usher, these are my confessionsss:

1) I refuse to do the king of exercise moves a.k.a lunges. I don’t care whether they work my glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves in one shot. I hate them with a passion and would rather do 5 sets of barbell step-ups, squats, or leg presses versus 2 sets of lunges.

2) I eat right before bed every night without fail. I know it doesn’t cause weight gain but apparently it affects digestion and sleep! On the flipside, I’m almost certain that my bedtime snack helps me pass out all through the night! Plus it fuels my AM workout.

3) I probably drink one diet fizzy drink daily (if you average it out)!  Telling me it is filled with artificial sweeteners is as pointless as telling a smoker that cigarettes are lethal. Oh and if you think that’s bad, I probably shouldn’t admit that my tipple is vodka/Diet Coke 😳 .

4) I eat chocolate for breakfast 99% of the time! More likely than not, I will chuck in a few choc chips in my bowl of oats. Apparently sugary breakfasts are frowned upon but I can vouch that chocolate adds a special and delicious touch! For what it’s worth, I am anti-oxidanting up as I DO opt for 70% 😉

5) J’adore Ketchup and am a snob about it. Put your generic brands away, only Heinz will do! I don’t care if it contains high fructose corn syrup. It’s the only source of HFCS in my diet so it’s staying put! Potatoes/eggs without Ketchup is like bananas without peanut butter- not gonna happen!

 6) My idea of stretching would make any fellow exerciser cringe! It lasts all of 2 minutes. I know I should stretch. I know it’ll assist muscle recovery. I know stretching will prevent injury. But by the end of my workout, I’m either bored of the gym atmosphere and want to bounce or I’m hungry! Note to self: bring back yoga!

7) My fridge is not full of organic foods! When the option is available, I will absolutely pay extra for organic dairy and meat. Other than that, I’m not a fruit/vegetable snob- I’ll take what I can get :)!

Despite all this, I can proudly say that I am fit & healthy! You know why? Because sometimes it’s healthy to be unhealthy!

What ‘unhealthy’ habits keep you sane?