Beating the Challenges of Eating Out

Enough Is Enough!

Between summer vacations, day trips, the heat and life’s unexpected interruptions I find myself seated in a restaurant far more often than I do at any other time of the year. This week I decided I had enough, and needed to clarify my boundaries once again.

So, to refresh my memory and give me a little motivating pep talk, I re-read my own class lesson that I teach at some of my Clean Eating Classes.

Yes, even those of us who preach and teach the clean eating lifestyle can fall off the wagon at times! The important thing is not that we fall, but that we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back in the wagon.

There is definitely no ‘one size fits all’ To-Do List that is going to work for everyone. I wish it were that easy! We all lead different lives, and our schedules and activities do not look the same. In the same way, there are times when our normal weekly patterns change significantly (summertime, holiday seasons, life circumstances) and we find ourselves struggling to ‘keep it clean’. The important thing is to recognize when my clean eating lifestyle is being consistently compromised, and to make the changes necessary to bring it under control.

When we stop thinking about our food and what we are ordering, we are led by our cravings.

Pure and simple.

And we all know where that gets us!

Even if you are not overweight because you happen to have a super metabolism or you’re still young, you are not nourishing your body with healthy food, and you will pay a price at some point in time, in some way. All it takes is a little pre-planning and research to make some smart choices. Below are some things I regularly practice when eating out:

More than a Decision

So you’ve made up your mind. You are going to eat better and exercise more. Or maybe you have other goals in mind. The desire is there. You have decided to “Jump In!”

Now what? We all know that realizing success takes more than a decision. Good intentions will never get the job done!

The next step begins in the mind, and is followed up with a sheer act of the will. Determine to put one foot in front of the other and walk with purpose. Webster’s defines determination as this: the act of coming to a decision; a firm or fixed purpose. To be determined means you are firmly resolved. You are tenacious.

Be firmly resolved to succeed. You know you can do it! It is possible. Be tenacious in spirit as you go after it!

Remember, it all begins in your mind. Once you come to a decision and set your mind to it, be firmly resolved in it.

You are in charge!

You are in charge of your choices, of your actions and of your responses! Determination is an act of the will. It’s not a feeling, and it doesn’t ‘just happen.’

You purpose to make it happen.

As Christopher Robin so wisely said to Pooh Bear, “Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” I would add to that that you are more beautiful than you could ever imagine! You can do this!

Choose to be brave!

Choose to be strong!

Choose to be fearless!

Those things make you confident. They make you successful in your endeavors.

And they make you beautiful, shining from the inside out!

 

Jumping In

I am feeling Brave.

Fearless.

Ok, maybe not completely fearless. But brave, nonetheless.

I’m jumping in!

I’ve been staring at this nearly blank page for a few days now, wondering…what do I say? What will anyone really care about reading. Blogging is new to me. Oh, I’ve read some blogs. I’m even following a few. But writing my first post, getting started, that’s the hard part.

I am a procrastinator at heart. If I’m not sure what I’m doing, I will put it off as long as humanly possible. Taking that first step is always the most difficult for me. So, I think the best thing to do here (if this blog is ever going to get started) is to just start typing, and let it happen.

Come to think about it, writing this blog post is a lot like beginning a nutrition/fitness journey. Just where does one start? Which plan should I follow? Where should I shop for my food? What food should I buy?  …and possibly most powerful deterrent of all;

“What if I fail?! I can’t fail if I don’t actually start!”