Put Your Best Fork Forward

Eating right can be simple. Overcoming the hurdles to choosing healthier food and beverages may be difficult, but isn’t impossible. Eating healthy is as easy as eating fruits, vegetables, low-fat proteins and whole grains, right? Let’s be realistic. We all know that eating healthy is never as easy as it sounds, so what stops us?

Here are a few daily hurdles. Do any sound familiar to you?

  1. Access. Low-income areas lack access to supermarkets, but have fast food and liquor stores around the corner. Workplaces may have a few healthy options, but they usually cost more.
  2. Taste preferences. Would you like a bowl of ice cream or steamed broccoli? Be honest.
  3. Time and convenience. After working late, getting the kids from school and taking a call from your in-laws, do you really feel like cooking?
  4. Stress and emotion. Bad day, boss was unfair and project at work got dumped on you.
  5. Influence. Out to dinner with friends and everyone orders dessert.

The healthy choice isn’t always going to be the “easiest choice”. So when you are choosing your next meal, ask yourself three questions:

  1. What is motivating my choice?
  2. Will this food get me closer or further away from the life I want?   
  3. How can I improve on this choice?

Of course, knowledge is still power, so keep yourself in the know of how to read new nutrition fact labels.