1. It's time-consuming
2. It's exhausting
3. For some of us, we tend to think about the things we can't have rather than the things we can have.
I usually write about #3. Today I'm going to talk about the first two. And I'm going to preface this by saying that I don't even have kids and I can't imagine where all of you amazing women get your energy to get through your day. Seriously. I'm just a girl in the world trying to make the right decisions for me (and any future kids I may have). And I even have someone making me dinner most days, so I really don't have a place to complain.
Many societies value food and sharing time with people while preparing and eating food. Ours does not. Many people still go with the 'Eat as much as you can as fast as you can so you can watch more TV/go to the monster truck rally/shop at Wal-Mart.' As food production has progressed (that's so not the right word), we have meals in a box/on a tray/in a can that we can just zap and be done with it.
When did we get so busy? Do we have to be this busy? When did preparing food become such a hassle that nobody has time for?
The reason that paleo, or any other eating plan where you actually have to think about what you're putting in your body, will take a long time to catch on is that preparing food is not a priority. Filling up is a priority. Tonight I got home from my softball game. I hardly even did anything in the game, or all day for that matter (besides run 3 miles and clean the house like crazy), but I was exhausted leaving the game. But I knew we didn't have enough food in the house to make the right decisions. So we run to the store first and pick up a rotisserie chicken, some fruit, bacon, eggs, etc. Then we get home. So tired. I have to talk myself into a simple task like hardboiling the eggs so I can take them to work as snacks. The 9-5 thing - uy - you have to go in prepared to eat healthy or you're fighting a losing battle. So I put the eggs on, I do the dishes, I grind the coffee, I fill the dog's water bowl, I should be ready to go tomorrow morning. But I don't do this every Sunday. If I'm going to do it right, I have to prepare. I can't let work stress be my downfall into eating more chocolate. I can't let myself get so hungry in the morning that I go to the store at noon and get a coconut macaroon (not like that happened on Friday).
The irony is that eating better food is supposed to give you more energy. I think today's one of those rare days where I didn't eat enough food, but maybe that's what I'll keep track of this week - my energy level. I should be all set for the next few days, so I'll see if I still have energy on Wednesday to stick to the plan and get things ready the night before.
I can learn to love cooking. I can love to learn to eat healthy. Because you know what's really great - fitting into a size 4*. That's pretty freakin' great.
*This has only worked with the pants at the J Crew outlet, but I'm sure other brands in that size will fit me soon.
1 comment:
Today was our third intro class and we talked about nutrition. Through my own research, I knew what to expect so none of it was a surprise. My current diet is awful. If you have ever had the chance to experience Monica's cooking you know how lucky I am. She is an amazing cook and is very health conscious. While her cooking isn't paleo, (it's basically whole food vegetarian with fish and seafood thrown in) it's much healthier than I've ever eaten of my own free will. The problem is when I'm not at home. It's the pastry at the coffeehouse. The fast food when I forget to pack my lunch. The mid-afternoon snack at the drive-thru. I know I'm a carb addict and like any addict I am terrified of making a change.
The best I've ever felt was my 3 week experience with Atkins. But even then it was much easier because I was living overseas, eating at an Air Force dining hall. I didn't have to plan. I didn't have to cook. All I had to do was make good choices when I ate. But even then I ended up going back to my old ways.
Honestly though, I'm excited about making a change to my diet. Hopefully, as I see results from the workouts, my excitement level will overtake my fear and I'll finally break the old cycle.
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