On second thought...

Ouch. I was working on our state newsletter trying to figure out what to write for the Great American Eat Right Challenge. While I was looking through a few printouts of the website and came across a page in the newsletter called “I’ll Walk It Off.”

I’ll admit I’m a huge victim of this. I’ll see something that looks good and I’ll justify eating it by telling myself I’ll go on a walk later and work it off. Late last week it was chocolate chip ice cream. This weekend it was popcorn from the movie theaters, among other things.

But according to this newsletter, I would have to walk 12 miles to work off that large movie theater popcorn. Yikes. The small chocolate milk shake I had Sunday night? I’d have to walk 3.6 miles. Not terrible, but since I only went on a 2-mile walk that evening, I didn’t work it entirely off. And that was just the shake.

That’s the hard part of dieting and eating right. Temptation can be a pain, and it’s something that most people struggle with everyday. Should I have that second helping of spaghetti? Can I have that brownie without it going straight to my thighs?

I know I said I hate counting calories, but that seems to be the only real way to monitor what I put into my mouth. I need to start being more conscious of what I’m putting into my mouth, or more importantly, how much I’m putting in.

I think what it boils down to is balance between what you eat and the amount of exercise you get in. I can have some of that movie theater popcorn, but it doesn’t have to be a huge portion, and I can get on a walk later that night. I don’t need to eat ice cream every night, but I can have it once in a while.

I’m trying to change my mentality so it doesn’t feel like I’m depriving myself. I don’t want to monitor what I eat and how much I exercise just to see if it results in weight loss. Instead I should focus on being healthy and how great I feel when I eat right and exercise. If I automatically tie it to weight loss, it isn’t going to be as beneficial and I’ll be more likely to give up.

So from here on out, I eat and exercise for my health, not for the number on the scale.

…remind me of that after the Fourth of July festivities and food..