The reason I eat healthy

Evening guys!

Today was a good day, despite the cooler weather and the fact that I'm still missing my boy (just a few more days!).
I didn't let that get me down; I worked all day, and although it was pretty much the last place I wanted to be, I didn't let it crush my good mood.

I woke up bright and early after a nice night of rest, and had a big bowl of cereal to start my day. I had a cup of Kashi U, with some sliced strawberries, a sliced banana, and a cup of nonfat soy milk.


This fruit-filled breakfast held me until I had half of this bar for a snack mid-morning:

Yes, you're seeing correctly. PEANUT CLIF BARS ARE BACK!!! Whoo! This was a great flavor.

For lunch I packed some leftover pasta salad and a plum. This was a light, refreshing lunch that was the perfect fuel for my next few hours of work.

After work I snacked on the other half of my clif bar, and headed back home to relax a bit before my run. I did a 33-minute loop around the neighborhood, and my knee felt fine for the most part. While I was running, I got to thinking about my eating habits, and how unhealthy some of my choices have been lately.

And I thought to myself, Why am I doing this to myself?

When I eat unhealthy, I feel, to be frank, like crap. Why am I bingeing on foods that have no nutritional benefit, aren't really all that tasty, and make me feel horrible? If I already feel bad, how is FOOD going to make me feel better? As Bethenny said in Naturally Thin, food is not your friend. It will not make you feel better. How true that is. I shouldn't be apologizing to you guys about eating unhealthy, yes, I'm stressed, but that's no excuse to eat unhealthy!
Sure, we all have our sweets cravings. Thats perfectly acceptable! But there's no reason indulging needs to become an unhealthy habit like bingeing.
WHY am I doing this to myself?
WHY am I not eating healthy, and making smart choices for my cravings, like I normally do?
Because I think food will somehow cure my unhappiness? News flash, it won't.
I'm not going to let you guys think that eating this way hasn't had an effect on me. It has. I don't feel as great, my stomach problems are more frequent, I don't feel as strong when I run, I've gained weight. I feel bloated, and gross.

When I eat healthy, I feel GREAT! When I eat organically, naturally, I feel EVEN BETTER. And when I combine that with smart indulgences, like a little chocolate here, a cookie there, I satisfy my cravings and enjoy my food even more.
Why am I not eating healthy all the time?
The answer is, exactly that, Why not?
There is no answer, there's no reasoning behind my overindulgences and binges.
I strive to practice what I preach, eat things I love, eat healthfully to feel, and look, the best I can. And I haven't been. 
This is where that ends.

Phew. It feels great to get that off my chest. It has been a long, hard, struggle, getting to where I am, and where I hope to be. As I stress, I am not perfect. Every day presents a new challenge in eating and being healthy.
But that's a challenge I am willing to take. Because when it comes to my health, the way I feel when I eat healthy is worth the effort. 

With that thought, dinner was delicious, and healthy to boot. My mom made her delicious Garlic Baked Chicken, which I had two pieces of over a big salad she made that had spinach, red and green bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, onions and mushrooms. I topped it with a little reduced fat feta cheese, and the juicy chicken pieces were so flavorful I didn't need any dressing at all! I finished this all shortly after I ran, and it was the perfect re-fuel meal.

Thanks for dinner, Mom!

I'm definitely going to have dessert tonight. I love my desserts!
But am I going to go overboard, as I have the last 3 or 4 nights?
You bet I won't.