The Daily Balance

Hello lovely readers of The Daily Balance! My name is Heather, and I was introduced to fell in love with healthy lifestyle blogs back in April. J I just adore the community of like minded people that I have found that are all striving for or otherwise keeping up a healthy, balanced lifestyle. I love to write and thought that my own experiences with working towards the aforementioned healthy balance could contribute to this wonderful community as well. So, in May, I took the leap of faith and started www.junkfoodbreakup.wordpress.com.

Why junk food break up though? See, I figured that a lot of us have a special place in our hearts for the stuff that’s not always good for us. Maybe we just never knew how to let the “not always good for you” food be only a part of our lives – and if we face facts we know we can’t cut it all out completely, because, well, true love never dies. That’s where that balance comes in! Learning that there are other fish (and salads and yogurts and fruits) in the sea, and knowing that you don’t have to cut everything you love out of life makes the journey so much better!

Here are a few pearls of wisdom that have helped me out along the way in my journey to the land of balance, and I hope you find them helpful too!

• Have a piece of pizza for a meal once in a while – as long as your other meals aren’t doughnuts and cheeseburgers.
• Explore the produce section – before, I used to think that salads were confined to iceberg lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes. Imagine my surprise and delight when I learned that a salad (and the produce section) is basically just one big endless opportunity. My favorite salad concoction? Fresh spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onions and goat cheese with dressing on the side.
• Develop a love for dark chocolate in place of milk chocolate – not only is it better for ya, but there’s something about dark chocolate that just feels decadent and luxurious.
• Venture off the beaten path and visit a farmers market or local grocery store – you just might find something new that you hadn’t seen at your regular store.
• Make exercise a priority. I used to think “oh, I’ll workout if I get around to it.” Now I know that it’s going to be a part of my day before I tackle other things.
• Dining out is going to happen – it is part of life and an experience that’s meant to be enjoyed to the fullest. I will say that it took me a while to not go straight for the French Fries, but now I love to explore other options on the menu (but I won’t lie, the fries still get ordered from time to time).
• Stick with it for at least 3 weeks and let your body get used to the changes you are making.

10 Responses to “Breaking up with junk food”

1. Shelly said:

   I think the stick with it for three weeks tip is such a good point. At first, anything new is hard but if you stick with it you a) adjust and b)start feeling really good.

   Posted on July 12, 2010 at 9:54 am | Reply
2. Jessica @ Healthy Obsessions said:

   Great advice!

   Posted on July 12, 2010 at 10:02 am | Reply
3. Kaz said:

   I’m going through the pain of breaking up with junk food right now. We flirted for awhile, then I foolishly let it back into my life, and it keeps trying to hurt me and make me miserable. With your advice, I’m going to tell junk food that perhaps we need to spend some time apart and re-evaluate our relationship.

   Posted on July 12, 2010 at 3:51 pm | Reply
4. Rachel @ Fit Fun and Fabulous said:

   Its like a bad ex that can show up and throw your entire world off balance. I find it is better stay away as much as possible. Drive throughs always get me!

   Posted on July 12, 2010 at 5:59 pm | Reply
5. Brittany said:

   Thanks for the awesome tips!

   Posted on July 12, 2010 at 6:23 pm | Reply
6. Lisa @ bakebikeblog said:

   What a great approach! Great work!

   Posted on July 12, 2010 at 6:37 pm | Reply
7. Shawnee said:

   Nice to meet you! I’ll be checking out your blog. Great post as well.

   Posted on July 13, 2010 at 12:41 am | Reply
8. Lisa @ I'm an Okie said:

   those are some great tips—and you have a great healthy balance!

   and sooo agree about the dark chocolate. Feels so luxurious!

   Posted on July 13, 2010 at 11:57 am | Reply
9. Liz said:

   Great tips! Up until this summer, I always stuck with the same few veggies, too. I’ve been making a real effort to try new things from the produce section and the farmers’ markets in my area as well as trying new ways of preparing them. So far I’ve been pleasantly surprised and am enjoying eating much healthier! Another tip about the pizza could be to try different – healthier – toppings, like lots of veggies! Yum!

   Posted on July 14, 2010 at 1:24 pm | Reply
10. Farouk said:

    i already broke up months ago and i am really glad i did, finally i started seeing signs of six packs

    Posted on July 19, 2010 at 4:01 am | Reply