My 2 Rules that Get Me Eating Better

After a very unhealthy holiday season of eating, it seems natural to feel like it’s time to sharpen up the ole diet again.

I personally “let myself go” for the last month, because I found it pointless to fight the temptations of cakes, pies, cookies, etc on a daily basis. I had my fun and now it’s time to get back to business.

What abruptly reminded me of how simple it is to eat better was when I left my parents’ house after our Christmas celebration and returned to my place. I realized exactly why it was so easy for me to eat healthfully.

There are no temptations here!

What exactly do I mean by this? Well, in my time away from eating my personal diet, I lost touch with some of my own principles and got used to all kinds of foods being around me, namely ones I wouldn’t normally eat.

Returning to my natural habitat made me remember that I don’t even allow “junk food” in my own house. That is the first part to my “rule.” (I’m air-quoting a lot of these words because they can have various meanings and I typically don’t use them in the common way.)

I won’t even bring many foods through my doorway, so they never make it to the pantry, fridge, or wherever.

The second part is that I don’t spend any of my own money on said junk food. If I consume any junk food, it’s because it was given to me for free. This isn’t even something I actively do, but something I began doing when I took over all my own grocery shopping and food preparation. 

So in summary, I don’t buy foods I wouldn’t approve of (at the grocery store or at restaurants) and I don’t allow them into my own home.

I eat them while I’m out, or oftentimes, I don’t eat them at all. This is how I’m able to stay on relatively strict guidelines without feeling like it’s a job.

If you’re looking to do a certain diet like keto or paleo, lose some weight, or just be healthier after the holiday season, create boundaries between yourself and foods you don’t want to associate with.

When I left my parents’ house, there was still some remains of an apple pie, banana cream pie, cookie cake, doughnuts, and probably something else that I’m forgetting. At my place, the worst I have are protein cookies, stevia-sweetened treats, and low-sugar options, meaning it can’t get that bad. Do you see the difference?

I don’t want to feel like I have to be disciplined all the time, so I just don’t allow junk food in my environment. Or, I at least won’t be responsible for bringing it and making it an option.