The crazy focus among women today on dieting is a little bit out of control. So many of us feel like we can never eat what we want because our bodies HAVE to look how society says they should. I’ve been working to overcome this struggle since elementary school and at one point ended up losing a lot of weight in a short period of time in a very unhealthy way.
I am finally coming to accept my body and am at a healthy and comfortable weight. That’s why this time around I wanted to eat better for my health, not necessarily to lose weight. The only problem is: I’m a sweets and junk food fiend!
There are so many dieting fads today, some focused on eliminating whole food groups, calorie counting, only eating unprocessed foods and so on. Many of them aren’t very healthy or sustainable. Even if they make you lose weight in a short amount of time, it might not be good for you and you might not keep it off.
I was talking to a friend about this and she said she wanted to healthily lose weight but was struggling to eat right on her own. We both wanted to focus on eating food that makes us feel good—for me that means no dairy (it gives me a stomache ache) or junk food, lots of fruit, veggies and protein. We knew that we could do better if we were accountable to each other and not just ourselves. So our Google Doc spreadsheet: the “healthy eating journal” was born.
We write down our breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day along with snacks, drinks and any exercise. We don’t write calories or exact amounts. We don’t always eat perfectly. We take days, weekends, and sometimes even weeks off from caring. But we keep coming back to eating healthy because we can motivate and encourage each other.
A third friend has since joined the spreadsheet and we’ve started to leave comments on each other’s food. They’ll write encouragements if I have a really good meal, or half-hearted-actually-kind-of-jealous scoldings if I have something super indulgent.
It’s just nice to not be in it alone anymore and to know that if I mess up they’ll understand but will be there to support me in doing better tomorrow.