I think I’ve mentioned before that my wife is an excellent cook, and excels at baking. Particularly cakes. So much so that she occasionally makes cakes and sells them. It’s more of a hobby than anything else, but one that she does quite well. For my taste buds, its great; but for my waistline, not so much. At any rate, the other day she had me stop by the store to pick up some ingredients for a carrot cake. Her carrot cake is a 3-layer creation that tastes delicious, and is loaded with calories. But of course, you don’t eat carrot cake for the vegetables, right? Anyway, I was supposed to pick up a half-gallon of buttermilk. Simple enough, right?
So today, she planned on making the cakes. I’m sitting at my desk and she calls, informing me that I got the wrong thing. I had gotten fat-free buttermilk. I knew that wasn’t what she needed, and didn’t even realize what I had done. She called to tell me I had officially become a health food nut. From a practical point of view, no harm, no foul. She made the cake and although it changed the consistency and flavor a bit, I doubt anyone would notice.
How You Become A Health Food Nut
Photo Credit Scoobymoo
My wife knew I hadn’t even thought about it the milk. I just picked up the fat-free version. I think that’s how it should be when you embark on the goal to develop healthier habits. When I first started this journey, it was with the goal of making small, step-wise changes that would eventually add up to a healthier lifestyle. I take this little incident as a sign that my habits are moving in the direction I want them to go. I just need to remember to suppress them when my wife is making something sinful.
It makes me think of how our society can make more progress toward their weight loss goals. I think too many people make the decision to lose weight, and make immediate, drastic changes in their diet. Drastic changes are unsustainable. When we get accustomed to consuming large amounts of anything, whether it is sugar, caffeine, or bread, it becomes something we crave. Quitting cold turkey dooms us to failure.
Consider it the next time you get motivated to tackle your weight. Is there a single thing you could cut out of your daily routine that would give you some progress, but not leave you feeling as if you’ve totally deprived yourself of what you enjoy? If you start off taking baby steps, before you know it, you’ll be a health food nut, too. My first step was sodas. What will yours be?
