You Will Eat What Is In Front of You

I was on vacation recently and I realized that many people are fighting a losing battle every day. I knew this was happening already. When I talk to my client companies about their employee concerns and my health coaching participants their personal struggles, I see it. When I was in an airport, I saw it clearly enough to make me think again.

As I thought about it again, my realization was: If it is in front of you, you will eat it. I’ve known this for some time, but I have new appreciation for just how difficult eating healthy can be. I know firsthand how difficult it is to choose healthy foods. I also know firsthand how difficult it is to avoid unhealthy foods.
Sometimes it is a combination of the two that leads to a struggle, but often the struggle and ultimate defeat actually take place before we even leave the house.

Let’s take the airport scenario for example:

Situation: sitting in an airport waiting for a delayed flight

Challenge: hungry

Options: go to fast food place, newsstand or vending machine

Result: eating a processed, fatty, sugary meal that doesn’t provide much nutrition
I not only watched dozens of people stuck in this situation, but I also heard people openly complaining about it. I already heard this complaint from friends, family and clients, but to hear it while seeing such a no-win situation unfolding for these people was truly an eye-opening for me.

The Perceived Problem:

There are no healthy options at the airport so I am forced to eat junk.

The Real Problem:

You didn’t plan ahead, so you are eating junk because you are too hungry to wait for something else

The Perceived Solution:

There is no solution to this problem other than eating it and vocalizing my complaints about it

The Real Solution:

This is actually a long answer, because there are so many options. That’s right, you have options. You have more options than most people realize. When it comes to eating on the run and eating while traveling, there is more than what’s right in front of you. Often, what is in front of you can be made healthier just by consciously making a choice.

Solution #1- Eat it, but less of it. That’s right, you can eat fast food, but if you eat less of it, you are taking in fewer calories and putting less junk into your body.

Solution #2- Bring something with you. Bringing a healthy snack with you can keep the cravings at bay as well as give you an alternative to the fast food or vending options that are in front of you while you wait.

Solution #3- Choose wisely. There are obvious choices at most fast food restaurants that can make a bad situation better. Grilled vs. Fried is one option. Skipping on fries or substituting something in their place can help too. Even your beverage can save you hundreds of calories each meal.

There are many more solutions that can help you get through a travel day. The airport is not always the best place to be when trying to eat healthy, but that doesn’t mean that you have to suffer. Use one of these solutions or find another that works for you and you can successfully eat healthy anywhere.

The airport is an easy place to pinpoint unhealthy eating habits. The home is another. It may not be quite as easy, but you may be putting more pressure on yourself at home than you need to. Just like you can make choices at the airport, you can make choices at home too.

Problem: I have healthy items at home, but I keep eating the junk

Solution #1- Don’t buy it. It’s that simple. If you don’t buy something you can’t eat it. If you don’t bring something into your home, you won’t eat it. The solution is really at the store. Making a smart purchase makes eating the smart food much easier.

Solution #2- Plan your meals and have healthy items ready. If you don’t have the food ready, you won’t eat it. If you don’t plan and prepare a meal, you won’t eat the food. There is no way around it. You can’t eat a salad without tossing, mixing or at least pouring. You can’t eat veggies without chopping. If you make healthy choices easier to eat, you will at them.

Everyone has their own vices. We all have certain foods that we like and we all have certain foods that we can’t resist. If you are sitting at a table with your favorite food on it (good or bad) you will eat it. If you get hungry anywhere, you will eat what is available. That is why the solutions listed above have to become your strategies if you want to eat healthy.

You can want to eat healthy and you can think about it all you want, but the fact remains, convenience is king. Easy options are going to win every time. Make healthy choices easy and you will win. You can’t win in a no-win situation. Don’t put yourself in a no-win situation and you will…well, you will win. It all comes back to the original statement: If it is in front of you, you will eat it.