I wonder if anyone else is in the same boat. I think I am a decently disciplined person in general. I save a large percentage of my income and don't buy much fancy stuff. I bike even when its cold and rainy. I make myself lift even when I'm tired.
But I can't seem to apply this to eating. I have such a sweet tooth, any plans to start eating healthier end the next time I go to the grocery store and grab a pint of ice cream. I know I will feel and look better if I eat healthier. I know it'll make be a better climber. I just can't seem to get that same discipline as I have in some other areas.
Does anyone else experience this? Any tips from the Mustachians?
I have never really struggled with diet, and generally it is an area where my natural preferences guide me in the healthy direction. I like to maintain a nice balance of overall healthy eating plus occasional off-the-wagon treats, because is life worth living if you don't have an occasional pizza? Therefore, I feel my diet is pretty well optimized to a balance of overall healthy with a touch of treats to enjoy the great things in life as well. However, I guided myself to this mindset. When I was young, I was a regular kid who loved to eat poorly: I would gorge on candy at Halloween, down entire large blizzards from DQ, eat multiple servings of Tacobell nachos (chips and queso only) plus soda, loved pizza/etc... If I continued that diet, later in life it would certainly of come back to bite me. Here is a list of things I have done or experiences that affected me that converted me from the old path to the current one:
-My Mom always served vegetables with every meal when I was being raised. This was probably the single most important thing. As a result, I was later able to naturally reprogram myself into viewing vegetables as a 'safe place'.
-The diet switch occurred in college; that is, the point in time where I reconfigured my brain from loving things that were excessively sweet/salty/fatty (nachos, soda, sweets, etc...) to things that were actually healthy. I arrived in college and felt a little insecure due to living away from home. To counter this, I went to my 'safe place', and loaded up on vegetables at the dining hall. It made me feel safe. This is one way to counter the point that
@Laura33 brings up above; re-program yourself.
-I still do love pizza, nachos, etc... but since then, I have naturally found that when I overeat 'bad' things, I feel like shit. This is probably a combination of conditioning myself to belief this, as well as these things actually making you feel like shit. As a result of this and the things above, I also start to crave vegetables. Therefore, I think it is important for you to condition yourself to like things that are healthy, and feel bad when you eat too much crap.
-Diet fads are always changing. Even the paleo stuff that is loved on this forum has pretty weak data for long term health effects. From what I can tell, the only diets that can ever be agreed upon are ones that are high in vegetables. If this is not the cornerstone of your diet, do not describe it as healthy.
-Allowing for splurges is important. You shouldn't limit your life. When in Rome, eat an Italian pizza and savor it. Enjoy a great steak at a Chicago steak house. Have ice cream, etc...
-At the same time, don't over do it 'just because'. I often find that after one or two splurges, I'm good. I have also observed that
most of my relatives and relatives-in-law are exactly the same, even though they don't have diets that are as strict mine. The problem often comes up when on vacation. Because you're on vacation, everything must be an ultra-rich 'splurge' meal, right? Wrong. A lot (maybe most) people get over-saturated by the overly salty/rich nature of eating at restaurants (for example). Better to build in simple meals even while on vacation.
-As others have said, there is a lot of power in resisting when at the grocery store. I am far more successful at not eating junk if it is not there to gawk at. My current work place has a fucking candy box that is regularly stocked. As a result, a group of ~10 people eats a few pounds of candy per week. That fucking box is starting at me every day, and I have trouble resisting sometimes. Do yourself a favor and (if possible)
light the fucking box on fire-As my wife often reminds me, everyone's diet is unique. Find what works for you. Excessive oils wreck my wife, while I literally drown my meals in olive oil. That said, be mindful of not making excuses for yourself.
-Another reminder from my wife; try not to be too judgmental on other's. Everyone gets to decide their own path, everyone's digestive track is slightly unique. At the same time, be mindful of the reverse happening to you and peer pressure. I can think of plenty of examples of being peer pressured to do something (especially drinking booze), feeling like shit for it later... did it accomplish anything other than making me feel like shit?
-No one is perfect; if you fall off the wagon, correct course but don't beat yourself up about it.