My Thursday Dilemma – To Eat, or Not to Eat

As a girl in her 20’s I struggle with finding the balance of eating healthy, or eating what I want.

Last night while driving home from my volleyball game (a win!), I was trying to decide if I still needed to eat dinner. It was almost 9 PM, waaaaay too late to eat dinner as many health nuts would claim, PLUS I had had a small turkey bacon wrap when I got home from work. Normally this would just be a snack, but my “save calories” mind set was debating on if I should just call that my dinner. That’s when my internal dialog kicked in. And I went to my stand by, frequent excuse: 

“I’m only young once, I might as well eat what I want.”

I use this line far too often, considering when I look at my 25 year old body, it definitely can no longer handle “whatever I want” and still look decent. (Oh to be 16 again….)

There are a lot of factors that play into my unhealthy eating.

The first factor is the lifestyle of a 20 something. I am busy, go out a lot, and like to drink beer (a lot). I find it very difficult to turn down a night out with friends due only to the unhealthy calories I would be consuming. Is there a way to go out and have fun with friends and not indulge? If you know how, please fill me in! Again I justify the girls nights full of fatty snacks or the weekend night out on the town with one or two (haha) too many drinks, with that saying in my mind, “I’m only young once…”

The second thing that makes healthy eating difficult is the eating habits of my boyfriend James. As he is solid muscle, he can seemingly eat whatever he wants (Coscto bags of M&Ms and peanut butter cups, 2 large size meals at Chick-fil-a in a sitting, etc) and not gain unwanted fat. I know this is the result of two things:

1. Males have a different metabolism and body composition

2. He goes to the gym much more regularly than I do (thus his Hercules muscles)

But I still find it hard, when his fast food or Olive Garden cravings kick in, to say no. And I justify tagging along with that overused line in my head once again; “I’m only young once, I might as well eat what I want.”

So am I too old to keep telling myself this? Am I too old to go out and have beers with friends, order a pizza or buy cookie dough just to eat?

I want to say no. NO, at 25 I am still YOUNG, alive, active and should enjoy all life has to offer.

This is the dilemma though, can I truly enjoy being young, if I am unhappy with my body?

The answer is no. No, I cannot be truly happy if I feel insecure in my own skin.

So how do I find balance? How do I still have fun, live my life and lose weight at the same time?

This is the struggle I deal with every day.

I know going to the gym a few days a week, or eating healthy about half the time isn’t going to do it. 

In order to change myself I need to commit fully to changing my lifestyle.

Maybe someday I will do it. And maybe that day is closer than I think.

For now I continue with my inner battle of the decisions I make, good or bad for me.

I hope soon I will find that balance I crave so much. Of healthy AND happy with the “young” indulgences and the body image I am proud of.

If any of my friends out there have found this mystical balance please share!

That’s all for now friends. Off to eat my HEALTHY snack of a sliced cucumber :)

Here's to being YOUNG (check out for a laugh) 

TTFN,

Laura