List of alleged reasons for not changing how you eat

1. I hate to cook
Eating healthier will be more interesting and tasty if you cook, but you can get by with minimal cooking. What's really most important is planning so you have good food around to choose from. Many people who "hate to cook", were never really shown how to cook. And trying to do anything you don't know how to do, without help, is usually frustrating and unpleasant. Consider taking a basic cooking class or two.

2. I travel alot and eat in restaurants
Most restaurants can provide you with what you need, to follow a healthy nutritional style, but you need to know what to look for and ask for. Meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, and salads will adequately serve the needs of most people. Vegetarians will need to chose restaurants more carefully to insure their need for protein is met, or will need to carry some source of protein with them to supplement.

3. I could never live without (fill in the blank)
All or nothing thinking will not be very helpful to you. You be surprised to find that foods you currently think you will die without, lose their power and appeal when your body is more nutritionally balanced. Some foods won't, and those, you'll make choices about when and how much you want to eat of those. As your body becomes healthier, you may find you don't like how you feel when you eat some of those previously cherished foods.

4. My (kids, husband, wife, partner) would never go for it
There's no doubt it is a challenge to change your eating habits when others around you have no interest in joining you. Hopefully, you are making changes first and foremost from a commitment to improve your health. Many times, family members will join in later, in their own time, which may not be the same as yours. They may also be inspired by your successes or interested in some of the foods that you are trying. Let other family members assume some responsibility for their own food preparation, if they require different food than you.

5. People at work have candy and junk food around all the time.
This is a hard one. Perhaps you can request these temptations be placed in a location where you don't have to see them unless you seek them out. If you feel comfortable enough discussing your desire to change how you eat, maybe you can enlist others to join you. You might print off a copy of "Five Things You Can Do To Improve Your Energy Level" and leave some copies around so other's can see it. In any case, make sure you have enough healthy snacks and make sure to include ones that feel like a treat to you.

6. It's too confusing figuring out what to do
It can be confusing and time consuming to sort through the vast amounts of information coming at us about nutrition and health. This is a very good reason for utilizing the expertise of someone who makes it their job to stay up to date on the latest research and practice. (like me!) Also, be aware, that over time, your needs may change and what worked for the last three years, may not be working now.

7. "They" keep changing their minds about what's healthy
We are in our infancy in concerning our knowledge and awareness of all the ways nutrition affects health; the state of the art is changing constantly. It's also important to realize that political and economic agendas are as much a part of shaping health/nutrition thinking as is good science. The bottom line is, you can seek out someone you feel is trustworthy and credible for help, but you cannot give up responsibility for your health. You must keep checking the external expertise against your own experience.

8. I don't have enough time
That is simply a matter of choice and what you decide are the priorities in your life. There is no way to make lifestyle changes without a commitment of time and attention. However, there's no rule saying it has to be done all at once. Unless you have some urgent health reasons for making radical changes quickly, make changes at a pace you can handle. After all, one small change is better than none at all.

9. I'm afraid I won't succeed. I've failed alot in the past
Sometimes people fail because they don't have the right information. Maybe they were given a plan that wasn't right for them. Sometimes, its because other challenges and problems need to be solved first. If you have tried to change how you eat and not stuck to it, or stuck to it but not had the results you wanted, don't give up! Find someone who can help you sort through what didn't work and either offer you a new approach or refer you to someone who can help you. Be willing to stay with an approach long enough to assess what works, what doesn't and to make adjustments to try to get what you need.