You Want Nutritious???? Eat An Apple!!!!

A few days ago I emailed my sister a recipe for lemon pound cake that I had seen circulating all over Facebook.  My sister is a mean baker, so I figured I'd share the recipe with her to add to her repertoire.  (I also did this in hopes that she would bake  it one day.  Soon).

Doesn't this look good?

Because I was too lazy to log into Facebook to find the recipe, I decided to use Google.  I found the recipe on a baking website.  Beforehand I knew the cake was pretty darn rich because the ingredients included: buttermilk, 2 sticks of butter and white chocolate morsels.  Fat...Fat...and more Fat!   However, I wasn't at all prepared for how rich it was.  None of the Facebook posts showed any nutritional information.  There were only pictures of the cake followed by the recipe.  After I saw the calories, I instructed my sister not to look at the nutrition facts tab.  I didn't want her to feel too guilty and decide against making the cake, LOL.  I went on and on about how one could only eat a small portion and that it wasn't very nutritious. Blah, Blah, Blah.


Her response:  If you want nutritious....eat an apple.

*POW*

That simple sentence immediately made a whole lot of sense to me.  For goodness sakes, it's cake.  Why lament about the ingredients and nutrition if you're going to eat it knowing full well it's ....CAKE?  'Most' desserts aren't designed to be healthy.  If you have a health or fitness goal your best bet is to focus on nutritious whole foods.  NOT buttery, sugary concoctions that are going for 500 calories a slice.  YES, 1/12th of that lemon bundt cake registered in at just under 500 calories.  No Bueno.
No matter how you slice it, (no pun intended) cakes, pies and the like aren't on the same playing field as asparagus or broccoli.  Desserts are treats and should be handled as such. 



Gotta love CJ

 There's no sense in browbeating yourself about eating something.  Especially if you know going into it there are better options.  It's up to you what you choose.

What you eat in private will show up in public.

(Don't I know it!)

The nail...

How bad does it hurt?

I've heard several variations of this story over the years. I see a lot of similarities in this short narrative and how many of us approach weight loss or lifestyle changes.

One day a man was walking down the street on his way to work.  There were dogs sitting on just about every front porch.  They would bark at him as he passed.  There was one dog that only whimpered and whined when he went by.  The man was curious why this particular dog whimpered instead of barking. After about a week of observing this behavior the man saw the dog's owner sitting on the porch.  <Man approaches house>
Man:  What's wrong with your dog? Everyday I go by he's whimpering.
Owner: He's laying on a nail.
Man: Well, why doesn't he just get up?
Owner:  It's not hurting him bad enough.

                              When will you decide to move off your nail?

I constantly hear people complaining about their weight gain, health and the fact they don't have the quality of life they would like.  However, with some people...complaining is the only action that they take. This complaining is very similar to the whining that the dog on the front porch did. If the situation is truly uncomfortable for you, GET OFF THE NAIL!
It's just that simple.  Getting off the nail doesn't mean that there is going to be an overnight metamorphosis.  But, it does mean that you're tired enough of the issues that you have to initiate a change.

Trying and faltering a little, is better than becoming complacent.  I know there is safety in familiarity.  But there's also a hint of dysfunction when we are afraid to make changes that we know will only benefit us for the better.  Make a commitment to yourself to explore the endless possibilities that are out there, if you'd only get off the nail....