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<p>Healthy eating is tough. On my journey to a healthy lifestyle I&#8217;ve experienced my share of challenges.</p>
<figure id="attachment_70" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-70" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://toddkmarsha.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/14157357516_49372c6484_b.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-70" src="http://toddkmarsha.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/14157357516_49372c6484_b.jpg" alt="healthy eating berries and green leafy vegetables" width="1024" height="1024"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-70" class="wp-caption-text">By: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/europeanasian/14157357516/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>I have my derailers &#8211; those food situations that don&#8217;t seem to have a healthy way out, other than starvation. I&#8217;ve chosen the &#8220;lesser of two evils&#8221; many times only to discover there was an even better solution that never came to mind. I&#8217;m happy to say that recently I&#8217;ve successfully navigated out of situations that would have led me down a path of compromise in the past.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s a great example of keeping my commitment to healthy eating in a less than ideal situation&#8230;</p>
<p>One morning, I got up at 5:45, did my morning stretches then hit the shower so I could attend morning Mass at 6:45. Breakfast before Mass would not be an option since we Catholics abstain from food and drink for an hour before attending Mass. After Mass I would have about 15-20 minutes to spare before hitting the highway for work at 8. Where was I going to find a breakfast with no dairy or grain in it with so little time?</p>
<p>McDonald&#8217;s of course!</p>
<p>No, really. Seriously. Why are you laughing? Stop!</p>
<p>Anyway, I jumped into my car after Mass and pulled up McDonald&#8217;s on my smartphone. Big Breakfast&#8230;ok. What&#8217;s in it? Eggs, sausage, biscuit and hash browns. Perfect! Toss the potatoes and bread and I&#8217;m good. They even had a calorie breakdown on their site. 740 calories for the whole meal with 1560g of sodium and 51g of carbs. That&#8217;s a bit much. But their site allows me to <a title="McDonald's Big Breakfast" href="http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/product_nutrition.breakfast.279.big-breakfast-regular-size-biscuit.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">customize</a> my meal and recalculate the calories. I unchecked the hash browns and biscuit. 340 calories, much better. A little high on the sodium and fat but not bad for being in a pinch.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m there!</p>
<h2>Overcoming Past Healthy Eating Failures</h2>
<p>Now I&#8217;ve tried this strategy before and not had much luck. Like the day I decided to eat the burger and skip the fries. &#8220;Oh, but they look so good &#8211; maybe I&#8217;ll have one. Ok, maybe another.&#8221; You know the rest&#8230;</p>
<p>And then there was the day I took half of the bagel off my bagel sandwich. Cuts down the carbs big time. &#8220;Man that bagel was good. I&#8217;ll just take a small bite of the half I set aside.&#8221; Ridiculous&#8230;</p>
<p>Could I turn over a new leaf with this Big Breakfast?</p>
<p>Yes! Yes! Yes! (Shout out to the WWE fans in the house.)</p>
<p>The bread and taters went back in the bag and into the back seat. Out of sight, out of mind. Not quite&#8230;</p>
<p>Out of sight, yes. Out of smell, hardly. It was touch and go for a minute. BUT I DID IT! The hash browns and biscuit never saw the light of day. They went into the first garbage can I could find.</p>
<p>Who knew a Mickey D&#8217;s breakfast could help keep my healthy eating plan on track. But I digress&#8230;the point is not to start making fast food a staple of your diet. My message is to think outside the box when you find yourself in these potentially diet-busting situations. There are always alternatives. It&#8217;s ok to toss out foods that aren&#8217;t healthy. It&#8217;s ok to ask for modifications when you&#8217;re dine in a restaurant. It might feel weird the first time but it&#8217;s ok. It&#8217;s your meal.</p>
<p>[reminder]What healthy eating dilemmas have you faced and how have you navigated through them?[/reminder]</p>
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