There are so many times in a year when you can make excuses about not eating healthy.  This time of year, in particular, is Easter and of course, with Easter comes Chocolate.  After eating really well all day, I get a craving for chocolate.  2 Aero chocolate eggs later, I've eaten 280 empty calories.

But it's not only Easter.  It's Halloween, Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, countless family/friend birthdays, weddings, get-togethers, the list seems to go on and on.  Excuse after excuse till you get to the point where you don't need an excuse anymore and eat junk whenever you feel like it.  As children we were reward for achievements with food.  Candy, slurpees, cake, dessert, ice cream.  When it's a habit that has been ingrained in you since a young age, it is difficult to break it.  I catch myself doing it with my own kid and then I stop myself.  "NO, you don't need to give him candy at his last swimming lesson.  No, you don't need to make him cookies when he brings home a great report card".

I want to instill the value of learning self praise and a sense of achievement through my own verbal praise to my child.  I want to break the cycle of reaching for the ice cream scoop when you feel good or down about yourself.  Food should not control us, and above all food should not be our happy or sad place.  We need to make ourselves aware of the ways that we use food to fill voids to avoid or elevate feeling in our lives.

I know I'm ranting, but in order to change you have to become self aware.  Aware of your triggers and aware of your habits.  Writing this down is my way of being self aware and the start of moving past it.

Tomorrow is a new day and the difference between your body today and a week from now is what you do over the next 7 days.