Eating healthy can be hazardous to your . . . errr . . . health

I have a problem with balance. Now I know most folks think balance is a good thing, that we need balance in our lives.

And in most cases, I would agree.

But here’s my problem. I like to run and exercise on the one hand. But I also like to eat, and usually it’s stuff that doesn’t fall in the category of Healthy. In fact, a lot of times, it’s not even a second cousin to Healthy.

So it’s like I’m normally stuck in neutral. I’m running and should be losing weight and getting in shape, but I’m not making much progress because I just ate a six-pack of Taco Bell tacos and a box of Ding Dongs.

Ok, maybe it’s not that bad. But it can be bad. For instance, one time a woman I was dating was talking to her dad. Her father asked her if she had put on some weight. She reluctantly admitted that yes, she had. To which her dad explained her problem: you eat with Mark, but you don’t run with Mark.

And I don’t have much willpower when it comes to food. I can always justify a piece of apple pie or chocolate cake.  Or a cheeseburger.

But in recent years, I have, how can I say this, gotten older. I can’t eat like I did when I was younger – you know, like last week. So I’ve tried to cut back, especially in the area of sugar and desserts.

And, for the most part, it’s helped. I’ve lost some weight and I feel better.

But it’s not always as clear-cut as you might think it is. For example, I thought I would start my day with a nice, healthy bowl of oatmeal. The only problem, though, is that I’m not crazy about oatmeal.

So I found these fruit flavored oatmeal. There was a variety pack that included blueberry (my favorite), strawberry, and peach. There was also banana, but I wasn’t too crazy about that.

So there I was, every morning eating my bowl of oatmeal, and feeling mighty proud of myself until one day . . .

I happened to read the nutritional info on the side of the box. It turned out that the oatmeal had more sugar in it than three chocolate chip cookies! Three!!

The easiest solution, I thought, would be to crumble three cookies up in a bowl, pour some milk over them, and have that for breakfast. Not only would it taste better, but it was, in some ways, healthier.

And if you’re like me, you always find ways to justify the unhealthy eating choices in your life. For example, a new chicken place opened in town. Now I know fried chicken isn’t the healthiest thing I could eat. But don’t I owe it to the local economy and community to support our local businesses? I think so, so I’ve been doing my part.

And I figure as long as I balance the fried chicken with a 5-mile run or so, that should be ok. Of course, sometimes I like to balance my fried chicken with a piece of chocolate pie. And that’s the best tasting balance I can find.