I recently signed up for Nerd Fitness Academy. They are wonderfully geeky and full of game and show references that I adore. I had been following their free site for a while and decided it was time to level up. I’m on day 2 and making small changes to my diet and surroundings to set me up for success. One thing they discourage is the all or nothing mentality. It is ok to make mistakes, you just need to pick yourself back up and keep on going.

One change, of course, is to begin cutting out processed junk in my diet. I’m big on whole foods, but I still go for a cereal bar on the run. I prefer salads, but will polish off the instant mashed potatoes if given the chance. For dinner tonight I stuffed a couple of chicken breasts with broccoli and cheese. My daughter wanted au gratin potatoes and I obliged. While I was stirring and simmering I reflected on what I had been reading all day on their site. It inspired me. Just one little change can make this dinner a healthy one instead of one that will leave me on the couch ready for a nap. Those damn potatoes. I mashed up an avocado, tore up some kale (thanks mom), diced some tomatoes (thanks happy gardening neighbor), and poof! I now have a much happier side for my chicken.

The important part of the switch is how good I feel about it. It is motivating. Tomorrow, for breakfast, I’m going to swap out my toast for an apple. I can definitely put peanut butter on that. All of the time off I had really brought me back to square one. I went right back to convenience foods. Now I just need to figure out how to make the healthier ones more convenient.