Weddingbee Blog

We Prairie Dogs love to eat. We love to eat all kinds of food. We love a spicy chicken curry with creamy saag. We love hearty gyros with flaky baklava for dessert. We love tangy pad thai with a sushi appetizer. We love delicate crab cakes with tartar sauce and Old Bay. We love crispy onion rings and juicy hamburgers. And pizza. Vegetarian, Hawaiian, meat-lovers’. Carry-out, homemade, and frozen. ALL PIZZA.

So…it might not be a surprise that we haven’t always been healthy eaters. We went through a period where we ate out almost all the time. If we ate in, it was carry-out or frozen pizza or some other delicious, unhealthy mess of food. Eventually we noticed it was taking a toll on our wallets and our waistlines…but perhaps even worse than that, we both just felt uncomfortable in our own skin. Unhealthy.

On our wedding day, I want to feel healthy. A daily cycle of eating choices that take a toll on our bodies…well, that’s not what I want for our life together or for our hypothetical future children.
SO, we’ve been on the path to better eating habits since a little before our engagement. Eating healthy is difficult because it takes effort, and there’s a learning curve if you’ve never done it before. I’ve figured out a few tips on my bumpy road to not eating crap every night.

1. Cooking for myself is the most reliable way I can eat healthfully and in an appropriate portion.
2. I don’t let myself get too hungry if I can avoid it. If I get to stomach-groaning hunger, I’ll gorge myself on whatever’s around.
3. Start slow. Pick one recipe (I like Jamie Oliver and Real Simple) and add the ingredients to your grocery list. Pick a night that you’ll cook healthy and just do it.
4. Play to your strengths. What healthy food do you actually like? Pick out what ingredients actually appeal to you and work with them.
5. …But make allowances for cravings. As they say, moderation is key. It is totally fine for me to having a serving size of ice cream. It is totally not fine for me to eat out of the carton until my stomach hurts. Unless I’m upset about something…then I’ll eat as much as I want, and you’ll have to pry the pint out of my freezing-cold hands.
6. If we do go out to eat, we often split something. The portion sizes at most restaurants are enormous, and it can be really hard to stop grazing at the table when we’re out.
7. Eating almost every meal with him makes it hard to not eat like a dude. And sometimes I do, but I usually feel gross afterward. So I try to remind myself. He is bigger than me and has a different metabolism. I don’t get to match him bite for bite just because we are equals in this relationship.
8. And finally, never, ever go to the grocery store hungry. Ever. You will come home with four bags of chips, french onion dip, and a family-size bag of Pretzel M&Ms that you opened in the car on your way home. Or, I guess that’s just me.

I hate to admit it (because I’d love to justify eating cheesy, carbo-loaded meals every night), but we both feel a lot better in the weeks where we cook healthy most nights. I’ll also admit that the more we eat healthy, the less I crave junk food. I still do, of course (refer to #5), but it’s not like it was before.

So, was anyone else inspired by their engagement to get on the right track, health wise? I’d love to commiserate.