One good choice usually leads to another...

There used to be this commercial for Nurtigrain bars that I really loved.  It showed a business woman sitting at her kitchen table in the morning, getting ready to leave for work.  She chose a Nutrigrain bar for breakfast instead of many other fattier choices available in her kitchen.  Later that day she chose an apple over a doughnut at work, yogurt over ice cream, water over soda, taking a walk over watching TV, etc.  The punch line to the commercial was "...because one good choice usually leads to another."  Now, obviously this commercial is nothing more than a marketing gimmick, since we all know that Nutrigrain bars have no more nutrition than a lolly pop, and no less sugar than a Snickers bar, BUT, the main idea of the commercial rings so very true in my life! 

I find that on days when I start off with a low fat, high protein breakfast, I am less likely to snack all day.  When I have a really delicious salad for lunch I am more likely to choose a healthier dinner.  I also notice the opposite to be true - pigging out on junk food is like a cancer for me - once I make one bad choice the desire for unhealthy food just takes over and I am less and less likely to say NO to "bad" food.  It starts off with a doughnut, then leads to a a bunch of chips, then bread and peanut butter, etc.

I need to consider this chain reaction BEFORE I grab an obviously unhealthy snack.  Is it worth the risk?  A lot of people say to me, "well, its all about moderation.  Just have one doughnut instead of five," but I personally find that very hard to do.  Moderation is NOT my strong suit when it comes to eating.  Its kind of like asking an alcoholic to stick to one beer and just stop after that.  So tomorrow my goal is to start the day off right in the hopes that "one good choice will lead to another."