eating healthy

It seems to be a trend that people with emetophobia are not the healthiest eaters. Which is funny, since we spend so much time and effort trying to avoid getting sick and thinking about how we can stay healthy.

But really, it does make sense. If you are anxious about food and want to find the "safest" thing, the thing that will be least likely to impact your stomach or digestive system in any way, the thing that you feel is the least dirty, germy, or unusual - you usually won't go for fruits and vegetables. Those apples that you have to examine before buying and wash before eating are going to seem like the worse choice compared to some sterile standardized package of chips or crackers. Especially when you want something that won't make you feel anything in your stomach. Healthy foods tend to have fiber, which usually will make you feel something, even more so if you're not used to consuming it on a regular basis.

Of course, we all know it's best to eat those fruits and vegetables and that having a diet consisting almost entirely of bland carbs is a bad idea. We should feel our stomachs sometimes! We can't always have them be "turned off" and quiet like we want, or it's likely we will run into health issues later on.

I have always been such an unhealthy eater, and this has been a hard habit to change. Every single year I have made the new year's resolution to eat healthier, or eat more fruits/vegetables, or eat less junk food, or some other variation of that. And every year I would make it about a month before giving up on my resolution.

Until this year when I have actually stuck with my resolution so far, and it has been over four months! A major accomplishment for me, so I thought I'd share how I accomplished it in case it was helpful to anyone else who is having trouble in this area.

First of all, I aimed lower than I usually do. I always want to fix things all at once, immediately, but that really never works out. Most change has to happen slowly, with little steps. So I did not make the usual attempt to eat as healthy as I should be (in other words, to have several servings of fruits/vegetables every day). My goal for this year was to eat one serving of fruit/vegetables each day. Just one serving. And I have stuck with it so far. Which may not seem like much of an achievement, really, but it is the best I have ever done consistently. It is finally a sign of moving in the right direction.

Second, I tried to make the goal more fun by assigning a fruit/vegetable or group of fruits/vegetables to each month that I would focus on eating above all others. Right around the time I start to get sick of one, a new month starts and I am pepped up by the new fruit/vegetable of the month and feel dedicated to my goal again. I'm including my list below. I tried to arrange it based on what is best/freshest in my area around that time.

It's been working out really well, even if I don't eat the fruit/vegetable of the month that often. For example, last month, I didn't feel like cooking brussels sprouts most of the time, so I continued to eat bananas. But just the idea of the brussels sprouts being spot-lighted - the idea that I could try out different brussels sprouts recipes if I wanted to, figure out several different ways to make them delicious - kept me motivated.

• January - lettuce and salad mixes
• February - bananas
• March - brussels sprouts
• April - broccoli, peppers, and onions
• May - "mix it up" month (a chance to eat the fruits/vegetables that aren't represented in the rest of the list because they're not my favorites - carrots, cauliflower, grapes, oranges)
• June - plums, squash
• July - berries
• August - nectarines, peaches, and apricots
• September - tomatoes, avocadoes, and cucumbers
• October - apples
• November - spinach
• December - clementines