Perfect Eater

I love salt, fat, and sugar. There...I said it! I know...I am a dietitian and everyone assumes that I eat perfectly all the time and my favorite food is broccoli. Well, if you have been reading my blog for any length of time you know that my vices are chocolate, sweets, and more chocolate. Oh, and cheese curds from Wisconsin. And saganaki, flaming Greek cheese. All of my friends know that I get the corner piece of birthday cake and I often get boxes of chocolate as gifts (and this Christmas was no exception!). In fact, my dad gave me a mug that says, "I want chocolate and I want it NOW!" Of course, it was filled with my favorite mint meltaways. My in-laws sent me a box of See's truffles. Yummy.

I asked my husband the other day if he thinks I am a fraud because everyone knows what a sweet eater I am. I wonder if they wonder what kind of dietitian I am because they see me eating dessert whenever they see me.

His response was wonderful. He said, "You practice what you preach. You don't need to eat perfectly all of the time. 80% of the time you eat really healthy (mostly at home) and 20% of the time you have treats like your chocolate. I think it is good for people to see you eating sweets and dessert because they can see how thin you are and still are able to eat those things."

He is right, of course. I know we aren't supposed to worry about what other people think, but sometimes I do feel like people are watching what I eat because of my profession. And it does so happen that I eat less healthy when I am out to eat or at social gatherings.

I guess the moral of the story is: There is no such thing as a "perfect eater." I am certainly not perfect, but the majority of my diet is lean protein, whole grains, fruits, vegetables. Chocolate is a necessity for me. Figure out what your food passion is and eat it in moderation. And don't feel guilty about it! Enjoy!

Picture of chocolates courtesy of Euromagic