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The other weekend we told my step-daughter Izzie that we could do whatever she liked (within reason) that day.
She’d not had much quality time with her mum that week so we left the plan up to her.
She chose, amongst other things, a McDonald’s and a film.
So, we went to the drive through on Hurdsfield Road.
While we were queueing up I got a text message through from a former member.
A photo of the side of our car with me in it.
—- I was fine checking my phone as I was sat in the back with Charlie – riding shotgun had been another of Izzie’s requests ——
Followed by another message “That’s not healthy”.
When he caught up with us in the queue, we wound the windows down and had a chat.
He was surprised to see me going to McDonald’s he said.
Which surprised me.
He’d been a member for a few years.
I’ve said countless times that there’s nothing wrong with McDonald’s (or anywhere else you might buy food from).
It’s the choices you make when you’re selecting your food, not the venue.
And, more importantly, the average of those choices over time.
No one meal can be unhealthy.
But, it’s easy when we think it can, to think that we’ve “failed”.
To think “sod it” and go further overboard.
We could just have a moderate amount of McDonald’s.
An amount that requires little to no ‘averaging out’ elsewhere.
Punch it into MyFitnessPal (particularly easy to do for fast food) and make a few adjustments later in the day or the next day.
And then just enjoy it.
Rather than having it then feeling ‘guilty’.
And, when we think of certain foods and / or venues as being ‘unhealthy’, then it’s tempting to think we have to go completely without them to be healthy.
And to, therefore, think we can’t be healthy.
“I can’t live without McDonald’s / chocolate / wine / cake” we might think.
When we don’t have to.
Sure, we might have to moderate the volume and / or frequency.
We might need to make a few tactical swaps.
But we don’t need to go completely without.
Life isn’t “all or nothing”.
Black or white.
No one meal or venue is inherently “healthy” or “unhealthy”.
We just need to make the average of our choices take us in the direction we desire.
Much love,
Jon ‘Hamburglar’ Hall
