So we’ve seen a glimpse of why investing in nutrition early and often is the foundation of a healthy future.

Now we’ll look at some of the tools we use to keep up the motivation.

If you haven’t caught my drift by this point, you should be aware that finances and nutrition can be thought of in nearly the same way.

Calories are spent pennies, pennies are “saved up” by exercise, pennies are “spent” by eating. Weight gain is debt, or “spending” more than you earn.

Eating healthfully, is investing.

This is fundamentally how weight loss works, so it makes sense to track it like we track our finances.

You might have heard of the finance tracking website Mint. If you haven’t, it’s a great little tool to show where each of your dollars is going, what they’re wasted on, and where it’s coming from.

In much the same way, Fitbit can act like “Mint for your body”

I’ve been using a Fitbit for about a month now, and although it hasn’t revolutionized the way I eat, or exercise. It’s served as a guilty reminder of when I mistreat my body.

Days where 3/4 of my time was spent sitting at a desk, days where I barely squeeze in 6 hours of sleep, days where I drank maybe 24 oz. of water total.

All things I figured? Yes.

Things I had quantifiable numerical evidence of? Not in the slightest.

Let me tell you, there’s nothing like looking back on your week and seeing an AVERAGE of 6.5 hours of sleep. (Don’t worry too much, I averaged 7.2 hours this week).

The point being, nobody is perfect. Nor should they be. You show me someone who has saved every penny from birth to retirement and I’ll show you someone in desperate need of a vacation.

You don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to let one splurge day ruin a month of healthful eating, but you do need to plan for the future.

Nobody wakes up at 45 overweight after one night of going crazy at the buffet. Ok, maybe that one guy. But everyone else has no excuse.

Rarely do people wake up one day $30 Grand in debt when they were fine the day before. Both of these take time, and careful ignorance of the truth.

Truth #1: The odds are against you, the average American is now overweight.

Truth #2: Your metabolism slows constantly as you age, if you’re not eating LESS or exercising MORE as you get older, you WILL gain weight.

Truth is a dish best served with a garnish.

Most of you are now hitting that point where your New Years resolutions are starting to fade, just like everyone else. But you’re better than a statistic…so prove it.

Be good to each other.

– Joshua Iufer, RD