I have a friend who told me he was eating healthy, yet I noticed he posts pictures of himself having donuts for breakfast, rolls with lunch and dinner, and beer after work. I told him that those aren’t very good, healthy choices, and he said, “Well, it’s in small amounts.”

Any of those foods, even in small amounts, wipes out a lot of the benefits of eating healthy. The point in eating healthy is to avoid the unhealthy foods. If weight is a priority, then it’s double-important. Those rolls (with grains) cause inflammation and are full of net calories. The body breaks down bread very easily and most of the calories in the food goes right into storage as fat.

Alcohol: I’ve said it many, many times. A drink or two a week probably won’t be too bad for you, but every day? Again, not good. When I drink even one cider or other alcoholic beverage, I gain about 2.5 lbs for 2-3 days.

You can’t out-run or out-exercise a bad diet. You can’t maximize your progress towards getting healthy if you don’t cut out high-carb foods and anything with added sugar. There’s no two ways around it. Those skinny people who eat donuts and high-carb foods and wash it all down with alcohol? There’s a good chance they suffer from TOFI (Thin Outside/Fat Inside) and have high cholesterol that will catch up with them. It’s actually more dangerous for them because they don’t realize they have a problem, typically until it’s too late.

Commit to your health. Persevere. Discipline can be tough, and temptations can be strong, but the easiest way is to just say no all the time. Don’t give in, not even once. If you do, it’s a slippery slope that will lead you back into bad habits and stop or even reverse your progress to becoming a healthier you.