Let's start off by setting the record straight about what the goal is. I won't even put snarky little quotations around "healthy" in the title. This is actually for those of you who, in whatever form that looks like, want to improve your health, who want to make a change, who won't take care of the body you were given.

This has probably been a long road, a road that no one else is going to understand completely. There have been a lot of long nights, busy days, thoughts, emotions, friends, comments, and observations that have gotten you to where you are today, and where you are today is going to be different from both yesterday and tomorrow.

I think everybody has those moments where you get swept up in the moment about something and start jumping down a dramatic bunny trail of snap judgments or despair. When I have moments like that for whatever reason, my dad will usually say something like, "This has nothing to do with what we're talking about!"

And he's usually right, and I snap back to reality (at least ideally that's how that works). I think that advice can be invaluable when you're trying to implement healthier eating habits because it's never just smooth sailing.

Negative thoughts and life get in the way. So for the one(s) out there trying to make the most out of your health and your life, here are some thoughts to try to encourage you and to keep you focused on "what we're talking about."

1. To the one struggling with "temptation foods…"

…who's looking at the ice cream and the apple and really wants the ice cream. I'm not going to stop you from getting the ice cream. But from your point of view, two roads are diverging in a yellow wood. One road takes you down to get a cup of ice cream, where you're going to tell yourself that you deserve this, to not think about it, just enjoy the ice cream, and then feel guilty about it later.

The other road leads to picking the apple, thinking about the ice cream you're not about to eat the whole time you're walking back to your seat, telling yourself you made the healthy choice, thinking about how the apple doesn't taste like ice cream, and from there, you're prone to either go into a frenzy of resentment of those with higher metabolisms who can theoretically eat all the ice cream they want, or a self-disgust thinking you've gotten yourself into a situation where you can't allow yourself ice cream, or at the least just disappointment that you're not eating that ice cream.

Please step outside that play on a Robert Frost poem; both of those options are kind of depressing.

Take off the distorted glasses. While ice cream is yummy, apples have their own naturally sweet, refreshing, crunchy taste, as well as fiber, antioxidants like vitamin C that may help prevent conditions like cancer or inflammation later on, and the more you eat them, the likelier you are to help lower those chances.

More than that, your body needs certain amounts of vitamin C, which the ice cream is really just going to be lacking in. Also, if you choose the apple, it totally doesn't mean you can't get ice cream ever again. Why not choose an apple this time, and take the time to really enjoy the tart flavor?

If you're really craving ice cream more than usual, take time to enjoy the ice cream. Be conscious if you're having ice cream every meal, but try not to think of foods in terms of temptations. There is a time for ice cream and a time for apples. There could very well be a time for apples and ice cream.

This is America. You can totally get a little bit of each.

Even from infancy we're kind of wired to have a preference towards the sweet and salty foods. However, if you find sweet and salty snack cravings taking the place of fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, (#1 a multivitamin might be a good idea as back up, but #2) make conscious decisions to enjoy foods rich in vitamins and minerals, which can be prepared with some salt, or that can be naturally sweet with naturally-present sugars.

Just know that you're not doing something drastic like saying goodbye to your cravings forever, but appreciating the fact that you're nourishing your body with substances it needs to function at optimal capacity.

2. To the one who thinks they "might as well" because of a number on a scale…

That number on the scale does not diminish the benefits of the food you're about to eat.

Your choice still matters. Weight is not an instant indicator of health. The goal is for health, right? Weight can be influenced by time of day, water, how long ago you ate, etc.

However, whatever number you see is not going to make the vitamins go out of the fruit in your hand. The antioxidants are not going to stop fighting inflammation in your body, and your body is not going to instantly turn everything to fat because of your weight. This is your encouragement, that every little thing helps.

Strawberries do not lose their benefits because you had fried chicken for lunch, and every conscious decision to choose more whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, less sugar, leaner meats, good fats from nuts, all of it helps, and the more the merrier. Whatever you ate earlier today does not prevent you from making a good choice now.

3. To the one who's slim but whose friends are slimmer…

The slimness of your friends is irrelevant to your health. Your health is not contingent on the proportion of your size to that of the other individuals in the immediate proximity.

If you stand in one room of individuals who are smaller than you, and you then stand in another room of individuals who are larger than you, your health does not change from room to room; your self-perception does.

Please also keep in mind that people have different bone sizes, and people have different body shapes. What a waste it would be to sacrifice your own health because of the size of another person. Maybe their body thrives at a smaller size, or maybe they are possibly even recovering from an eating disorder.

Not only does size not determine beauty, worth, or even necessarily health, but your size in relation to another person is simply not relevant to health. If you're thinking about this as you pick your food or eat, take a second to pause and think about what really matters - what nutrients can you fuel your body with for this meal, how hungry are you, and what sounds good??

4. To the one who thinks that eating healthy means giving up enjoying your food…

What exactly is the picture (or maybe taste?) that you associate with healthy eating?

A salad with no dressing? Dry whole wheat crackers? No fat? No carbs? No meat?

There's not a list of healthy foods that fit in a box. If you don't like the taste of hummus? Don't eat it! There's a great wide world of flavors and recipes out there to be tried and created.

Healthy eating includes real food. Lasagna, green beans, omelets, oatmeal, bread and sandwiches, soups, shrimp, chicken, yogurt, strawberries, Mexican food, Italian food, Greek food, Indian food, you name it. Healthy eating means balance.

Example: Just plain refined white noodles taste fine, and adding alfredo sauce means adding fat but also adding some calcium and protein. There may not be much fiber, so you’ll end up having an overall greater amount of pasta and alfredo sauce to feel full.

While that’s not necessarily bad, adding more variety can make the overall composition of your food less energy dense and more nutrient dense. Both are important.

Use whole wheat pasta. Add chicken, which will add more protein, and broccoli and peas, which can add more flavor and texture, as well as fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins, magnesium, and more.

The dish will probably have more depth of flavor, and you'll probably feel fuller with fewer calories and more nutrients.

Healthy eating can look like killer street tacos with grilled fish, guacamole, cheese, grilled peppers, or whatever other toppings you think should grace your taco. Maybe you like grilled onions, maybe you like pineapple, but maybe you just haven’t found ways of including more balance that works for you yet.

Keep trying; the way to include balance in your diet may look different from your neighbor’s, it may take creativity, but it’s possible. Maybe you just need a little inspiration or help to find some ideas you’ll enjoy.

5. To the one who feels like they messed up or cheated on their diet…

Dietetics majors, dietitians, and even Dr. Oz I can assure you don't even eat "perfect diets" because there is no "perfect diet." Eating a cookie is not going to instantly give you diabetes. In addition, do not just not eat a meal because of shame over foods eaten earlier in the day. Choose your eating based on your hunger level.

If you went to town on some chips and queso and the entire Mexican restaurant at lunch (been there done that), maybe your body could dig some more vegetables at dinner.

Maybe you're just hungry for something lighter that day. Whatever the situation, your health goals are not ruined; you do not need to punish yourself. It is not a matter of morality; it is a matter of focusing on the actual issue here: health. And every decision you make for your health counts.

No one makes perfect decisions all the time, but when you make a decision for your health, enjoy it! That banana tastes even sweeter when you think about the potassium your body is getting.

Healthy eating and healthy living is not one size fits all, nor is it necessarily a linear pattern. It's an attitude of conscious decisions and finding joy in each and every meal we're fortunate enough to enjoy in this country and this life.

Now that I've expanded upon my catchphrase, I'm coming back to it. You got this. I'm proud of you for valuing health and keep doing you.