It has been a busy week! With finals, hubby’s birthday, holiday parties, and graduation—we’ve had a lot going on. It has been fun!
I gave myself permission to relax my eating a bit during all of the celebrations. I mean, who wants to be worrying about food instead of just enjoying the moments? I don’t feel like I did terribly, but I definitely wasn’t eating like I’m trying to lose weight either!
And then the inevitable thoughts of failure started to strike. “Ugh, I really blew it this time” or “I sure fell off the wagon” or “Well, I’ve eaten this terribly, I might as well have some cookies.” On and on. You know the drill.
But then I stopped myself.
I’ve been following this healthier lifestyle for about three years now. THREE YEARS! That’s an accomplishment. And granting myself permission to eat with my family and enjoy the moments, celebrate the things worth celebrating, is not failing. It is part of having a healthy relationship with food. Food is such a huge part of our social lives. It’s cultural and there are countless traditions involving food. Was the food the most important part of these celebrations? Absolutely not. But we all enjoyed a few delicious meals together, talking, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company.
So I had the revelation, but then came the next part. Not every day is a celebration. So it’s about getting back on track and not continuing to eat like I’m celebrating the next day or the next meal. And I’m struggling a bit with that. But I don’t like how I feel when I eat like I'm celebrating all of the time. My body is telling me, “Eat some vegetables!”, “Drink that water!”, “WORK OUT!”.
My body knows what it wants and needs. Now I just need to listen to it!
It has a struggle for me to come to terms with the fact that there will be no “falling off the wagon”. It’s not going to be a part of my vocabulary anymore. Enjoying food is not falling off the wagon. It is part of a healthy life. Some days I will be celebrating life’s achievements and deliciously rich foods might be a part of that. But those types of celebrations are few and far between. And they should be enjoyed and treasured. But more often, I will be celebrating health and life…EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Every day is a celebration of another day to live. And I’m going to live most days like I am celebrating good health and happiness by eating fresh and nutritious foods, drinking lots of water and working out. And then I'll be around to see those big, life celebrations and be there to celebrate them with my loved ones.
In the long run, life’s celebrations will be just little blips on the healthy living journey. What matters most is all of the days in between. It cannot be all or nothing. That never works. Finding the balance will ensure a happy and healthy lifestyle—guilt free.
LinkWithin
Interesting post. I've found myself frustrated over the past week that we tend to associate celebrations & holidays with FOOD -when what I really want to celebrate is the people around around me or the "season" whether it be giving or random acts of kindness.
ReplyDeleteFood is something my body needs to survive, but not something "I need" to celebrate an occassion. Have I indulged? yes & I've been slightly over my daily calorie intake the 2 of the past 5 days.
I've tried to "track" the foods at the parties we've attended and found being conscious of what I am eating has certainly diminished how "good" I think something taste.
It's hard not to take the "holidays" as an excuse to eat in order to celebrate. I heard before of remembering that it is a holi-DAY -- not week or month! So I make the same decisions as I would do year round, but on Christmas and New Year's it's a special situation.
ReplyDeleteI've just spent 7 solid days overindulging. I finally realized Saturday evening I felt sick and bloated and crabby and miserable! Today I restarted tracking. I don't plan to track at Christmas, but I sure can track UNTIL the family get together! I am also having a hard time getting my brain back in gear, even though my body is begging for the WW Staci! Ha! Old habits die hard and sneak back up on you before you know it! So celebrating on special occasions is great. We just have to make sure we pull ourselves back up by our boot strings and keep on with the good habits we've formed!
ReplyDelete