I found this quote on an Instagram page I follow, and I was so inspired and moved by it (especially after a weekend of celebrating the marriage of two of my favorite people). I shared it with my clients, but decided it was such an important message, that I had to share it with all of you!
Some of us are so paralyzed by perfect that we often sabotage ourselves. "Well, I had a donut this morning, so I may as well just eat a piece of pizza for lunch..." This turns into a downward spiral. I just want to share my experience.
Since people know I work in nutrition now (or at least, if you follow any of my social media, it is pretty evident...), I usually get asked some of the following questions
"What do you eat?"
"I bet you don't eat gluten, right?"
"Oh, you probably don't eat meat?"
"So you are Paleo?"
The last question makes me giggle, (You mean, Do I eat Paleo?) but here is the truth.
Yes, I follow a "PALEO DIET" majority of the time, but I don't follow a set of rules at all. Meaning, I don't sit in front of every piece of food I'm about to eat and think, "Is this Paleo?" and then decide if I "am allowed" eat it or not.
Through trial and error, I've discovered what I can and cannot eat. I don't eat gluten because it makes me feel sluggish, bloated, and I usually end up with a headache. I avoid dairy because I typically break-out. Legumes usually just cause me to bloat and make me reallllllly fatigued.
That is what happens to me whenever I eat those foods...so following a paleo protocol typically works pretty well.
Since I've started this approach (really, it's intuitive eating), I'm not nervous about food anymore. To some of you, this may sound silly, but for me, this is huge.
When you follow a diet because so-and-so told you not to eat grains, or a magazine wrote an article about the dangers of fill-in-the-blank, it changes your relationship with food and your intuition. You worry about being "perfect" to someone else's defined set of rules. Then, if you "mess up," you start to have negative feelings towards yourself and sometimes, go to extreme measures to "make up" for it. I've been there, done that.
Orthorexia is a prime example of being paralyzed by perfect.
OBSESSING, especially with a negative connotation, is just NOT how we are supposed to feel about ourselves or our food!
So this weekend, I had gluten, I had cheese, I had alcohol and even a beer...but I've moved on.
It was a fabulous weekend...yes, my body felt pretty crappy come Monday morning, but it's nothing a few days of healthy, nourishing whole foods, a little movement, and some water won't cure!
Forgive yourself. Live your life - don't deprive yourself. Listen to what your body tells you. Treat your body with respect and it will love you right back. <3
Live Life Well,
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