Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Weak moments

We are human. We are going to have weak moments and make mistakes. Some days those extra donuts your co-worker brings in is just going to keep screaming at you until you silence it in your belly. Other days you are going to be stressed and cooking a meal may not be a priority on your list of things to get done. Guess what. It’s okay.

When we start a diet, we get it in our heads if we cheat or mess up once that we have to start completely over. That’s not how it works. You just start where you left off. :) Many people, including myself at one time, think that once cheat then you may as well cheat the rest of the day because you blew it. Wrong again! If you are going to give in and indulge, the most important thing is not to feel guilty – enjoy the indulgence! Otherwise it isn’t worth it. Don’t use one treat as an excuse to over indulge the rest of the day either, that’s coming from guilt. 

Yesterday my boss brought in mini pastries for everyone in the office in appreciation of our hard work. I enjoyed them for about 30 minutes. I slowly ate the croissant and black berry turnover – savoring them since it is a rare treat to have pastries. After about 30 minutes, my stomach wasn’t happy with me. I had an ‘ache’ that wouldn’t go away for a couple hours. A good reminder of why it is good to rarely treat yourself to pastries.

Normally, I would’ve ignored the carb loaded free breakfast garbage to save my 20% for other treats I enjoy more (chocolate, ice cream, etc.), but it was a special time of the month. I don’t know what it is about that time, but I always have a little less self-control, which sounds pathetic but it’s true.  Because you are in some pain (cramps) and have some additional emotions expressing themselves, you feel like ‘what the hell, I deserve this.’ Maybe we do deserve the treat, but recognize (and I did) why you are letting yourself have something you normally wouldn’t and enjoy it.

Again, Paleo/Primal isn't a fad diet, it's a lifestyle. You can treat yourself once in a while, but not everyday. So be sure to enjoy it and then go back to your regular meal plan on the lifestyle. That's what makes Paleo/Primal work for me.

Today I was in line for coffee and a large woman in front of me ordered a Double Skinny (skim milk) White Mocha Latte and asked if the scones had blueberries – they did – so she purchased one as well. She was trying. With the skim milk in the latte and the blueberries in the scone, this is an example of CW affecting our health choices. I wanted to reach out to her, but most people don’t want you offering health advice unless they ask for it. 

And hey – I could be wrong. Maybe she is following a healthy lifestyle and she had her weak moment of indulgence today, just as I had mine yesterday. I didn’t say anything. I let her have her moment, just as I would want someone to let me have mine. Sometimes we need to stop being so overly critical of what others are doing. Step back – you don’t know their situation or what they are going through.

Life lesson I need to follow more often is not to judge another person buy their actions.



Okay, enough sappy crap. Where’s my 3rd challenge?! 

Krista