What if we just didn't worry so much about "being healthy"?
So, let's say you've been reading this blog for a while and you're just NOT convinced.
You think diets work. You can always run more. You shouldn't listen to your body because it will betray you. Your shame helps you eat better now. This blog post is for you.
Let's say a highly regimented diet and exercise routine is what it takes to be healthy and live a long life, but everything else about life still held true. For today, I'm setting aside facts and figures because I want to appeal to you on a human level.
People always say, "life is what happens while you're busy making plans." Well life is what happens when you're busy meal planning, reading ingredient lists, counting calories, binging on "bad foods" anyway, and spending time feeling guilty and paying penance at the gym.
I want you to think about how much of your life you spend thinking about, planning and working on your "body project." Now think about all the other crap you have to do in your life that you're not particularly thrilled about but have to do anyway. For example, you might work 40+ hours a week. You might have to buy groceries, clean out your car, do your taxes, get stuck in traffic, or track down your package at some ridiculously far away pickup location because most postal services don't understand geography.
Now, I want you to think about all the things in your life that you wish you had more time for. For me, it's my family, sunshine, yoga, writing more and creating more for this business.
And the simple question is: what do you want to be doing with your life?
There are already so many things that can take you away from enjoying your precious time on this planet. My guess is that you won't be on your deathbed wishing you just hit the gym one more time every week.
It's more likely that you'll wish you skipped your run to spend the morning talking with your grandfather. You might wish you weren't trying out being "gluten-free" when your Italian aunt finally gave her secret recipe for her famous spaghetti bolognese. You'll probably wish you stayed out late on New Year's Eve with your friends in your 20s instead of heading in early to do 2,015 crossfit push-up jumping jack snatches upside down.
Maybe it's because A Christmas Carol was such a big part of my childhood, but I feel like Scrooge took some time during the holidays to assess how he wanted to live his life. And, this holiday season, I'm recommending the same for you
Sometimes eating doesn't have to be about being healthy. Sometimes it's just about pleasure and being present with your loved ones. Drinking wine, eating stuffing, roasting ham, baking cookies are not about health. But maybe that's not the most important thing all the time.
Be present this year for the holidays. Choose what YOU want to do in your life instead of dieting.
(sarah jenks thinks so too... )