Yesterday I ate pound cake for breakfast. Oh, and pasta for dinner. I’m not talking about a vegan, gluten-free, grain-free version of these items, I’m not remorseful, rebellious or boastful. I’m not trying to sell you on a recipe. It’s just what happened.
I don’t consider that an ideal day of healthy food. But also, I feel fine, physically and emotionally. It was one day, it was exactly what I wanted, and now I’ll probably have a salad and move on.
But this wasn’t always the case, and I have a feeling a lot of you will understand. You go for long periods of time trying to be “perfect” in whatever way that means to you. You eat your greens and avoid dairy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, wheat or what have you RELIGIOUSLY as if this will fix everything, your health your spirit your yoga your worth.
Then one day you fall off the wagon. Someone is having poundcake for breakfast and you WANT it or there is no paleo pudding nearby. And you have it. And it’s good. And then you have all the pound cake or other cake or cookies or bread or pasta all day every day in a row till you feel terrible.
You think to yourself, “one day I will stop doing this. I will really find my willpower and I will eat healthily and it will all come together.”
I’ve got to tell you, it will. But not the way you think. Most likely the healthy, well-adjusted you won’t drink green juice and avoid the ‘bad things’ every day. The healthy, well-adjusted you is not going to grip on to a lifestyle by your fingertips. No, most likely the picture will be more moderate. You’ll probably eat and drink lots of greens. You’ll avoid the things that make you feel icky as much as possible. But some days you will just want an excellent plate of pasta or a bagel with cream cheese that reminds you of your childhood. And the difference is, you will just have these things and move on.
You can’t have health without balance. And I’m sure you can’t find balance by sheer force of will. You have to find your hull speed. You have to stop beating up on yourself for not being perfect (look, no one is!) and you have to find the flow that is unique to you.
Personally I love wine and I crave a croissant or plate of pasta from time to time. I don’t really care about pizza or ‘real’ ice cream and fried foods don’t often tempt me. But if pizza is the one thing you can’t live without, having it once in a while may put out the fire of obsession.
So anyway yesterday I had pound cake for breakfast and pasta for dinner. Yeah, it was really good. And yeah, my yoga practice was still there this morning.
Moving on.
-Laura
PS-Looking to find your own healthy balance? Check out my 90 day one-on-one program to help you do just that! Read all about it here, then click to book your free initial session.
