Yesterday I overheard a conversation between two people attending a “wellness and health” conference. Quotation marks for a reason…stick with me.
The conversation went something like this:
Guy: “Seriously? You eat at McDonalds? My body is more valuable to me than putting that poison in my belly.”
Gal: “Well, when you live on an Air Force base and it’s the only fast food option, it’s sometimes what you do. It’s not every day, but I’m not ashamed that my kids have an occasional Happy Meal.”
Guy: “Oh, you’ve got an excuse for it. I see.”
And you know what happened next? That gal walked away looking dejected.
Here’s my point: “health and wellness” looks like one thing for me, it looks like something totally different for you. YOU get to decide what health and wellness looks like for your unique situation. You get to try your best to eat healthy, feed your family good food, choose foods and activities that support wellness. The key here, it’s YOUR diet, not mine.
My diet: Gluten-free (cuz I got a touch of the Celiac 😉 ), limited dairy so I can stay off of expensive asthma meds, vegetarian because I’m secretly a tree-hugging hippie (what? Oh, I’m not doing a good job keeping that a secret?!?), limited refined sugar because it makes me puffy, organic when I can afford it, eggs from my backyard hens, not a lot of processed food but still an occasional frozen pizza…And you know what else? Sometimes I go to the McDs drive-thru for an unsweetened iced tea or a coffee because it’s only a buck.
Your diet: Whatever makes you feel AMAZING. You get to choose that based on your situation, your location, your budget, your unique health situation. It’s not going to look like my diet. It’s YOUR diet.
On the “wellness” part: It doesn’t make me feel very well to be with people who judge how I eat, who make crass comments about me having “an excuse” for how I eat. I’m rarely around folks like that and was caught a little off guard yesterday. I regret that I didn’t stop what I was doing and go hug that gal who feeds her kids an occasional Happy Meal. I absolutely want to support folks in finding a healthy way to eat that makes them feel terrific. I’m thinking I’ll have more luck doing that with my hug approach vs. the judge-y, critical approach. I am working hard at just that, with a bit more softness than I’ve had in the past when it comes to differences in diets. Join me, encourage me in this and encourage yourself, too. A little softness toward each other and how we eat is gonna go a long way…
this is awesome! i love it.
Thanks, Katie!
So true. We are all so different and can thrive with totally different diets. Plus, what everyone somehow forgets when they’re pushing their diet and standards on others is how resistant they themselves becomes to change when “nagged” and “put down.” I’m not saying I’ve never been guilty of doing that, I certainly have, especially with my own son. But it was when I shut up that he came to the conclusion, on his own, that he needed to change his diet. Otherwise, he was just rebelling against me telling him he had to change. I totally get that as I am very resistant to do what others tell me I *should* do. I know that is not the focus of this post per se, but I think it’s an important point if one is seriously concerned about what someone they love is eating.
Thanks, Johnna.
Shirley
Such a great point, Shirley! I don’t believe lasting change ever comes from someone telling us what we should do…not until we are darned good and ready to do it!
I love your approaching weight loss with kindness. I have been beaten up so many times over my weight by myself and by others that I feel battered. Thank you! Wish me well, and I wish the same for you!
I wish you only the best, Ellen. You are perfect and beautiful just as you are, without beating yourself up (or letting anyone else).