Life is choice

Kyra has a post today that I could have written. She’s writing about food & exercise choices, but really, I think there is choice in how you act or react in just about any situation. Do you seize life or does it happen to you?

On a related note, Kyra’s post made me realize how lucky I am to have generally supportive people in my life. It seems like so very many people who want to make healthy life changes meet resistance and outright sabotage from their friends and family. I have been tremendously fortunate. For example, I had a dinner meeting a few nights ago where I knew pizza was going to be served. I love pizza but it was not my free day. Therefore, I was planning to bring my own Body for Life authorized meal or to eat before the meeting. One of my colleagues was confused as to why I’d want to bring a meal when there was going to be ‘free pizza’. I was going to try to explain, when one of my other colleagues (the one who turned me onto longer distance running) jumped in to say “She’s following a special nutrition plan going to meet her fitness goals”. Response, “Oh, alright then”. Until I read about the experiences other people have, I did not appreciate how lucky I was to have this sort of unconditional acceptance.

Furthermore, unlike some other women I have read about on various message boards, my hubby has been tremendously supportive. In fact, if we eat out when it is not my free day, and he sees me tempted to order unauthorized foods he will say “I didn’t know today was your free day.” It’s a nice gentle reminder and helps to keep me on track. Actually compared to some I read about, my free days are quite unimpressive. I often end up under maintenance calories for the day. The biggest difference is that my nutrients shift to be a little lower in protein and a little higher in fat and are thus a bit more satisfying. Also, some of my meals are a bit bigger on free day then they otherwise would be. I tried more exuberant free days when I first started Body for Life but I discovered that they made me feel terrible. Why would I want that?