I’ve got a little confession to make – this weekend, I wasn’t the healthiest of people. It’s gone by in a bit of a blur really, as I spent it holed up in my flat tap-tap-tapping away at a rather long, but also rather interesting dissertation all about French agriculture and how eating local is the way forward. Considering the topic is not too far away from what I’m writing about here, it wasn’t the biggest chore to do, although I’d say the research was much more fun than writing it in French. Then again, anything is a chore when it’s 5,000 words plus!
Coming back to being healthy – while I did do a light yoga practice or two, I very much gave into my devilish sugar cravings and didn’t even stick to regular meal times, something I learnt was key to maintaining a healthy diet while in Paris. I find that I can often keep procrastination at bay so long as I’m snacking – whether it be on dates, dried apple, or worse – but I pushed it quite a bit in order to perfect my long essay!
What I’ve come here to say though, in all seriousness, is that even when you feel like you’ve fallen off the healthy-eating bandwagon, don’t give up. The longer you sit in the dirt road with your refined-sugar snacks or take-away cravings, the further away its going to be before you decide to jump back on again, making it even harder. Thinking in this way reminds me of yoga, and in attempting to stay in the present, aware of what the body is doing, without letting the mind wander. If it does, don’t chastise it – simply return it back to yourself and try again.
So in attempting this, today I started the day off with a berry compote porridge and managed to keep myself on track with my meals, although I’m yet to hit the gym again. But instead of beating myself up even more, I’ve got to be happy that I didn’t give in to cravings or celebrate my coursework submission with a chocolatey feast! Part of the mindful eating mentality is to notice what you’ve done well and focus on that as motivation – so that’s exactly what I’m doing right now. And tomorrow will be a chance to improve on the little foundation I’ve started today. Hopefully, you’ll find reading this just as helpful – even now, by being active on a healthy living blog, shows you’ve got the motivation to make a positive change!
