Go At Your Own Pace: Accepting Yourself and Your Choices
July 21, 2012 § 3 Comments
Today’s revolutionary act part of the 101 days of blogging challenge is “Go At Your Own Pace: A healthy life is more a marathon than a sprint. So start where you are. Choose sensible, sustainable shifts over instant cures and quick fixes.”
To me, this not only means avoid fad diets in term of sustainable long term changes, but also accept yourself in the process. I’m a perfectionist and that “simple” personality trait impacts every single aspect of my life. On top of it I was raised Catholic which means no matter how I shake it, I feel guilty a lot of the time. When it comes to trying to get on the right track and set goals for myself, I get extremely frustrated if I fall short and that frustration is often masked in guilt.
Case in point: I had a really great day. After watching Food Matters last night (highly recommend!) I was excited to keep my plant based diet motivation going. I started my day with lots of water (something I don’t do enough of) and even tried hot water with lemon and cayenne for the first time. This supposedly detoxifies, gets your blood moving, and revs the metabolism. For breakfast I enjoyed my morning smoothie. At lunch I used the leftover black beans and quinoa from dinner last night and put it in a sprouted grain tortilla with guacamole and a salad. When an afternoon craving struck, I enjoyed fresh veggies and spicy hummus.
After all this great eating, where did I go wrong? Dinner. We had been out and ended up at a sushi restaurant. I know I could have ordered the tofu but in that moment I just didn’t want it so I ordered the shrimp. Once the plate came, guilt washed over me. Why didn’t I just ask for some vegetables since I didn’t want tofu? I’ve written recently about slipping on my vegan diet and the guilt that I feel afterwards.
But today I’m reminded that this is part of my journey. I need to accept it and remind myself to go at my own pace. As much as I want to be 100% vegan, every meal, every day, that has been a difficult task for me. I find that I usually end up eating fish about once a month – either due to circumstances like tonight or situations where I really truly don’t have anything else to eat. So today, I’m trying to see the good in my choices the rest of the day, and the rest of this week, and accept tonight as a slip and move on.
Don’t be too hard on yourself either. Remember tomorrow is a new day.
I think you are doing a great job! My husband and I became vegans a little over a month ago. He always reminds me and others that veganism is not a religious. It’s about being healthy, not restrictive. Keep it up!
Oops! I meant to say not a religion*. Pregnancy brain. : )
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