We live in a time when every action of every person is brought to light through social media. This can be a positive and negative factor for one's day to day life. In the world of health and fitness, this constant exposure to the routines and diets of others can hinder and discourage those who are attempting to better themselves physically. By the end of this post, I hope to encourage you to put down your phone, take time for yourself, and indulge in something you absolutely love.
Making healthy choices comes with being focused on diet and exercise plans. One must monitor what one consumes, as well as weekly exercise patterns, which, quite frankly, can become exhausting.
To be obsessed with health and fitness goals can also negatively impact one's life. To focus so much on what is consumed that it becomes an unhealthy obsession is not the goal. To become obsessed with exercising and doing it excessively is not the goal. For this reason, I think it is so important to allow yourself to indulge and eat what you love, take breaks from exercising, and allow your body to rest and treat it with food that it craves once in a while.
An article published by the Huffington Post about indulgence hits home for many different reasons. In an interview with accredited dietician Chloe McLeod, she states herself why treating oneself is so crucial. "Firstly, because it's okay to," McLeod said. "Secondly, yes food is fuel, but food is also enjoyment. If you're never eating the foods you really enjoy or which give you pleasure, then that's going to result in feelings of deprivation. If you have these feelings of deprivation, it can increase the chance of bingeing or overeating, and this can end up being quite an unhealthy cycle."
Others may disagree with me, but I believe indulgence is the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and not falling into the pattern or routine of crash dieting. Having the salty foods that you're craving for dinner or the sweet foods that you're craving for dessert will not cause you to gain a drastic amount of weight, or completely ruin your healthy eating pattern. If anything, it will leave you feeling satisfied and keep you motivated to continue on your health and fitness journey.
On the same note, taking a break from exercising for a few consecutive weeks if you are feeling completely sick of it will not throw you off the rails. I have taken breaks from working out many, many times, and I find that it leaves me yearning for my next opportunity to go to the gym. Giving your body a break from routine can be healthy, especially if you have been on a very rigid work out schedule without any rest.
Take this post as a sign to stop what you're doing, and do something for you! Whether that is treating yourself to your favorite food, or taking a break from exercise for a while, allow your body to enjoy living!
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