This OR That?

                                                          (A photo from our walk last night)

I struggle with black and white thinking. I have always been an either/or type of girl, rather than an AND. I know this often doesn’t serve me. Because there is so much that lies between this or that, so much to be found in the grey. 

I’ve been thinking about this recently within the diet culture. For the last several months I had put myself into the anti-diet culture realm. Because I wasn’t following a diet, and quite frankly had tired of following diets, I assumed and felt I had to then be anti-diet. That I had to choose. 

So I started following anti-diet profiles on Instagram. I started telling myself that I would and could be happier if I didn’t diet ever again. And then those profiles on IG started to feel “shamey” for me. I felt like she was talking to ME, when she said something to the effect of, You can’t share that you’re anti-diet AND then share the new program you’re starting. . .

But SAYS WHO?!?

Here’s the part that gets tricky for me, and maybe for all of you as well. We don’t have to choose one OR the other. (In any avenues of our life really). We can choose both. I can hold both things to be true. I can find that SOME of diet culture is toxic and harmful, AND I can also find that SOME diet culture helps me to both eat well and stay fit. I can hold both of these to be true and stay authentic to myself. 

I’ve seen a lot of people who use macro counting lately talking about the other types of diets out here insinuating that they’re bad. And perhaps they are for them. But counting macros is no different than counting containers, or points, or calories really. The same concepts are there. All of these things are supposed to teach you HOW to eat and live long term. And they only work if you make changes. 

So for me, I make changes, and then sometimes I fall off the wagon. And I spend too many months having dessert, or yummy beverages, or popcorn. And I use these tools to get back on track. I’m learning more and more that this is what works for me. It may not be for you. But today, for me, being on “track” with a plan is what I feel most aligned with.