I had an interesting conversation with a friend about how my body behaves at the moment and what might be the reason for the exhaustion I am experiencing right now. A conversation that resulted in me having a real light bulb moment.

What she felt among other things, was that I was restricting myself and my life in many ways (which is certainly true in many areas of my life). One of these things being my diet.

She felt I needed to give myself the freedom to indulge in ‘unhealthy’ foods like chocolate, chips or the like. Foods that are comfort foods for many people.

I like to have myself on a healthy diet that looks very strict to most people to feel at my best. If I go astray so to speak and eat other things, my body starts to feel out of balance and gains weight very quickly.

I had been eating ‘unclean’, as I like to call it for roughly a year for several reasons, after having made a drastic change a few years ago due to a health issue.

After that year of ‘indulging’, my body had started to feel unhealthy and had gained quite some weight, which didn’t help the situation.

So I decided 3 weeks ago to eat very clean again. Which means having only smoothies, salads, greens, nuts, fruits and vegetables. The only thing I still indulge in, because I really love it, is coffee.

My friend feels I am restricting myself with my diet.

Do I feel this way too? No, I don’t.

The moment she told me I should indulge more in foods that are ‘unhealthy’, but are supposed to make me feel good I started to ask myself the following questions:

• Do I really enjoy chocolate? The answer is no. I like it, just because I have been taught that it is good and that it will make me feel better, but it’s not something I have to have.
• Do I really enjoy my daily smoothie? Yes I definitely do. I couldn’t be without it for long.
• Do I really enjoy potato chips? No – I eat them when they are there, but I don’t miss them when they are not.
• Do I really enjoy salad (the healthy kind 😉 )? This is a definite yes. I’ve always enjoyed eating a good salad, even as a kid.
• Do I really enjoy eating meat? No – there are some great recipes that certainly make it taste good, but again – I don’t miss it when I don’t have it.
• Do I really enjoy my cup of coffee? Again, a definite yes. I have tried so many times to stop drinking coffee, but always came back to it because I missed it, so I might as well enjoy it. 🙂

So – the point I really want to make here is:

When you do something, eat something, or are with someone why not ask yourself the question

Do I really enjoy this?

If the answer is a heartfelt yes, then you are doing the right thing. Don’t even think about changing anything except getting rid of any negative beliefs around it if applicable.

If the answer is a no, or I am not sure. Could it be that you are doing it, eating it, or are with someone, because that is what you have been taught is the right thing to do, or to fill an empty space within you. But isn’t necessarily what you want or what you enjoy?

I certainly know which question I will be asking myself in all major areas of my life from now on! 🙂