Life Lessons: On Being Human

Instagram as my picture of broccoli. Ice cream is fun and yummy and scandalous and broccoli is boring and blah and so last season. I've been desperately wanting to write this post for weeks now. I like sharing pictures of ice cream and pizza on Instagram because I want---no, I NEED---you all to understand how much of a "normal" (what does that word even mean?) person I really am. I went to Cleveland last weekend and ate out for nearly every meal, including pizza and pancakes galore. What can I say? I loved food before I even loved nutrition. I really am a foodie at heart. So when I post a What I Ate Wednesday and you don't see any ice cream, it's not because I don't ever eat ice cream. I'm sick and tired of people portraying themselves to be something they're not, painting a picture of the ideal woman who only eats Quest bars and broccoli slaw and making everyone else feel like crap. The truth is that I work out often and I balance fun foods with green smoothies, which I actually adore. I don't force myself to eat healthy to be thin---I eat healthy because I actually love the taste of hummus, sweet potatoes, lentils, and bananas. I love how healthy tastes and feels, but you won't see me passing on pasta, either. I live in a world where people judge and pick apart everything I do. That's what happens when you're a food blogger or health professional. If I post a picture of ice cream, is some vegan girl going to unfollow me? If I didn't eat any green veggies today, is everyone going to think I'm a big fat phony? The ridiculousness of it all! I'm only human. You're not healthy if you don't live life. But whether you like it our not, there is constant comparison going on all.the.time. Forget the haters! Be YOU. You've got one life to live and you sure as hell shouldn't be living some one else's. I thrive on balance. I'm not some one who can avoid all added sugar or gluten or caffeine for a month---I'm just not. I get cranky and weird. Sometimes I go out on the weekends and drink vodka sodas and eat pizza at 2am. Sometimes I wake up feeling hung over and lazy and too tired to work out.  But I always, always, always find my way back to balance. I don't try to be perfect because I don't want to be perfect. Perfect isn't real. Perfect is weird. So find the beauty in your imperfections. Life will be a lot tastier that way.

* * *

For more Life Lessons posts, check out: --On Being Too Healthy --On Natural Body Care --On Counting Ingredients, Not Calories --On Beer & Kale --On Packing a Lunch  ]]>