By Dominick H.
So you've done it. You've finally decided to embrace a new diet. You've been hanging out with happier, healthier people. You're making better food and beverage choices in – and out – of your kitchen. Smoothies, juices, vegan, veggies, more nuts and dried fruits: all great. Lots of exercise happening: yoga, elliptical, running, rowing, boot camp, all that jazz. But somewhere deep inside of you, you feel flat. You feel like you're just plugging along with life. You're doing all the wonderful things associated with health and wellness, so essentially you should feel good and energetic. Every book, YouTube video, wellness guru, and fitness class inundates us with all this info: and so many of us feel entitled to that feeling of "bliss." But what if that feeling of true bliss never arrives? What if you are doing everything that you are supposed to be doing in order to feel healthy and good, yet none of it's not making you feel healthy and good? Nine times out of ten, when this happens, we stop having fun. We stop enjoying life. And we quite possibly fall into a an illusory trap of touting the benefits of living that healthy lifestyle that we never honestly feel. So what to do? How do we live healthy and clean while being honest with ourselves?
Well, that's exactly it. We have to be honest with ourselves. Like super duper honest with ourselves. Do we really like that smoothie? Do we really like that meal we ordered at the restaurant? Do you really like dried fruits and nuts? Do you really like that yoga class or that boot camp class? Juices, smoothies, yoga, working out, vegan, all that stuff is really good for you: it really is. But is it good for
you?
So before you decide to become vegan, scarf down that green juice, or sweat it out in your next workout class, here's three simple steps to keep you honest and truthful:
1. Follow Your Taste Buds
It sounds so simple, right? But it can be so hard to do. Everyone's been talking about how "amazing" green juices are or how good for your body a total vegan lifestyle can be. But what if some vegan foods taste bland? Or just simply are not for you? What if some green juices taste like freshly cut grass (let's be honest)? Are you going to make yourself eat or drink it anyway? Are you going to make yourself do something you don't want to do any more? Heck no. Put it aside. You should be having fun and enjoying yourself while eating the foods that you choose to eat. We shouldn't be eating foods that are hard to enjoy. Maybe you can revisit it at another time if you don't like it this time. Trying something new in your diet should be exciting and fun! Granted, there are juices and smoothies and vegan veggie foods out there are are so tasty and delish: believe it. So remember to use your intuition. So be honest in your trials. And if it tastes bad to you, chuck it.
2. Be all About the Braggin' Rights
So your friend dragged you to that smokin' hot yoga teacher's class or to their favorite spin instructor or maybe to one of those über-inspiring teachers that say flowery things in their class. Whatever it is. Ask yourself: was that fun? Was that exciting? Do I feel uplifted and energized? Does the instructor compliment my practice, my effort, or my skill to make me feel good (and make me laugh)? Do I feel sexy? Do I feel stronger? Do I feel turned on and energized about my life? If the answer is yes to everything, definitely consider going back. To be in the presence of people in a group setting that uplift and inspire you is our ideal situation – and super-motivating. If the answer is no these questions. I mean, well, do we even have to talk about this? Definitely don't go back. After all, we are only as good as our surroundings. Besides, when we start having fun in our workout routines and we start getting results, we inherit those braggin' rights. You know what I mean. Party tricks, pose downs, cool kids club at work. "Look at my headstand". "I"m so good at that class." "Cycling class is so inspiring: come with?" Mmmm. Braggin' rights. Feels nice. Because if it doesn't, it's def not worth talking about.
3. Let the World Know That it's #InstaGood
Was your experience so good that you wanted to tell the world? Did you check-in? Did you post about it? Have you tagged your friends so they can know all about your awesome meal? If it's not on social media, it probably wasn't that big of a deal: another rift in the day. For realz. When we go out and enjoy something we love, we always want to let the world know: our friends, our family, our peeps. Was it that good of a yoga class? Was that boot camp class super amazing? Were those veggie tacos you had Downtown the best things ever created? Let the world know. Just remember this, if you weren't moved to post about it on some level, your experience was probably sub-par.
#justsayin
