What's Your Angle?

Perspective.  Sometimes you've got it, sometimes you don't.  If you're lucky, you have people in your life who can provide you with a little extra help in that area when you need it.

A little while back, I was discussing with a friend how I'd been somewhat lax with my eating that week.  Eating some unplanned grapes.  A raisin here or there.  And, for at least 3 days in a row - having 30 almonds instead of my planned and accounted for 20.

She stopped me and asked me to think about what I had just said.

10 almonds.

69 calories.

Now, she was in no way condoning the deviation, merely pointing out that in the grand scheme of things, 10 almonds is not much of a deviation.  

The issue itself lies not in what was eaten or how much, merely in the fact that it was done mindlessly.  Not because I was starving, or lacked energy, or even because I was DYING for another almond.  I ate 10 extra almonds because they were there, so why not?  I ate the grapes because they were sitting out on the counter, about 5 feet from my desk.  The raisins because they had fallen out of some cookies.

How many times have you bailed on a workout and kicked yourself in the ass for it?  Before you beat yourself up though, examine WHY you bailed.  Were you stressed at work or at home, over-trained, sick or ridiculously tired?  Or were you simply not in the mood?

Taking an unplanned rest day is OK.  Listening to our bodies is smart, no question about it.  Having a flexible approach to your diet can be a great thing as well, reminding us to enjoy life and keeping us from psychological burn-out.

But when these moments arise, we need to take a moment to step back from the situation and examine the motive behind the behavior.  Be truthful and you will never steer yourself wrong.