Balance, balance, balance…it is a word thrown around a lot and I use it a lot as well. But what does it actually mean? I wanted to share with you what I mean by balance when I use this word.
I recently got back from an event where someone asked me how often had I eaten a Proper Burger. In fact I often get asked questions like this, “do you eat chips?” or “do you chocolate?”..and the answer is yes. It’s doesn’t happen daily but I’m not one to say no to a good burger or a pain au chocolate. Yum!
Since I have been a little girl, my mom taught me to balance my joys. When I finished my meal and only if I was still hungry, I got a dessert. There were times, due to hormonal imbalance that I created a weekly treat day during which I was allowed to eat anything I wanted. Quickly, I couldn’t eat all the sweets anymore and felt unwell when I ate too much. I started changed my bad habits to positive ones and trained my body. Having suffered from PCO as well, it taught me that I need to be more aware of what I eat and what I put into my body and quickly did I realize that unless it is giving some nutrition to my body what is the point of eating it and carrying it on my hips ? Unless, it was on my treat day and I craved it. Depriving is not the solution and over-eating neither. It is somewhere in between.
I am not one of those that is all about clean-eating. I am not even sure what people mean by that — next year, another superfood is found and everyone jumps on it like they did with Chia seeds, Turmeric, etc. The Turmeric from the supermarket for 2GPB is perfectly fine as well as the stuff from some ‘speciality shop’ for 11GBP. What is the difference ? One is in a fancy jar the other not. The fad around gluten-free when everyone started to be intolerant and turning to gluten-free products. Turns out, brands filled the gluten-free products with sugar having a negative impact on our entire body.
I believe in doing things that nourish your life, that might not always be the perfect way of doing things but they are right for you as you are unique being and things need to work for you ! I cannot drink alcohol — I turn crab-red and get a weeks-worth of a hang-over, feel miserable, fatigue, unhappy and just overall grumpy. My body literally tells me: I don’t want it! I had a friend, who had the same reaction to alcohol than me, popped pill to drink along. Why would I do something so unnatural if my body gives me tons of sign that it cannot process it ? I am putting my body even under more stress than it is. Why ? And this is what I mean by balance. Just because Chia is hit, doesn’t mean it works for you; you enjoy a glass of red wine in the evening — that’s fine. One glass hasn’t done any harm — it is the binge drinking that is meaningless and not nourishing your mind and body.
Balance is a hard thing to do and it’s difficult to have it all, I don’t know anyone one who does and they are missing one of the other thing. At as one has heard so many times, it is not about the reaching the end of the journey, it is about the journey and true balance is found through trial and tribulation and finding YOUR sweet spot.
Some things that have helped me over the years to switch off are:
- Turn your phone off — switch off from the world, take one day a week to switch off (it’s liberating). Facebook is not making you you are and the world keeps spinning even though you don’t check it every 5 minutes !
- Say No — learn to say no to things, don’t pile more on your plate or like I did with the alcohol.
- Schedule more family time — consciously make the effort to spend more time with your family and friends. Being social is the one cue to happiness ! So make friends, find tribes you can join and makes you feel fulfilled and happy.
- Walk it off — I love nothing more that a long walk and go explore. It clears my head and makes me feel calmer and more centered.
Balance comes from doing a range of things, from doing the things that you need to do and doing some things just because they’re naughty and feel good ☺
Sarah xx ❤
Editor and Owner of NayaGlow.com
Originally published at nayaglow.com.
Originally published at medium.com