So you’ve decided to make healthier lifestyle choices, but you’ve come across lots of comments like this from family, friends, partners, coworkers, and/or total strangers:
“You need to live life more!”
“One bite/sip won’t hurt you.”
“Aren’t you allowed to cheat a little?”
“You have to workout again?”
“When is this dieting and exercising thing going to end?”
“Are you seriously bringing your Tupperware everywhere you go?”
“You’re eating the same food again?”
“You should treat yourself with (insert any non diet food).”
“How much bigger are you trying to get?”
“How much leaner are you planning on getting?”
My personal favorites:
“Who is going to marry you with all these diet restrictions that you have?!”
“Why are you spending so much time on your body when it is going to turn into ashes the second you die?”
Yes, these are all comments and questions I have run across THOUSANDS of times and probably so have you. If not, brace yourself. It’s coming.
But how can we make others realize that…
-To us, dieting and exercising is actually ADDING to our life, not taking away from it.
-Maybe measuring our food and taking our muscles to their extreme limits challenges us in a way that not many even dare to try.
-Maybe we chose to no longer drink alcohol in excess, because we know that alcohol affects our liver and fat burning turns off. Plus, how can we perform optimally on leg day after a crazy night out? Legs are our priority!
-Maybe getting on stage and presenting our work of art (a.k.a. our body) give us a rush like nothing we’ve ever experienced before.
-Maybe while transforming our outer-self we tremendously transform our inner-self.
-Maybe we would rather spend more on more gym clothes than anything else.
-Maybe we view our body as our masterpiece and love working on it by manipulating food and exercise.
-Maybe instead of going shot for shot we now go squat for squat with the guys.
-Maybe treating ourselves well doesn’t mean rewarding ourselves with food and drink.
-Maybe our favorite sound went from being the uncorking of a wine bottle to now two 45-pound plates smacking each other as we load the barbell.
-Maybe the high that we get after a really hard workout lasts way longer than any sort of drug.
-Maybe our version of Sunday Funday is prepping all our meals for the upcoming week.
-Maybe we go into a meditative state every time we feel the burn of lactic acid building in our muscles.
-Maybe our “different” lifestyle is all about discipline, self-love, motivation, and persistence.
Now, just because we eat clean and like working out, that doesn’t make us better than anyone else. This is really important to remember.
Maybe we are being misunderstood. So, what is necessary is to share with others how we feel about our new (or old) healthy lifestyle in order for them to properly support us. People cannot read our minds, and having different priorities requires open communication. But…
I have found that the more I am myself, the more I share, and the more I educate, the more support I receive, because others know HOW to support.
“Be you, do you. Can’t nobody judge you, but you.” –Kevin Hart