Partly because of my work is so tied to my health and my fitness – and partly because I have issues with needing to be perfect all the time – but I can get overly attached to my schedule, my meal plan, and my workout routine. It’s easy for me to be inflexible and this usually ends up stressing me out. For me this rigidity, especially with my diet, can easily lead to isolation. I’ve found at times when I was really focusing on a particular body comp or health goal I end up shutting off from the world – and that is not healthy. I’ve missed dinners out with friends because I’m sticking strictly to my nutrition plan. Or I’ll miss an event because I wanted to squeeze in another workout. I will be completely stressed while I’m on vacation because instead of enjoying time with people I love, I’m worried about how much progress I’m undoing with an unhallowed carbohydrate and a few missed workouts. It’s really easy for me to let things get a little warped and to start missing out on life. When we’re so focused on eating a certain way or sticking to a workout schedule it can take on a life of its own, and very quickly healthy behaviors can lead to really unhealthy ones. I hate to admit it, but this was the first vacation in a while that I wasn’t stressed about not working out enough or not eating perfect. I didn’t do anything crazy and I made good choices for my meals, brought along healthy snacks – so I didn’t end up ravenous as 10 people tried to decide where to have dinner – but I also didn’t stress about any of it. I trusted myself to do the best I could as often as I could and to remember that there’s more to life, and more to being healthy, than doing everything perfect all the time. I am grateful for being grayer- and less black and white. For knowing I can always workout tomorrow, but it’s only this morning that I can sit and chat with one of my favorite people in the world. And that lacking a connection with a world outside me and missing out on having fun is not healthy. I spent the weekend in my friend Taryn’s world – with artists and foundation directors and grant writers – and there wasn’t much talk of interval training, eating more fiber or the latest study on green tea. It was awesome. And I got a big dose of fun – a nutrient I’ve been quite deficient in lately. 
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