Forgiveness

I will dedicate the idea of this blog to one of my newest clients. Not only do I get to completely whoop his butt every day, we also have fun discussing the finer things in life. Last week we started talking about Forgiveness.

When was the last time you did something you were not proud of? Did you forgive yourself or are you still holding onto it as a failure?

It really got me thinking about all my clients. How often they feel the need to apologize to me for something they did or did not do days prior to meeting with me. Sometimes it’s for not coming to the gym, but more often than not, it’s over something they ate.

Why do people feel the need to apologize for eating a piece of bread or snagging a cookie from their pantry? They get really mad at themselves and often punish themselves by repeating the bad behavior. They will relate eating with a sense of guilt and failure, creating a negative relationship with food. Once someone begins this negative relationship, it is very hard to break and tends to lead him or her into more unhealthy eating habits. It’s like the alcoholic who drinks 10 more beers because they think they already failed by allowing themselves to have that first one.

Everyday we look to take steps forward. It is all a learning process. Day by day, just put one foot ahead of the other in hopes of keeping that forward momentum. Yes, there will be days when we stop and stand still, or maybe shuffle back a few feet. This is OK!!! When it all comes down to it, we are all human. Do not beat yourself up for eating something you maybe were not supposed to!!

Do you think I apologize for sitting down on a Friday evening and sipping on some wine? Or going out with a girl friend and treating myself to fro-yo?! Heck to the no!! Because life is way too short!

This takes me back to the beginning, forgiveness. You need to learn how to eat healthy and enjoy life all at the same time. Stop apologizing for the small things. If you keep beating yourself up all the time you will become bitter, and you will fail.

You need to let go of the fear of failure. Enjoy life and food; make it as healthy as you can. FORGIVE yourself and move forward learning from each situation. The goal is to learn from your mistakes, and move forward with the knowledge of how to be stronger the next time.

-SLR