Thoughts for Thursday: I have a dream

It's a seemingly simple dream, but I fear it's one of those 'not in this lifetime' sort of dreams.

My dream: For people to stop apologizing for what they eat.

This whole looking at a meal and searching for the thing that's "bad" about it, or rationizing that the rest of the meal is "good" except this one thing.

Heck, as long as I'm dreaming, it'd be nice for folks to stop apologizing for working out, but 'only' doing X number of minutes or Y sort of exercise instead of more or less of something else... or worse, feeling guilty for taking a break, but that's a dream for a different day.

The way I see it, we already know that there's some foods that are lacking in the nutrient arena, and aren't the best things to be putting into our bodies. We also know that there's some foods that are knock your socks off nutritional powerhouses.

It doesn't mean one food is "good", and another is "bad". It just is what it is: food. Some food is a more ideal choice than another, but it's still just food... And there's room enough on your plate for both.

Putting a good/bad label on anything - food, exercise, spending, whatever, is just a form of control, and a reason to punish ourselves if we step outside of our tight little self or societal imposed boundaries.

The only thing beating myself up ever accomplished was putting me in a bad mood and keeping myself stuck in the same place for far too long.

I think we've all had quite enough of that, don't you?

Life is meant to be enjoyed, not to be complicated with a whole slew of rules, regulations and labels that can change at the drop of a hat...

Not sure what I mean? Here's an example: Eggs are good for you, right? Oh wait, they're bad for me now... Look! They're good for me again. See! It's enough to drive you crazy.

Keep it simple: Eat in a way that promotes a healthy, happy vessel - what ever that means to you.

The rest of the time: Just eat.

All of the time: Throw caution to the wind and *gasp* _enjoy_ what you're eating with wild abandon.

No guilt.

No judging.

No apologies.

Just love for yourself and the maker of the feast (that means a double dose of love if you're cook. ;)

So just for today - for me - don't apologize for what you eat. To anyone.

Let me know how it goes.