My husband and I just got back from an amazing trip to Ireland. The scenery was spectacular, the history was rich, we had great friends to share the experience with and the meals were delicious and um, not exactly in line with my normal, healthy eating habits. I splurged! Do I regret that? Absolutely not! Here’s why. I practiced what I call “mindful splurging“. Wha…what?
Mindful splurging… what is that?
Ok, I admit that I’m taking some liberty with the word mindful here, but I really do mean mindful. According to Merriam-Webster, mindful means “bearing in mind: aware”. So I was aware that I was splurging and bearing that in mind during my travels. “B
earing that in mind” means that I did three things:
I allowed myself the freedom to splurge without guilt
Life is not all or nothing. Healthy eating habits are just part of a healthy lifestyle. Outside of restricting foods that cause us serious reactions, healthy eating habits should not mean a long-term restrictive “diet”, but rather choices to eat the foods that best fuel our bodies for optimal health and optimal energy to perform our activities.
Straying occasionally from our normal food choices is part of living. I wanted to eat the local Irish food and drink the locally brewed beer, so I did. No regrets, no guilt, no added stress.
I took care to support some of my nutritional needs
Since I knew that some of the food and drink I was having was not part of my normal healthy routine, I did a few things to give myself a boost during my trip.
- I drank plenty of water all day to stay hydrated
- I stopped at a local grocery store to buy some fruit that I could eat between meals
- I made sure to order at least one salad or green vegetable every day
- I took a multi-vitamin daily and made sure to take some digestive enzymes with meals that I thought might be difficult for me to digest.
So, while I splurged, I also gave my body some extra support.
I got right back on track as soon as I got home
When you have healthy eating habits, your body will tell you when you’re eating (and drinking) foods that do not promote optimal health. During my trip, I often felt very bloated and blah, so I actually looked forward to returning to my normal lifestyle. I filled my first day home with mostly fruits and vegetables and continued to hydrate.
Because I usually live a healthy lifestyle, eating to best fuel my body and I practiced mindful splurging, my body was resilient enough to bounce back quickly even after splurging for a week.
Life is meant to be enjoyed. Most of the time, eat for optimal health and energy so that your body is healthy enough to allow you to enjoy life. Then give yourself permission to splurge occasionally using mindful splurging, free of guilt and stress! Celebrate life!!
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Be Well!!