Hold Me Accountable (that's ok) But Just Know...

Had a pretty awesome thing happen at work the other night... I was *starving* about an hour before I get out of work due to an earlier-than-usual lunch, so I grabbed a chocolate milk from the work fridge to tide me over.  (gasp!)  I know, I know -- I haven't had hardly anything of that magnitude (or that HFCS-laden) since my journey began almost 6 months ago.  But, I'll get to that in a minute...

One of my coworkers (who knows of my healthy journey) walked by my desk as I downed the Chug & gasped, "NO! You are NOT drinking chocolate milk!  You do not need that crap! Do NOT backslide on me now, woman! I need you for inspiration & to help keep me in check!!"

It caught me off-guard.  Not because she was scolding me, but because (a) she was invested in my success, and (b) my success or failure helped her along her journey.  It was really sweet, and completely unexpected.  :)  

Now, we're not the kind of coworkers that hang out together.  I won't be invited to her wedding next month (& I'm totally ok with that). We're cordial & casual & we ask each other about the small-talk points in our lives.  But she's aware of my friend Chane't passing away this past December & of the changes that I've made since then.  I even talked her into going to her first Zumba class (which she loved). I know she just trained for the Warrior Dash this month. But I never would have guessed that I inspired her in any way (she's been "fit" & active for the years). That admission made me want to be better...

But, as I told her, the great thing about this change I've made (& about it being a lifestyle change & not a DIET) is that I can have an indulgence now & then, and it doesn't derail the whole train. It's the old 80/20 rule (though for me, it's probably more 90/10) -- and when you live to your best 80% of the time, the other 20% doesn't hit you as hard & it's easier to bounce back.  I'm not talking "living for cheat days" or having one thing at each meal that is outside my eating regimen.  I mean that an indulgence, when needed (whether due to being on vacation or nowhere near a better food choice or at your boss's house, whom you don't want to insult), doesn't mean you're a failure & it doesn't mean that you have to throw out the baby with the bathwater.  Living well doesn't mean living to perfection; it just means making the best choices that you can, as often as you can.