"M" is for Moderation in 2011

It's January and the beginning of a new year: 2011. It's that time of year when everyone is uprooting old habits of unhappiness and un-health (if you will) in hopes that they'll trade them in for habits that promise a happier, healthier, "new" self.

I can recount countless years where I wrote down my new year's resolutions and taped them to my bathroom mirror, hoping that seeing it first thing every morning would whip me into shape and remind me to be "good". My resolutions were usually pretty extreme and hard to maintain for very long. You would find posted on my mirror phrases like, "eat absolutely no sugar", "workout everyday without fail", or "only eat three meals a day without snacking"... blah, blah, blah. What I never noticed, was that between those lines of rules listed out, was the word "fail, fail, fail".

Through hard lessons learned over the years, combined with nutrition education, you now will never see such resolutions posted on my mirrors. I now live in the freedom of one rule: everything in moderation. That's it. I have learned to give myself grace in everything I do and in everything I eat. I mostly choose things that promote health for my body, but I give myself the space to enjoy everything. Completely guilt free.

In the midst of being inundated by messages and adds for new diets and awesome gym membership deals, I was thrilled to come across someone with similar beliefs. I found this quote in Bon Appetit magazine by Restaurant Editor Andrew Knowlton:

"Most food critics, in fact, don't look the way you probably think they do or should. Many are best described as healthy. How can this be? Personally I've learned that how much I eat isn't as important as the quality of what I eat. It took several years of dining out to realize that I did not have to clean my plate, no matter what my momma told me. I can still do my job without finishing the drumstick and breast in my friend chicken basket. It goes back to something you've heard a thousand times - everything in moderation. Add to that philosophy a decent exercise routine of running. Also, when I dine out, I'm eating at quality places serving dishes made with great ingredients. I rarely eat processed food and fast food. Chefs are jumping on the health bandwagon as well, eating smaller portions and exercising more often."

So here's to 2011: a year for experiencing peace with your food, grace with yourself and a life free to enjoying everything in moderation!