We Are Worth It

I'm home from my conference adventure, with good and bad news. The bad news is that the conference was completely, perpetually stocked with food...just, literally, all the time. And I'm a sucker for free food. Well. For free anything, let's be honest.  The good news is that the perpetual stash always contained fresh fruit, lowfat yogurt, nuts and other moderately healthy snacks (along with croissants, sugary cereals and ice cream).

I can report that I made some really healthy decisions--lots of fruit, lots of yogurt, lots of salads. I can also report that I made some really less healthy decisions. Ha! It's hard to say no to a croissant or warm cookie. It's virtually impossible to say no to a free croissant or warm cookie. But in the end, my decisions this time definitely were much better than they would have been one year ago, and so I am counting this as an overall victory. I am still learning to say no, but I'm not refusing to say no. I occasionally wasted time beating myself up for the bad decisions, but I really have to focus on the good things I did. That's what will keep me motivated in the future.

This morning, my scale indicated little damage was inflicted anyway, and I know that part of this is that I exercised every day that I was gone except Saturday. I went to the hotel gym, took a walk with a friend, and then of course we did lots of walking around the Duke and UNC campuses as a bonus. All of this bodes well for the holidays! Moderation and exercise will keep me in check without forcing me to completely deny myself anything.

Before I go back to regular blogging about food ideas and recipes, etc., I wanted to post something else that caught my eye this morning. My college friend, Sara, posted to her blog about her successful weight loss. She's always been thin to me, but I understand her motivation to push for her ideal, and I wanted you all to see it. It just shows that we all are capable of doing whatever we choose, so long as we have the motivation to do it! Sara is a devout Christian, and her faith has been part of her plan, too. That's pretty great. I support using whatever resources you have in your life to make things happen!

We are worth the effort, and we will be rewarded according to the effort we put in!!