349- Buzz Kill

So you know when you receive news that stops you dead in your tracks and suddenly its crystal clear what is important and what is not important?  Yeah, I got some of that over the weekend, and it sucks.  It's also life.  My success in being healthy is not only determined by what I put in my mouth, or how much I exercise, its also determined by how I deal with life's unexpected news/situations/obstacles thrown my way.  Unhealthy would be choosing to neglect what I know about myself, and stop doing things that I know I should be doing, and giving all power to the obstacle in front of me (e.g. I must make a good impression at my new job, that means 10 hour days and no time for the gym).  Healthy is not just recognizing that there are things in life that have the power to derail me, but consciously choosing not to be derailed no matter what (e.g., what I put in my mouth is not going to change what is going on, so why complicate things by eating food that makes me feel like crap?).   
 
Early on in this blog when I spent a lot of time in introspection, I looked for patterns in my eating so I could prevent the seemingly endless lose/gain cycle.  It seemed the largest thing to throw me off track was falling out of a routine- school ending, moving, changing jobs, etc.  In the last 10 years, there has been a lot of those aforementioned items.  Recognition of this pattern was definitely the first step towards ending it, but just like anything else, it takes practice.  It takes practice to not do what you've always done. 
 
I took time yesterday to react to the news, process it, and allow myself some chocolate.  Today, looking at life with new eyes, I know what I have to do.  This is not so much an obstacle that has to throw me off course, but rather its an opportunity to focus in on my own health and make sure I choose not only the healthy mental choices, but the tangible ones too.