TGIF!! This has been such a long week for me. Anyone else agree?
I told you all last weekend that I got to hang out with my friend Michelle last Friday. Michelle is an extremely wise and beautiful friend. We were just talking at her house, and she said something that has stuck with me all week. Michelle recently went through chemotherapy for breast cancer, and she has been reading a lot about diet and cancer. She is making some dietary changes. While talking about that, she said something that has echoed through my mind all week. She said something like, ‘There is so much information out there, but I don’t want to take it too far and allow it to consume me.’
I loved this. So many of us have allowed “eating clean” or exercise or so many other things consume us. So, how do we know when we are being consumed by something?
Ask yourself: What do you spend most of your time thinking about or talking about? What do you worry over? Do you get stressed out if you miss a workout or if dinner plans change?
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If so, you are allowing these things to consume you and rule over you. You may think that you are in control of your diet or exercise or fill in the blank, but in reality it is controlling you. If you are canceling plans with a friend to go to the gym or because you don’t want to eat out because you can’t control the food, there may be a problem.
Now, I’m not saying that working out isn’t important! However, if you put it before everything and everyone else in your life and your workout dictates your mood, then there is something going on. Also, when eating out causes anxiety or stress because you don’t know calories or what all is in the food, then you are allowing your diet to control you. I will say that there are some of us, me included, that have serious food allergies. That is a different story.
If you aren’t sure if you are being controlled by something, ask a friend or family member that you love and trust their opinion. Sometimes we
I don’t think us “healthy living bloggers” have done much to help this issue. When we post things, the majority of what we post is healthy recipes. What people aren’t seeing is our real day to day lives. We are real people… just like you. We indulge. We like brownies and cookies and sweets just as much as the next person.
It is okay to indulge sometimes. It is okay to miss the gym a day to hang out with a friend. Life will still go on and more than likely you won’t gain 10 lbs from missing 1 day.
We can allow so many things control our thoughts and move in and consume us. I know I have done this. Sometimes we need to refocus. Reset our priorities.
I don’t want to be known only as the girl that was the “health nut”. I want people to know me. I want people to see Jesus through me.
I want to be known as a kind, compassionate, prayerful, God fearing, devoted wife, and wise woman before they add on that I’m a health nut! :)
Do you think you struggle with taking something too far?
What do you feel like consumes you?
How do you want people to “know” you as?
{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, what a thoughtful post! I think this is something we all need to work on. I know when I first started exercising regularly I would plan my schedule around making sure I could get to the gym. Then there are other days i’ll eat half a container of ice cream, not good. I think remembering everything in moderation is key and while leaning towards a healthy lifestyle is great you can’t let it consume you.
Thanks Nicole! moderation is key!
Great post. I sometimes think that the message that is sent out IS one of GO GO GO! and if you stop – even for a second – all your work will go to waste. I try not to let things consume me. I strive to find balance every day. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the same thing.
Thanks Tracey! Yes, I used to feel like I had to go, go, go. Now, I try to maintain balance!
Good morning!
Blogging can be more of a limited view of a person for sure. You will be pleased to know that you very much present as “kind, compassionate, prayerful, God fearing, devoted wife, and wise woman.”
Yes, I absolutely struggle with taking things too far. Sometimes it takes all of us awhile to ignore the large blaring sign that this just isn’t working. Right now I am consumed with my uncertain future. It does make me lash out emotionally at myself and it does cause me to make more frantic decision.
I try to give a pretty rounded version of myself online too, but I also know that readers in my more day to day life “know” me differently.
You are too sweet, Samantha! I’m so glad to have you as a friend! I’ll be praying for you. I know that an uncertain future is tough!!! I’m always an email away!
I LOVEEEE THIS! I could talk to you on FaceTime about this one for sure
Lol I miss you so much sis 
I’m ready for that FaceTime!!
love this! I think you are right, there is a point where we need to ask ourselves is all this obsessing worth it in the end.
I was JUST talking to Maria about how sometimes I’m not sure that using social media to promote health is always so ‘healthy’ mentally, because it leads us to compare, judge (ourselves and others), and perhaps feelings of envy or inadequacy. I know this because I have FELT this.
First of all, I see you as a very devoted wife, compassionate and kind daughter of God. In fact, you constantly inspire me to work on my own relationship with Christ. Sometimes I think “What Would Brittany Do”
And I whole heartedly agree on the controlling issue: it’s almost like the saying “too much of a good thing”. At any point when I realize that something isn’t making me happy anymore or changing my behavior for worse, I try to stop and re-evaluate.
And to touch on what Sarah said, sometimes a blogger post a killer workout or a perfectly healthy meal CAN be motivating, but other times it can make you feel inadequate.
You are too kind friend! If you ask “what would Brittany do” it might get you into trouble! lol
Right now, I find myself feeling very inadequate from these posts, but I’m just in a weird season in life. We def need to chat!
I’ve often found myself questioning just how healthy the constant promotion of healthy living really is. Yes it’s important to eat healthy food and stay active, but not when it becomes the only thing we live for. This is definitely something that I’ve struggled with in the past. My initial desire to clean up my diet eventually progressed to a full-blown eating disorder that almost claimed my life
Scary stuff; and the worst part of all was that it started out so innocently. Wonderful post my dear “kind, compassionate, prayerful, God fearing, devoted wife, and wise woman” 
And Happy Friday!
YES! I totally agree with this. I’m so sorry you had to struggle like that, but I’m so glad you were able to break out of that cycle!
Those are great things to be known for! I hope people consider me an inspiring woman of God who tries to help people.
Thanks Heather! I’m certain people do consider you as an inspiring woman of God who tries to help people!
AMEN girl! Awesome post! I couldn’t agree more with you. There was definitely a time in my life that my workouts and food consumed me WAY more than it should have. It ruled my life, and I was not happy. I’m so glad I’ve moved past that! Life is so much more than how many calories we burned or what we are having for dinner. Like you said, I’d much rather be known as a kind, compassionate, loving woman than someone who is super obsessed about my workouts and food. Love you!
Yes! I don’t want anything ruling my life like that again! I miss you!!
AMAZING POST!! I couldn’t agree more with all you said. You are just such a warm hearted & beautiful person girl!!!
Thanks love!! You are too sweet!
Gah! I love ya Britt! First off, sorry I haven’t responded yet to your email. Life has been busy and it just hit me that I haven’t yet! I’ll get on it soon, I promise
Second, you just spoke the SAME thoughts that I’ve been having over this “blog break” of sorts. Documenting so many food related areas of my life was causing me to become so consumed with every little detail of my food/fitness regimen, and that is NOT a wise thing to do immediately after overcoming HA. You definitely spoke volumes into the subject, and I thank you for not being afraid to speak out! I absolutely see how you shine the light of Jesus to those around you!
Thank you Brittany!! That means so much coming from you! I have been cutting back on my blog reading because I found myself comparing my food or workouts to others. It is amazing how quickly we can fall into that!
I think this is a great reminder about how we live our lives. I think it goes very well with my theme for the year – if you’re out of balance your thoughts go are one of the first places it shows up. Great post!!
You ARE such a beautiful person and this is beautifully said! I couldn’t agree more. I often check in with myself and make sure I’m not being overly consumed by my lifestyle and sometimes I have to make the tough call to cut back or adjust. I always find that when you do have food allergies and certain lifestyles and easily upset tummies, it can be easy. I often choose not to eat out because I’m not sure how the food might make me feel the next day and it’s not always worth that risk, but sometimes it is. Ultimately, it really always comes down to “all things in moderation.”
Yes. That is key…moderation! I’m bad with that though… lol! I always tend to take everything overboard.
Such a great post, Brittany!!! I completely agree. You shouldn’t let healthy living control your life, it should be a PART of it. I see a lot of people who don’t even take a rest day and they don’t realize that it is just as important!
Yes!! Thanks girl!
I think this is totally true! With our honeymoon cruise coming up this week I definitely could be worrying about the food that I’m gonna eat [everyone keeps telling us that you eat a TON] and how there probably won’t be much time to workout… But, it’s our honeymoon and it’s vacation. I don’t think that passing up a once in a lifetime opportunity is worth it, life goes on and enjoy it while you can! XO
I hope you lived it up on your cruise!! You are right… it isn’t worth passing that opportunity up!
I think there is a fine line on this one. I really believe it’s important to know where your food comes from, how it was prepared, and what it is made of because I think our food supply in the US allows for some pretty toxic stuff and when eaten regularly, can make people sick. Changing our food is what improved my Hubby’s healthy and neither one of us were ever in bad shape.
That being said, I don’t think it should control your life (ie you won’t eat out with friends) or force you to limit yourself to an extreme. I actually indulge in rich and sweet dishes fairly often, but I do it with whole real food ingredients and that gives me comfort and at the end of the day, makes me feel good too.
So true! I have to be very careful with what I eat too, but sometimes I pass the point of being careful into being controlled. Ya know?
Sometimes I wish I didn’t know as much about health/nutrition as I’ve come to learn over the years. Now I’m not saying I want to go back to the life of ignorance that I led before…there are MANY things that I am grateful to know and PASSIONATE about implementing into my life like choosing to buy organic when it comes to certain fruits and vegetables and limiting processed foods…but sometimes I wish I didn’t feel a little pang of guilt for eating something that I know has partially hydrogenated oils, enriched flours, corn syrup, etc. I don’t let it “control” me…I have no problem taking the whole “ignorance is bliss” approach when I’m dining out, because I know that that is not something I eat on a regular basis, but when it comes to shopping for groceries? Sometimes I swear I’m in the store DOUBLE the amount of time as a normal person because I HAVE to read the food labels on nearly everything that goes into my cart. I guess it’s kinda like a catch twenty-two though…I care a lot about knowing what’s in my food, but sometimes it just feels like a pain in the butt! Haha!
Yes! I have to read everything too! I have too many allergies. Personally, I think it is GREAT to know what is in your food and where it comes from, but I can take it overboard. I think it is good that we care what we put into our bodies though. It’s the only one we are gonna get! xoxo
This was a great post!!!