Wowza.
It has been a whirlwind of a weekend and week so far! Actually, it may seem clear from my lack of posts that these past few weeks as a whole have been a hurricane, tornado, and earthquake. All at the same time.
Boo hoo, Alison. Welcome to this thing we call life.
I know, I know.
But there is still so much joy! It is true that I have had less time to do things like sleep, work out, blog, etc. Don’t worry— I am making sure to be kind to my body as best as I can. However, with the end of Lent and the glorious start of Easter amidst all the craziness, I have learned that there is so much more to life than worrying about every last health detail.
In the past, the stress of missing a workout, eating something unhealthy in a pinch, or losing an hour (or two) of sleep would have added to the pre-existing stress of homework, activities, appointments and exams. Today, I realize that striving to be the picture of health can actually work against me during busy times. I realize that…
…there’s more to life than worrying about all the cream cheese, sour cream, butter, and cheese in your Easter brunch.
Ham, potato casserole, broccoli and cheddar rice casserole, and fruit salad made by some great people at the Catholic Center!
…there’s more to life than sugar guilt.
coffee cake + baby cinnamon roll
white chocolate and chocolate chip cookie + vanilla ice cream + strawberries, courtesy of the faculty member living on our floor
…there’s more to life than staying in to study when you can be singing in choir and celebrating with friends on Easter Sunday.
ladies in dresses and gents in bowties ♥
…there’s more to life than worrying about the partially hydrogenated oils in dining hall peanut butter, because some peanut butter is better than none.
…there’s more to life than going to the gym. Bodyweight workouts and rest days are just what need to happen when there’s so much going on.
I was initially bothered by the fact that my “healthy living blogger” self has taken a back seat recently, but when life gets hectic like this, I am humbled and reminded that bodily health is just one piece of the puzzle. Yes, we are temples of the Holy Spirit and should thus care for our physical health, but it’s not everything. Likewise, academics are definitely important, but they’re also not everything. Emotional and spiritual health need not be forgotten when we’re working our little hearts out.
You’re all busy bees as well, I’m sure of it. Make sure you do something that makes you smile today and every day. You might have expected it, but my advice would be to pray, eat, move, and groove. 🙂
So tell me:
What did you eat for Easter or Passover or just Sunday night?
There’s more to life than_________.
Daily Moves and Grooves 
Amen, girl! I don’t think enough people realize that stressing over being “perfectly” healthy is actually worse than easing up and doing things that people might not consider so healthy. Stress wreaks havoc on our system, and ridding ourselves of as much of it as we can is probably one of the best things we can do for our health. Glad to hear that you’ve been enjoying life amidst the craziness 🙂
Oh my goodness girl, YES. I have been feeling the same way lately! I usually would stress big time if I didn’t workout or didn’t know what was in the food I was eating! I don’t know what happened, but I now just listen to my body. It feels amazing! I admit, it was a bit nerve wrecking at first when I took a step back from the intensity and stopped counting. I need to focus on school and work right now. I do still kick butt with my workouts and eat whole nourishing foods, but I have the balance I needed.
For Easter, I had pork, mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli, and edamame. For dessert, some sour cream sweet cake with fresh whipped cream, reeses, and strawberries. YASSSS. 😀
It is so wonderful to hear that you have been listening to your body and enjoying life more fully, girl. And ohhh man, your Easter meal/dessert sounds fan.tas.tic. Reese’s EGG I hope 😉
I feel the same way! I’ve been traveling this week so workouts have been pretty non existent. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it’s ok to take a break when life gets crazy!
Hi Alison! Happy belated Easter!
I just realised that I don’t receive emails for new blogposts anymore – same with thebigmansworld (I already cried my heart out in front of Arman, lol), and thebalancedblonde. From all the other blogs I follow I still receive the mails. My spam folder is empty too though so I have no clue what’s going on. Could it be an issue with you email service program or whatever it is that sends email to your subscribers? I missed sooo many of your posts! 😦
Oh no! That’s a bummer! I will check with others to see if they’re receiving the email updates and I’ll fix whatever needs fixing. Thanks for letting me know!
Amen To this!!!!!!!!! So often I get caught up in the healthy living bubble that I forget 90% of the population aren’t fixated on macros/workouts/clean eats and then are thriving!!!!!! In fact they are probably better off!!!
For me I need to remember “There’s more to life trying to control every detail of every day.” I need to chillax! Plus people that go with the flow are so much fun to be around. I don’t want to be a buzz kill 🙈😉
Have a great one pal😘
Indeed! No one wants to be around someone who will say no to all the sweets and all the events. Hope you’re doing well too, Katie! 🙂
YOU RULE. You inspire me every day to keep on this journey of recovering. You are the best.
YOU are the best. Love you, Julia. ♥
Alison! This article is very well written. I love the style of “there’s more to life than…” while incorporating your eats. Very refreshing and very fun to read. There is more to life than the fears you encounter.
Thank you, Alison! And that’s so true— I often let my fears hold me back in life, but then that’s not living, now is it?
Oh Al, what lies you tell.
There’s more to life than SENDING DANCING SNAPS.
Just kidding. I’m glad your blogging sporadically. Really glad 🙂
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Ok, I fell in love with your blog. I suffered of anorexia for two years, from 2012 to early 2014 and I REALLY thought I was going to die until I did the best choice of my whole life: RECOVERY. this year, I enjoyed Easter just like a normal person, just like some years ago. And I did not feel guilty. I felt free. CAREFREE. ❤ Now, I read your post and I thought how blessed I am feeling now, being here, reading and snacking nutella with rice cakes, without thinking about calories or about something annoying. I am living a normal life. A normal life sometimes can be superpowerful. Thanks for this post, I loved every single thing… your food seems pretty good too! 🙂
Carmen
xxx
Ahh, Carmen, that is amazing! I am so happy to hear that you were able to enjoy Easter fully this year. “A normal life sometimes can be super powerful.” <— WOW. Yes. Recovery is beautiful and more liberating than one could imagine when in the depths of an ED.
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