I think you could write an entire book based on the things you overhear people talking about. At Starbucks, in line at the grocery store, on airplanes -- the conversations you hear are crazy! Some of the funniest ones I've heard are in the locker room. There's something about being sweaty and half naked that makes women really open up to each other, apparently!
Anyways, on Friday morning, I was in the locker room after a particularly awesome spin class. I was eavesdropping (or couldn't help but overhear the women who were yelling across the big women's changeroom at the Athletic Club). I had spoken to one of the chit-chatters last week, making the usual small talk about the gym and how tough it is to get there in the morning when it's freezing. She complained a little about how she has a lot of weight to lose (she looked like a pretty average middle-aged woman to me). We went our seperate ways. This time, though, she was opening up a lot more than she had to me!
"I've lost 16 pounds in three weeks!" (Already, I'm thinking OH NO here we go again.)
"How?" chimes in the other lady, who is a smaller, also middle-aged woman.
"This great new diet. It's called the pee aye ell eee oh, Paleo, diet. You eat like a cave man!" (I'm not kidding. She spelled it out slowly, she said that you eat like a cave man. Now I've heard of the diet before but I generally think of young, athletes or really eager health nuts trying it out. I also see the merits in eating more whole foods.)
The smaller woman was impressed and started to open up about her stubborn last five pounds. She never really said why she needed to lose them, she just made it very clear that it was necessary! She did, however, tell her locker room buddy that she didn't know what else she could possibly give up. She gave the details of her own diet, pointing out the things that she does eat--fish, salads, chicken, black tea, and vegetables--but more importantly, lamenting about the things that she doesn't--rice, potatoes, pasta, bread, sweets, cheese, and milk, among other things. But oh, she pointed out, "I let myself have yogurt every other day." (Good thing, I'm thinking, you need some Calcium woman!).
The cavewoman was pretty disinterested and shifted the conversation back to her own meal plan. She basically talked to herself and came to the conclusion that she must have been lactose intolerant, all kind of suggesting that the yogurt every other day might be an issue. (At this point, I am literally biting my tongue because I wanted to ask if these women were taking multivitamins?)
Multivitamins and worrying about their bones wasn't the only source of my anxiety. I wanted to tell them that they were letting me down--I was kind of hoping that 30 years from now, being okay with my body and finding better things to talk about in the locker room would come easy. Maybe I'm naive, but I think that five pounds isn't worth eating the same 7 foods every day, waking up at the same time every day so that you can religiously walk on the same treadmill and complain about the same five pounds over and over and over again. Seems depressing, doesn't it?
While I'm not saying that the Paleo diet doesn't have its merits: I'm all for eating more whole foods (Jillian's rule: If it didn't come from the ground or have a mother, think twice before you eat it.) but I am also all for living in balance and keeping moderation in mind. Eating like our grandparents is one thing, but eating like our ancient ancestors is another. No grains. No dairy. That means no cheese. No ice cream. No whole grain bread. No oatmeal. No LOTS of healthy things. Also, to me, no flexibility. No fun.
Rather than letting these ladies get me down, I decided that I would use them as an example of what I NEVER WANT TO LET MYSELF BECOME. Maybe I've been there before, eating the same things over and over and over again because they're 'safe'. In fact, I have been there and I have missed out on a lot of things because I've been concerned about what I would eat or when I would exercise. But hearing other people discuss it makes me realize just how easy it is to get caught up in our beliefs and to let them dictate our lives in ways that are simply unhealthy.
This isn't meant to be a post that excuses laziness or gluttony: I'm a fitness instructor, cyclist, and I love to move. But you don't need an excuse to sit around and you don't need a reason (or weight to lose) to exercise. Our bodies are meant to move. They're also meant to tell us when we're hungry and to tell us what we're hungry for. As soon as we start ignoring them, that's when our weight can become an issue. Worrying about the outcome--the number on the scale, your pants size, etc.--is backwards. Worry instead about what you can do: nourish your body with foods, treat it right with exercise. This is what I like because it leaves room for ice cream, mornings where the snooze button wins, quinoa, and half marathons alike.
What do you guys think?
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