My first week of law school was filled with plenty of reading from over-sized casebooks, lots of training my brain to think about the law from a different perspective, and many new, friendly faces.

I could complain about the workload.

But I won’t (or at least try not to).

I chose this path. This was my decision to come back. So I’ll do my best.

But I finally realize how difficult it is for people to balance working out, training, cooking, and overall healthy living into their lives.

There are so many things going on.

It’s easy to say screw it to waking up early and hitting the gym. It’s easy to choose going out and grabbing a quick bite to eat over spending 30 minutes cooking. It’s easy to justify not getting a run in when you have 50 pages to read in one night.

But nobody ever said healthy living was easy.

Most things worth doing are never easy, but they will transform your life forever.

I no longer live in my little bubble world of no school, no job.

Law school is a full-time job.

And I have to discover how to balance my new life with my healthy living mentality. This will require some sacrifices, but I think the end result – my health – is worth fighting for.

I might have to skip out on a few dinners with friends. I might have to pass on hanging out at a buddy’s house. I might have to say no to that drink at the bar.

And that’s ok.

I need to live for myself. I need to live a life worth fighting for.

 

How do you balance work, school, and other obligations with healthy living?

What positive choices have you made this week that have improved your health?

In order to lose weight, the calories burned must be greater than the calories consumed.

Calories out > calories in. Seems simple enough right?

Most of us trying to lose weight are somewhat concerned with our caloric intake, how much we eat every day. Calorie counting makes sense, but is it the final solution?

I don’t think so.

I believe that calorie counting is a useful guideline, a helpful tool, to weight loss, but it should not be the ultimate solution.

Knowledge is power, but only to a certain extent. Knowing what you’re putting into your body is extremely helpful. Through calorie counting, I’ve learned what foods are considered healthy, natural fats. I’ve learned that potassium helps your kidneys dispel excess sodium. I’ve learned that a serving of chicken breast is about the size of my fist.

However, too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

Calorie counting can become obsessive. You can start micromanaging everything you eat. You can freak out about going over your calorie limit by 100 calories, even though that limit is actually arbitrary and doesn’t define your health.

When calorie counting starts making you feel bad about your choices, when it begins transforming knowledge into negative power, then it’s actually counterproductive.

This journey is about overall health, both mental and physical.

If you are freaking out about eating an extra cookie or going to the gym for an extra 2 hour session in order to burn off that burger you ate, that’s not healthy.

Weight loss comes when you find balance. With yourself. Your food. Your life.

How can you find balance?

I think this is a very individualized, personal process.

I cannot tell you what demons you must face.

What I CAN tell you is that in order to discover balance, you will have to – you must – face your inner demons and conquer the ghosts of your past.

I had issues with my family and my relationship with my mother was absolutely horrid for many, many years during high school as well as my first year at college. That also happened to be when I was at my heaviest.

I had to learn how to communicate with my mom and realize where she was coming from before I could acknowledge that some of my weight problems arose from that volatile relationship.

Your problems may be different, but regardless of what they are, you will have to face them somewhere down the road.

And calorie counting won’t solve those problems.

Remember. Calorie counting is a tool, an aid, just like how the treadmill can be a training equipment. But if you overdo it, you will get injured.

I am all for calorie counting as a basic, starting tool, a beginner’s reference point, so that you can understand your personal eating habits more and recognize when you might be emotionally or mindlessly eating.

But calorie counting is not the solution.
It will not save you from your problems.

Calorie counting will help you lose weight.
But it will not make you healthy.

Only you can do that.

 

Do you believe that calorie counting can become obsessive?

How can you find balance between weight loss, calorie counting, and healthy living?

What’s one of your inner demons that you want to – need to – face?