I promise they weren’t both mine!
Some pictures from the weekend where we celebrated Mim’s birthday! She first had some friend’s over for drinks at her house, then we headed to a bar in Bentleigh called Sonder bar which had an amazing outdoor area in the back and we finished out night at Village Belle in St Kilda. A huge crew from the gym were there and loads of Mim’s lovely friends. We had such a good night celebrating the amazingness that is Mim. I’m so lucky to have her in my life, she just spreads so much joy and good vibes everywhere she goes.
Since I’ve started drinking a bit more than before and going out I’ve been doing a bit of thinking and reflecting recently on what being healthy actually is. Drinking alcohol brings up so many thoughts and dilemmas in my head. At the end of the day it’s poison and it really doesn’t do anything good for you but yet we still do it. It’s so odd! Why? Well, some drinks can taste good but I think there are drinks that are equally good or even better that don’t have alcohol in them. Okay, I admit it, it can be really fun to feel a bit drunk and go out and dance with all your friends. It’s more a social thing than anything. A lot of people have been saying, good Maddie, we thought you were being a bit too restrictive on yourself, you need to let loose. It’s more balanced this way. Is it a good thing I’ve started drinking again? I’m not sure and I do struggle with the thoughts of what it’s doing to my body. Not that I’m out several times a week. It’s been three times in the last month but compared to nothing for eight months, it’s a lot haha.
So what is living a balanced or healthy lifestyle? Like I said, before I came to Melbourne I hadn’t had anything to drink since my birthday in August, that’s eight months without alcohol. I didn’t miss it one bit, then all of a sudden since I got here it’s changed. I’m nowhere the party level I was at during uni but going out three times in a month for me is a lot. It’s been so much fun. One thing I definitely haven’t missed are the days after. Not that I’ve had a really bad hangover so far but I hate wasting days and let’s just say they’ve not been the most productive Sundays of my life. At the same time, I guess we can’t alway be super productive and once in a while we need to slow down.
Is this what a “balanced” lifestyle is? Is this what a healthy relationship with fitness is? Training hard during the weeks and having some drinks during the weekend? Rather than being strict and not having any alcohol at all? I didn’t drink before because I didn’t enjoy it and I thought it was unnecessary. At the end of the day we don’t need alcohol and it is after all poison. It doesn’t do any good. However, yet some say restricting yourself and putting boundaries to what you can and can’t do isn’t healthy or balanced either.
The same goes for food, everyone says a nice indulgent meal is good once in a while. I love going out for food and whilst I adore a Thai curry for instance I know it’s not the best for my body. Is that healthy? Eating good the majority of the time and then having some indulgent meals too? Looking solely on what it does for your body, maybe not. Eating nourishing and healthy meals would surely be the best way to go from a health perspective but would it really be that fun then? The next issue would be if you never had cake or a meal out, wouldn’t you feel like you’d be missing out? Would you feel restricted? Feeling restricted and not ever caving in to cravings could potentially lead to you binge eating at some point rather than just having a little bit of cake or having that takeout and not stuffing yourself because you don’t know when you’ll next have it. That’s why diets really don’t work. You can’t eat that restrictively for the rest of your life. I suppose you could but you’d be missing out on a lot plus I’d be mega impressed if you managed to always eat that way. I’m not saying it’s impossible but it’s hard work.
I feel since I got to Australia I’ve probably loosened up a bit. It’s a new place with new people and so many incredible places to eat. At times I’ve thought I might be a indulging a bit too much. Especially with so many incredible vegan places around! However, it’s part of living as well and I know that in time I’ll probably find a better balance once everything settles down a bit more. I suppose it also depends on what my fitness goals are and how I want to feel and I guess look. I could shape up and eat a bit better, not have those drinks at parties on the weekends when I do drink but I do also want to live a little. I’m not sure how long I am in Australia for and I want to make the most of it while I’m here. I’m still training about 6-9 times a week, eating health the majority of the time and I’m not out super often drinking. I guess in a way my life at the moment is more “balanced”. There’s a bit of everything. Is balance healthy? Do you guys see where I’m going with this?
I guess from a health perspective I was better before. I’m not saying one way is better than the other. What I’m trying to get to with this post is, health and finding the best balanced lifestyle is not black and white. It’s very much a grey area and you need to find what works for you. Your lifestyle varies also throughout your life where you have moments when you’re on a roll with your health and fitness and sometimes it takes a little dip. It’s not all a straight line and things happen. It’s okay, as long as you’re aware of it. I think I was probably a bit too harsh with myself when it came to healthy eating at times but I’m always learning and improving. I think now I stress a lot less about it all, as long as I’m the majority of them time eating well I’m happy.
What are your thoughts on what a healthy lifestyle is or being healthy? I didn’t really come to a conclusion but I thought it was worth bringing up because I feel like it’s something people struggle with a lot. Let me know your thoughts. I’d love to hear them.
M xxx
