Restriction Goes Both Ways

I had an “Ah hah!” moment today in regards to restriction…

In regards to not restricting calories or any particular kind of food, I’ve been squared away for years.  What I never considered before was that restriction can go both ways.  Fruits and vegetables can be restricted.  Exercise can be restricted.  I never looked at restriction from that angle before.  My eating disordered history was a history of restricting rest, fats and sweets – though, you don’t have to be eating disordered (to my knowledge) to have a problem with restriction – so, my understanding of restriction has been really narrow, apparently. 

Nowadays, my eating is pretty darn balanced and I am fairly active.  However, ya know… some times I have those days where PTSD has me afraid to get off the couch, when I really want to be active.  Sometimes it feels like the only stuff I have time to eat come from inside plastic wrappers.  The neat bit is that these days don’t happen that much anymore.  Not once week… not even once in two weeks… maybe once a week?  Maybe not even that much.  When I do have those days struggling with activity or balanced eating, I have found that it is far easier for me to work my way out of it. 

However… it feels really helpful to look at restriction also from the point of view of restricting nutrients and activity.  I wonder if this will help me balance my life out more… we shall see… 😉

I remember when I had just stopped restricting calories and allowed myself to eat foods on my “bad” list (like ice cream, cake, pizza, etc…) that it seemed like I ran from one extreme to another.  I went from restricting the “bad” foods and over-exercising to restricting myself from vegetables (mostly) and exercise.  My therapist said something once about finding middle-ground by going from one extreme to another, so maybe what happened was exactly how things needed to be for me to find the lovely gray spaces where I live now. 

While avoiding restriction of the things most people think of in relation to restriction (like calories, sweets, fats) is important… it is just as important to allow ourselves to enjoy balanced nutrition, fresh air and activity.  😉  I am sure this isn’t anything new to size acceptance veterans.  It feels kinda funny to me that this just occurred to me… ah well, I’m glad I figured it out and was able to put into words eventually.  This is good stuff!!!

–AngryGrayRainbows