Progress, Not Perfection

Throughout my weightloss and wellness journey, and especially after discovering Intermittent Fasting, my go-to phrase has become, "I am human."

It's something that's said a LOT in my IF groups.

We spend our lives seeing other's highlight reels and it's hard to remember that EVERYONE is going through their own struggles.

"I am human," is a mantra that I've adopted to remind myself that no one is perfect, least of all me, and that's ok!

We weren't meant to be perfect.

I forget friend's birthdays or anniversaries...

I have days where my diet is less than balanced...

I have sleepless nights where my brain won't turn off and I'm consumed with the stress of adulthood...

I have days where I don't check everything off my to-do list...

I have days where I'm exhausted, sick, overwhelmed or anxious.

For me, yesterday was definitely a human day.

I'm not sure exactly what happened.

I woke up early and felt great, but as I went through my typical routine, I started getting a terrible headache.

Now, headaches are nothing new for me. I've suffered from them every day since I was in sixth grade. Headaches are not a big deal.

Plus, I had things to do!! Emails, phone calls, laundry and dishes...

I kept plugging away and the headache kept getting worse.

Maybe it was from my hair being up for too long, since I like to wear it that way while I'm working..

So, I took my hair down, but the pain grew.

Then I thought maybe it was a hunger headache from fasting. They don't happen often, but occasionally they do.

The last thing I wanted was to break my fast early after not fasting this past weekend, but the headache was getting worse and I couldn't just ignore it any longer.

My body was trying to tell me something. It needed something I was not giving it.

I broke my fast early, got myself some food. The headache remained.

Okay, fine. I took pain relievers and decided to just sit and rest for a while.

The headache was threatening to turn into a migraine and now my stomach was acting up.

What in the world was happening??

I ate a little something more, worse. I had some tea, worse. I took more pain relievers...you get the idea.

I was trying to listen to my body, but everything I tried was making it worse and I was running out of ideas.

That's when the lightbulb went off. The one thing I had been depriving my body of for almost a week...actual sleep!

With stress and travel and spending time with family and friends, I had definitely been short-changing myself in the sleep department.

So, I just went to bed.

And guess what, today I woke up feeling so much better...shocker right?

Past me, perfectionist me, would've ignored my body and kept going. I probably would've woken up today feeling worse...

I'm taking yesterday as a reminder that I am not Superwoman. I am not infallible. I have needs. I will have more bad days in the future. I am only human.

My journey isn't just about weight loss, it's about learning to take care of myself...and it's a constant work in progress.

Progress, not perfection. That's the goal...even if I need a good reminder from time to time.

We are human,

Carly