Just how obsessive do we need to be to stay healthy?

Someone posted a comment on one of my blogs last week that brought up a question in my mind. Just how obsessive do we need to be to lose weight, keep it off and stay healthy?  When I ask this question, I picture my youngest brother.  He is someone who I've said is obsessive with being healthy.  He works out.  He's a cop and thinks that it is very important to his profession to be in shape.  I know he also does it for his own well being.  For a while he was doing one of those crazy workout programs that you can buy on TV.......Insanity, I think it was called.

He does research about healthy eating.  He eats organic.  He eats lots of vegetables.  It's not uncommon to go to a party at his house and not have a dessert or have one that's tasty and healthy.  At his last birthday party his friends were talking about their eating habits.  They were teasing that one of them has pizza almost every night and Tim is home cooking himself chicken and couscous.  I find his healthy habits something to admire but his he obsessed?  I don't know.

He is also the one that called me up yesterday to come over and use my oven.  His broke and he had cookie batter that he hadn't gotten to bake.  As he was putting the batter onto the baking sheets he mentioned that the cookies were not at all healthy.  He described how he made the batter.  He said he was testing the cookie recipe to see if it was "Christmas cookie worthy."  Oh boy, were they!  They were incredible.  I don't know how many points they were, but they were absolutely delicious.  I look at my healthy, fit and trim brother and see that he has a balance in his life.  He's not afraid to make a completely fattening cookie once in a while but he doesn't do it every day.  He left half of the cookies at my house.  When I tried to send more home with him he said, "No, I'll have to freeze most of these that I am already taking home so I don't eat them all."   He has no kids to eat them.  He eats them slowly by freezing them and eating them once in a while instead of playing the game that I have often played, "Let see how fast I can get the fattening food out of the house by eating it."  Yes, I know it's a long title for a game.  I'll have to work on renaming it.

It's all about balance.  We don't need to obsessive.  We can still have fattening cookies, once in a while.  I had some yesterday so I will not be indulging today.  I may have a slight gain this week but it was worth it.  Should we track? Yes.  Is is okay to miss a day here and there? Yes.  Should we eat our fruits and veggies?  Yes.  What if we miss a day?  Okay. Every other day?  Probably not the best idea.  Once a week, once a month?  That's probably a healthier balance.  We are human.  We are allowed to act like humans.  The most important part is to remember to be human.  When we make a mistake, forgive and move on.

It's tricky.  I'm not telling you that you need to stop being obsessive because you are allowed to eat fattening and unhealthy. I'm telling you that balance is the key to healthy living.  I'm working on it every day. I don't have perfect balance and I'm sure I never will but I can certainly work at it each and every day. I will enjoy food, exercise and life more if I find my healthy balance.

Have a great balanced day,
Corinna

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: at time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing." Ecclesiastes 3:1-5