Balance.

I could hit many different things in talking about balance. I think balance is my belief system, my ethos, my goal for life. Not balance that looks like compromise, not even finely balanced thin narrow road kind of balance and not quite ying-yang kind of balance either.

This is not about a bit of evil in good or vis a vis. Or not willing to fall off a tight-rope, not even moderation. More like, variety. Doing all the things you love. Embracing all of who you are and all that life has to offer.

What made me start thinking about balance this week was diet. I have done the Atkins diet, plus a lot of working out, off and on for the past year and successfully lost 14lbs and toned up some. I love being able to wear more of the styles and clothes I want and feeling good about myself.

But, i also love to eat all the wrong things as well as a bunch of right things. When i look at a croissant i think 'life is too short not to eat this'. When i look at a pretty pair of shorts i think 'no food is worth not being able to wear these'. It's a conundrum. When i look at a treadmill i think 'I'll just diet more' when i look at a cake i think 'I'll just work-out more'.

I thought recently "When I'm 70 or 80 i'm just going to eat whatever I like" but then I thought 'what if i get hit by a bus before then and miss out on all the cake eating!!!??" that would be awful. Plus i have a belief that I should live life to the full, through all of it, not waiting for a 'someday'. I'm a little stuck between a piece of cake and a pair of skinny jeans, I need a solution.

How can you enjoy life to the full and look good doing it? You can't have your cake, eat it and banish the cellulite too...or can you? Maybe you can. Maybe it's about some positive choices brought on my some smart questions. Maybe positive choices is the kind of balance i'm looking for.

like...

I'm never going to be a waif, so what weight am i happy to live with and accept?

What clothes do i need to accept i can't wear and which ones can i boldly go for? Can i play with color instead of hem length?

What treats are do I really want in my life to make it that little bit richer? What foods can I actually live without?

What do i love to do that is physical to cut down treadmill time? How can I make exercise richer, more varied and part of my lifestyle?

So far I've realized that I need a bike with a basket to make cycling fun and a practical car journey replacement, a dog to go walking with, fun classes not just gym sets, heels to make my legs look longer than the gym can ever do, croissants on occasion and cereal daily because they make me so happy. On super special days a little cake, juice, pizza, bread or dessert won't kill me, but i can skip potatoes, rice, pasta for good. Then there's the stuff in moderation - beans, lentils, butternut squash - all the things i love in the winter - i can have, just not in huge quantities and not everyday.

The next adventure is discovering the good, good food all of me will relish. What tastes are out there that I will adore and so will body? Is there ever an end to finding out what good food and good recipes are out there? Maybe you can have your cake and eat it to when your cake is the most exquisite fruits and tasty spices and rich recipes littered with the good things of the earth.

Then there is the movements that are gaining momentum that can teach me and my taste buds a thing or two about what is both yummy and what does me good too. Ice cream made from creamed bananas and not creamed cream; juice made from spinach and mint and ginger instead of cola, nuts and fruit instead of crisps and candy...these things i have discovered make me and my body more happy, than their pale predecessors. A few weeks ago I ate my last macdonalds, the 'treat' had become such a pain (in my gut) that I realized this was no-longer a treat at all and could be lost from my life very happily. So what I'm saying is: here's to adventure in variety and redefining what looks like food glory.

Balance - I'm trying to find it by asking the question: what do i REALLY want in my life? ...and going with that. Hmm we'll see if the scales agree its possible... ;)

Inspired by French Woman Don't get Fat.