Choco Meat

by Kris Pitcher

I looked across the table at my husband and thought he was eating ground beef. He was eating a bowl of rice cereal (chocolate flavored). Choco-meat.

We see the world from our own perspective. I pretty much only eat meat...I saw meat. It's important as a competitor, or a successful person managing weight, to be able to see things as others see them.

Balancing our own perspective with "what everyone else is doing" is difficult. I was recently talking with a self-proclaimed "awkward" teenager. He was explaining to me that in certain classes he could "be weird" and in others he knew he couldn't.

I thought his acknowledgement of when it was appropriate, and appreciated, to be more creative and when he needed to hold back was remarkable for his age. We talked about the importance of that appropriate expression.

It's kind of the same with our perspective around diet and exercising, and certainly about competing. Most times, less is way more in any social situation. People aren't really interested in why you're eating chicken out of a container from your purse.

A simple, "I'm on a special eating plan." is fine. A big explanation isn't necessary and will put your listener into a coma. They. Don't. Care. We care. But it's from our perspective. We need to be able to see the world from other people's perspective and not push what we're doing on them.

It seems strange not to gush all the time about something you LOVE. But it's like the awkward teenager, not always appropriate or appreciated. You come across as trying to be better than others because you exercise all the time. Or, your suggestions about eating fall on deaf ears in the break room because people don't really want to make changes.

Save your breath. Be a little more low profile. What we do is really hyper focused, it has to be. There is a time and place to gush about it. Know the difference. Remember there may be another perspective. Know that not everyone is sitting around eating choco-meat.