The Serenity to Accept What I Cannot Change
Hi everyone! It’s Lauren here, your handy dandy dietetic intern. I am sneaking in for a guest blog post since I will be teaching your EatWell classes this week. In this post, I want to talk to you about radical acceptance. Specifically, acceptance when it comes to food. You see, my fiancé and I recently moved in with his family to save money while I attend graduate school, which was a fairly last minute and unexpected decision. The consequences of joining houses (and especially kitchens) had a pretty big impact on my eating habits. It occurred to me that many people may be in a situation where they can’t always control what’s being served, and that they might gain some small benefit from hearing about my experience.
During the week it took to move, we often had to turn to, ahem, less than fully nutritious options after working all day moving furniture from my third story apartment. Seriously, why did I choose the third floor? And while I was aware that what I’d been eating for the last few days was going to impact my mood and energy levels, there was just… nothing I could do about it. At least for the time being. So, I accepted that the situation was temporary and just let it go.
After settling in and getting back in the kitchen, I came to the realization that I would no longer be: 1) the primary cook every night and 2) cooking for just two people. I had far less control over what we would be eating every day, and I am not going to lie, I had a moment of panic. Not about the food really, but about the loss of control in general. I had to accept that I now live with wonderful, generous people who happen to have very different eating habits than I do. I tease them by saying the Eastern Kentucky beef, corn, and potatoes only diet followed them when they moved to Lexington.
So, as the saying goes, I have to accept the things I cannot change and change the things I can. On nights when I am not the primary cook, I will roast a head of broccoli just for myself (trust me, no one else will touch it) and make sure half of my plate is filled with vegetables. I will throw a bag of frozen edamame in the microwave to add to my stir fry. I will do a baked sweet potato instead of a regular potato. When we grill out, I throw on some spicy chicken sausage instead of a hot dog. You get the picture. I focus on what I can add or substitute to increase the nutrition of my meal and don’t stress about the rest.
When I meet new people, they often say, “Oh you’re a dietitian (intern actually, but whatever). You must eat, like, a perfect diet.” To which I say: LOL. Because I live in the real world with real world challenges like everyone else, and there are often things I can’t control. But that’s completely ok because there are other things I can. So, my only advice to anyone in a similar situation is to look for opportunities to add nutritious ingredients, sides, or substitutions and just radically accept that you are doing the best you can in whatever situation you may be in.