Psst: Your Size Isn’t Printed on a Label

You are not always in control of what goes into your body and you have to pick and choose the occasions where it’s worth letting someone else or an outside situation determine this. For example, there’s no reason not to drink in the wine country (unless you’re pregnant). There is no reason to go to Houston’s and not order the spinach artichoke dip. There is really no point in going to dinner at one of the city’s best restaurants and ordering dressing on the side or avoiding the lobster risotto that your butter-coated fish sits on top of. And, for all the ridiculous articles they write about the holidays, there is no reason to not have your <insert favorite family holiday recipe here.>

When you lose control, the best way to gain it back is to subtly admit it and subtly take steps to get back in balance. Harsh realities like scales and tight pants simply accelerate bad patterns. Talking about how you feel also does not seem to help—it just becomes a fixation instead of an action.

Focusing on immediate results after a binge week or two is depressing. A more empathetic way is to realize it    will take as long as you spent binging acting healthfully (in whatever way your body tells you) to feel balanced    again.

Creating your own breakfast and lunch five days a week is a solid start to getting back to square. This allows    for the evenings to be social in a way in which you don’t need a juice fast just to get you back on track.

It’s simple but true: exercise works. Don’t sign up for extreme regimens if that’s not your style. Think about the last form of exercise you did that you enjoyed and didn’t dread initiating and put that at the top of your list. Start small and commit to once or twice a week for four weeks. This combined with the above will help.

These are all organic methodologies because I truly believe we’re all different and all masters of our own bodies. There are those people out there who just don’t have to worry about it. And there are those who seem to worry about it all the time. Unfortunately, I don’t fall into the first camp, but I don’t want to be in the latter. Thankfully, after a third of my life on this planet, I have started to pay attention to this machine that runs my day. It seems to work.