Don’t judge. Let it go.

I’ve been practicing Tai Chi for four years and I figure in Tai Chi years that makes me a kindergartner. A couple of weekends ago I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a workshop with Kayo Robertson from Logan, Utah. Kayo has been practicing Tai Chi for over 35 years and calls himself a coach. This was my second workshop with him and he did not disappoint.

Kayo was encouraging us to practice at home every day.  He pointed out to us that if we wanted to improve we would need to practice. Hmmm. He said we could only improve if we used our homes as a lab to do our research to find our mistakes. Hmmm. Then he said, “When you make a mistake, don’t judge. Let it go.”  He said this repeatedly, and as I was standing there, I was thinking about how this applies to many other areas of our lives…. and in this scenario, food and our eating behavior.

We’ve been guilty of bad-mouthing ourselves, beating ourselves up, and saying nasty things in our heads because of what we ate or didn’t eat. I can’t even begin to count how many times I have weighed someone, and if I ask how things are going, I hear “I’ll let you know after I get on the scale.” Is our day, week, or month based on the number of the scale? What about all the other activities that have happened? I’ve been saying this for years, “Eating doesn’t make you a bad person. Bad people rob banks and kill people. That’s what bad people do.”  Out of all the thousands of patients I have weighed over the past 30-some years I have never a bank robber or a murderer climb on the scale.

When you have a slip-up, “Don’t judge. Let it go.” Speaking badly to yourself about yourself doesn’t get you anywhere. Look at where you slipped up and go from there. If we never made mistakes, how would we learn?

These five simple words can have a big impact in your life if you practice. Practice saying them, and practice doing them. We are good people.

Eat Smarter…
Vicki Bovee, MS, RDN, LD