It Doesn't Have To Be Perfect

When I graduated college I took a solo-trip to Europe to celebrate.

I flew in to Copenhagen and was dead set on two things:

• having an absolute blast

• sticking to my macros

So when I arrived in the city, I made sure to find a grocery close to the hostel I was staying at to make sure the macro part happened.

I had a plan, you see. Buy my food, cook it at the hostel, macros stuck to, right?

Well it was in that grocery store that I quickly realized it might not be that easy. Figuring out which foods were which, how much was what, and just reading nutrition labels in another language was already proving to be difficult.

But I do like a challenge.

So I continued to shop and got myself as close as I could.

I bought yogurt, muesli, sliced turkey (I think?), cheese, and some bread. A really simple purchase. I wanted to buy ground beef, but I couldn't figure it out.

I left that grocery really proud of myself. I got back to the hostel, put my food away, and then set out to explore this new city.

The next day came and I made myself my great, macro-friendly breakfast and then joined a walking tour.

Things sound pretty great so far, right?

The tour was where things got more difficult. Not because I was hungry on the tour, but because I made friends.

I made new friends and we all hung out more. We wanted to grab food and drinks and even found out we some of us were at the same hostel. And THAT is where the problems arose.

I realized then was that if I wanted to truly enjoy myself (and hang out with my new friends), I would have to pull back from how strict I was trying to be. I wanted to pull back because I wanted more in that moment to have fun.

It could definitely have been done but I just didn't want the macros to take away from my experiences.

So I shifted approaches.

I let myself enjoy myself. I kept moderation in mind but I didn't track fully.

I focused on my protein, veggies, and hydration and let everything else happen on its own. I tried to let myself indulge here and there but also choose meals that lined up with my goals 70-80% of the time.

So, yeah, the entire macros thing lasted approximately one day on this trip. But, I loved every second of this trip and don't regret a thing.

Sometimes it's not about being perfect but controlling the controllables.

With the holidays in full swing, I think this is an important thing to remember, too.

You are allowed to enjoy yourself - one meal won't ruin all of your progress and goals.