Eat Your Darn Veggies

I’ve had a wretched headache for the past two weeks.

Some of you don’t see anything unusual in that statement. But for me, headaches are uncommon. I have a strong immune system and get close to eight hours of sleep a night. I eat three meals a day. I have found a good balance between work and social life. I’m not incredibly stressed at this time, which can sometimes give me headaches. (See related post.)

I couldn’t figure out where these headaches had been coming from. I’m a good girl, I take care of myself. Why is my head pounding nonstop from dawn until dusk?

And then it hit me:

When was the last time I had a vegetable? I thought about it and realized that I couldn’t remember.

I mean, I add a few spinach leaves to my bagel in the morning, but that’s hardly sufficient.

I was surprised at myself. For someone who felt like she had her diet together, how could she forget something so important?

I made sure that I had a fair helping of greens at dinner and ate an entire bowl of steamed broccoli.

It seemed to do the trick, for the next day I awoke to find the headache had vanished. I promised myself to be more consistent with the veggies and went about my day.

And though the headache went away, I realized something.

Vegetables are not my favorite. Though I have been training myself to tolerate (and even like!) them, I have a massive sweet tooth and will always prefer something sugary, instead.

But our bodies need vegetables to get the proper nutrients for us to function at our best. Though we may not like them, they are always good for us and often reap better results than some alternatives.

That’s a lot like life.

How many times have you done something that you initially didn’t want to, and you ended up enjoying yourself?

How many times have you pushed yourself a little bit outside of your comfort zone and gained a valuable experience?

Life is constantly giving us the choice between vegetables and deserts. Work out or watch the next episode of your show? Go to counseling or vent on social media? Work on your creative project or scroll through Instagram?

Keep in mind, deserts aren’t bad. They’re a great end to a rough day and can help bring people together. But we can’t only eat deserts. That hurts us. We gain unhealthy weight. We clot our arteries. We increase our risk of heart disease.

It’s important to balance out these deserts with our vegetables. That’s how we become well rounded and healthy individuals.

We might not like working out, but in the end, it makes us feel better and releases endorphins, which help us feel happier. I might dread cleaning my room, but when I do, I find that I am less stressed and more creative in my less cluttered space.

Whatever the vegetables of life are for you, I encourage you to take a bite. Eating broccoli helped my headache go away, just like working on my novel helps me feel accomplished and a better version of myself.

Eat your darn veggies. They make you a better version of yourself.

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Are there some “vegetables” in your life that you’ve been avoiding?

How might participating in these things be beneficial for you?

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