Navigating the world of “balance” and “wellness” in addition to a demanding career can be confusing, to say the least.

For the longest time, I’d never really put much thought into my eating habits or my weight. Blessed with a quick metabolism and the opportunities to play competitive sports for 15 years, I’d always focused on making sure I got enough carbs and protein for how much I exercised. And-while I know this really isn’t the case for many women-for me, more was better.

So when I graduated college and entered the working world, boy, was I in for a shocker. After months of working 80-, sometimes 90-hour weeks, for the first time, I felt like a truck filled with emotional turmoil and guilt about my exercise and eating habits had run me over. I had gone from being a college athlete who’d scarf down a burrito in minutes to someone who barely made it to the gym and begrudgingly went for a salad every night.

I finally had to confront the fact that my lifestyle had changed-that exercising was harder to do now than it had ever been and that I may not be able to eat care-free anymore. I don’t regret the choice I made to enter a demanding role, but I’ve since tried my best to change my guilt-ridden mindset to a more positive and productive one.

So for all us hard-working ladies who are juggling work and wellness on the daily, here are a couple things I’ve learned along the way.

Cut Yourself Some Slack

You know that feeling when you hear your colleagues praising each other after their 7am workout, when you’ve just “slept in” until 8am and eaten ramen for breakfast? (Yes, the ramen is a true story.) Even though I’d been at work until 2am the night before, seeing others working out on just as little sleep was pretty unsettling.

It wasn’t until recently that I stopped questioning my endurance and started valuing rest and recovery. It was OK that I needed seven hours of sleep to get a good workout in, or that I chose sleep over exercise when my body was screaming, “Exhausted!”

We’re working way too hard to beat ourselves up over a missed workout, so let’s cut ourselves some slack and remember to listen to our bodies (even if that means a couple ramen breakfasts here and there).

Salad Isn’t Everything

If you’re someone who can eat salad twice a day and love it, I salute you.

I quickly learned that I’m not one of those people, but until then, I forced myself to eat salad to the point where I didn’t look forward to meals anymore. But seriously, life is too short to not enjoy what you’re eating. So I decided to mix things up by (1) incorporating more grain bowls, fruits, and nuts into my diet and (2) indulging in moderation.

As far as indulgence goes-it took me a while to get comfortable with this, but ordering a pizza or mac and cheese when you really need comfort food isn’t going to ruin your health, as long as you keep it in check. Obviously, it’s terrific to stick to an ultra-healthy diet, but the point is, don’t succumb to eating a certain way out of guilt-happiness and health go hand in hand.

You Can’t Live in the Past

I used to look at myself in the mirror every morning and lament over the fact that I had lost most of the muscle I had built up over my college athletic career. It also didn’t help that my family would reiterate that I looked like I’d lost a bunch of weight.

Rather than accept that things had changed, I’d obsess over how things used to be, which turned out to be pretty unhealthy for my self-esteem. So what I’m now focusing on is turning that frustration into action.

I’ve gotten started with my friend Katherine’s Goldilocks Fitness Program that emphasizes consistency for women on the go, and it’s been great so far. New 2018 mantra: let’s look to the future, not to the past.

We’re All in This Together

I’m sure you’d agree that scrolling through Instagram has become a daily ritual. And while it’s great to admire the influencers we follow, I often fall culprit to the habit of comparing myself to the seemingly perfect images I see, wondering how they’ve got it all together when I usually don’t.

It wasn’t until I recently started listening to Girlboss Media’s podcast that my perspective really changed. On the podcast, Sophia asks each of her speakers whether or not they believe in balance. Over and over again, these badass ladies admit that they don’t always have their shit together and that there is no such thing as perfect balance. In our appearance-driven world, knowing that our role models face the same challenges we do is both comforting and motivating-after all, we’re all in this together.

Originally published at https://www.careercontessa.com.