The only person whose opinion really matters is your own. This is true. Do you know what else? People can only affect you if you let them. Those two pieces of information freed me from caring what others thought of me and allowed me to become my best self.

When I started my first Whole30, people began noticing my food choices. When I told them what I was doing, they began criticising me and the diet. “You have to eat a balanced diet! You have to eat dairy, grains, and beans! You’re going to do more harm than good! You’re going to end up with more health problems than you started with!” They would tell me that it’s just a fad, it’s not good for me, and all kinds of other things. They were judging me and my choices and being quite vocal about it. Mind you, these were not friends, but acquaintances or strangers. My friends and family not only understood, but watched carefully as I dropped 10’s of lbs month after month. Most of them adopted the Paleo Diet or some form of diet akin to Paleo.

When I transitioned to the Paleo Diet, the same happened. However, I noticed that as I lost more and more weight and got visibly thinner, fewer and fewer people made comments. They just assumed I’d always been thin, and that I was just some health nut. So, what I don’t understand is that when someone is obese, it’s okay to tell them their diet is wrong and that they are doing more harm than good to themselves, but if you’re thin, it’s okay to eat a less conventional or widely accepted diet?

If I would have wrapped my head around that too much, it would have bothered me, but I didn’t let it. I ignored all those people and their negative energy. I didn’t allow any of their words to cut to the core of my soul. I smiled, nodded, and thanked them for their concern and then promptly ignored what they had to say. I am the final arbiter of what goes into my mouth, and then, into my body. I am the one who controls my health, and I am the one who is ultimately responsible. For those reasons, it is my opinion alone that matters when it comes to my health, my diet, and my fitness. As the old song goes, everyone else can just kiss off.