FOOD IS______
FOOD IS______
If you were asked to fill in the blank, first thought, no thinking first allowed - what would you put in that blank?
What is food to you? A reward? A punishment? Difficult?
The truth is - food has been all of those things to me.
When I would do a good job at something, the celebration was food. If I sang in a concert, we stopped for ice-cream. If I got good grades, we went out for pizza. A milkshake and fried chicken and fries were my favorite celebration dinner.
But. Food was also a punishment. If I wanted to punish myself, I would either eat everything in sight...or stop eating all together. At my lowest weight, I was anything but healthy. I was starving myself - using food as a punishment - using food as control - using food as anything exect what food really IS.
Food became difficult for me - what should I eat and when? Ever feel like that? There are so many RULES. Skip dessert always. Don’t eat at the movies. Potatoes are the devil. Potatoes are the healthiest food ever. Everyone should give up gluten and drink butter in their coffee. Don’t eat anything but meat at dinner. Never eat meat at dinner. Or ever at all for that matter. One cookie will push you over the edge. Eat all the cookies- it’s “cheat” day. Eat clean (what does that even MEAN???) STOP!!! Food. Is. FUEL. Pure and simple. It’s what keeps our bodies running, thinking, creating, BEING. Food. Is. Fuel. And our bodies will function best on the best fuel - whole foods, water, healthy fats. But that doesn’t mean you are bound by rules. Cookies and donuts aren’t evil; kale is not virtuous. Both cookies and kale just ARE. That’s it. They just ARE.
The best food advice I can give you? Listen to your body. If you have a day of binge eating, what is your body telling you? If you overate - even on “healthy foods” like grilled chicken breast and broccoli, what is your body telling you? Do you wake up hungry….or not? Did you sleep enough? Because THAT will affect your hunger and fullness cues for sure.
Listen. Your body will talk to you...tell you what it needs. It loves to be in tune with you. You are NOT just a body that eats food. Or a mind that needs to grow. Or a spirit that needs nurturing. You are ALL of those things - ALL at once. Listen to your body. Are you tired? Sleep. Are you hungry? Eat? Are you full? Stop eating - I give you permission that you do NOT have to clean your plate. Eating it all when you’re already full will NOT help starving children in another country or down the street. If you want to help them, sponsor a child, donate to a food bank. But I promise you that overeating will not help them. In fact, it may harm them. Because if you are not fueling properly, you have no energy to help them.
Whew. I get passionate about this.
What is your biggest challenge around food? I would love to know!