Food, food, food. It is everywhere I look. On tv, in magazines, advertised on the radio or being delicately carried past me in a paper wrapper dripping with grease. It is so easy to look back and realize how food became so important in my life. It is the biggest thing we all have in common. We all need to eat and, hopefully, love to eat. It brings us together in celebrations. It brings us together in times of mourning. We hold meetings over food and food is often used as a motivator at work. It is so hard to "escape" the hold food has on us. 50% of my journey has revolved around new eating and a new thought process about food. Before, it was no problem for me to eat whatever I wanted because I wanted it. I would think, "I had a hard day, I need this [insert unhealthy junk food here]" or "I went for a run, I deserve this..." When in all actuality, I didn't deserve to hurt my body with junk food, or even an overeating frenzy of "good-for-you" food. No one does. It was then that I began to make excuses for myself and justify my overeating. I was in Live To Eat mode. I read Dr. Oz's
You on a Diet last summer. I learned more about how my body processed the foods I eat and how to really listen to my insides. I believe the cliche term is get "in tuned" with my body. There was one thought that stood out for me over the past year that I try to remind myself of when I get those desires to make excuses for my eating.
It goes something to the effect of: You need to change your thinking and relationship with the foods that you eat. Think of food as a medicine. Medicines help our body perform functions that they might have difficulty performing without it. It is a life-saver in some cases. However, in excess that medicine can be really dangerous. We need to make sure we are taking the right amounts and in the right combinations. Like medicine, we need to make sure we are getting the right kinds of food, amount and the right combinations. We also need to remember that we need to Eat to Live, not Live to Eat.
These thoughts I try to keep with me as often as I can, I am not perfect and I make mistakes, but I don't make excuses anymore. I own up to eating and pledge to keep trying, harder than the next time. Food is fuel, not the focus of my life.
~Kate
2 comments:
At work, we have a dietician that teaches our nutrition course. One of her sayings that has always stuck with me is "I get to eat again"! So many times, I think I want to eat that whole "whatever"...I paid for it, I deserve it, etc. Her thinking is- Yes, you can have the rest of that food, just eat it later when your body can use it, not when your tank is already full!
I've always liked the way she thinks about our bodies as tanks that can only hold so much fuel at once. When you overfill, it spills out and you have wasted your money on gas you didn't need!
hope you have a marvelous week! :)
ps- you're looking awesome in your pics!
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