wednesday

Today, a blogging friend of mine posted her beautifully honest story about her struggles with finding a healthy relationship with food. This is an extremely interesting topic for me, as I am still finding my balance. I love reading about her journey, and have followed it for years now.

She describes her feelings of guilt and shame as she "binged" on peanut butter (um, I do that every day!), her struggles with "treat meals" and date nights, the very disconcerting fact that her body wasn't functioning well. She was ill quite frequently, her digestive system wasn't working correctly, and her energy levels were low. All of this occurred while she was following a very restrictive, repetitive, "clean eating" diet (no, it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle!).

Obviously, all of these problems point to a bigger one. How we feed our bodies is how they function, and that looks different for every single person. There is no "one size fits all" diet. Her bodywas begging   for something different, and I am ecstatic to read that she has found something that makes her happy, feel healthy, and not consumed with guilt and shame for enjoying decadent treats. (YOLO, yes?)

However, I have an underlying issue with this. And bear with me as I try to put this eloquently as my ten minutes slowly dwindle here. Eating pop-tarts and fat-free dairy products are not as healthy as fresh, organic vegetables and fruits, and full fat dairy. This is a fact. I understand that the former products may fit your macro requirements, and may make your muscles pop, and you may be leaning out like never before, and (thankfully) you are HAPPY with the things you are eating, but if your long-term goal is health, then step away from the processed food that comes in a package manufactured by people who are earning their living by flooding your mind with advertisements that you NEED their products.

More importantly, eating should be a relatively emotionally independent experience. There is a big difference between "oh my gosh this pasta is orgasmically fantastic" and "my happiness today depends on eating a shit ton of carbs" (been there!). Let me be clear: if you are experiencing guilt or shame from what you are or are not eating, it would be most beneficial to acknowledge the issue, explore it, and solve the problem internally rather than simply putting down/picking up any external factors. (This is true for most of our emotional and mental turmoil.) Easier said than done, yes, but the process is an life-changing one.

Okay, my ten minutes are up. I want to write more but it's important for me to respect the boundaries I've set for this free writing goal of mine. Maybe tomorrow night I will write more about this. Especially about feeling deprived by your restrictive diet. That issue really hits me square in the heart.

Peace and love.