Anyone who knows me knows that I love food. I’ll eat almost anything you put on my plate. Steak, brownies, pasta, cheese, ciabatta, chocolate, sushi, tacos, falafel, asparagus, salads, the list goes on. How does someone who loves food so much stop herself from eating? She doesn’t.
I tried to restrict myself from all the “bad” foods and what happened? I would crave and crave and then I’d binge. Or I’d eat really bland food that were low in calories and try to convince myself that it was good.
Um no, it was not.
So it’s really important to me, if not essential, that I eat good food and eat well. None of this starving stuff. None of this restricting. None of this, “You can’t have cake because it’s bad for you.” I am not one to refuse cake at a birthday party.
Unfortunately, the foods I love aren’t necessarily good for me. If I had everything I wanted, I would undoubtedly gain a lot of weight. On top of that, I’m a mindless snacker. I’ll eat when I’m not hungry. I’ll eat something right after dinner. I’ll eat when I’m bored, stressed, angry, you name it. I’ll eat at night out of habit. I’ll eat just because something looks good. In other words, I don’t listen to or care enough for my body.
We don’t need calorie counters. We don’t need those stupid rules about what time we should eat, what we should eat, or any of that. All we need to do is listen to our bodies. Become mindful eaters, rather than mindless eaters.
If you care about your body, if you care about your health, you won’t fill it with sugary, fatty foods. You’ll choose food that’s good for you AND that satisfies your taste buds. Yes friends, it’s possible. You’ll exercise because it does amazing things for your heart, joints, muscles, and life.
If caring for your body means breaking bad habits, then do it! I had to break (and still in the process of breaking) the habit of eating junk food at night and eating when I’m not hungry. Staying up late for midterms = staying up late for unhealthy snacking. Bags of chips, ice cream, yogurt pretzels, and reeses chocolates were regulars. The awful thing was that I had never really eaten junk food on a regular basis. If I did snack, it wouldn’t be on a bag of chips. Your bad habit could be counting calories and not eating until you’re full because you’ve gone over your limit. Your bad habit could be weighing yourself after every meal. Whatever your bad habit is, it’s most likely linked to ignoring your body because habits are mindless. Habits are actions with no awareness. There are choices that you make that lead to bad habits. The good thing is that you can make changes to your life that will break these bad habits for good.
And if you want cake, then EAT IT. Enjoying something sweet once in a while never hurt anybody!
LISTEN to your body, not to that voice in your head.
