Trigger warning: mention of eating disorders.
Over the last few years throughout my personal eating disorder and body image journey, a phrase I’ve encountered a multitude of times is “food is fuel.”
Obviously, this is for good reason — food is fuel! It is a perfect statement and a reminder that helped me find the motivation to commit to recovery in moments when I’d lost sight of why I needed to get better. Food is energy, it’s an absolute necessity that we should never intentionally restrict or deprive our bodies of.
As I’ve come to understand and deconstruct my own eating and body image issues more fully, I’ve discovered that there’s an “and” attached to this phrase. “Food is fuel” is what gave me the motivation to start this journey, but what pushed me to fully embrace it is “food is fuel and…”
Food is fuel and it’s also a connection. Sharing food with others is just part of the human experience, and while I once found that to be a terrifying thought, I now find it to be incredibly special.
Whether you’re hosting a dinner party or going through a drive-through at 2 a.m. with your friends, food is something that helps us connect with others. Things like gifting loved ones baked goods on special occasions and buying your friend their favorite candy when they’re going through a breakup are two meaningful examples of the ways that food can help bring us closer together.
It took me a while to get to this point, but I remember going out to eat with my friends one night and realizing how much more present and engaged I was when I didn’t just sit and watch while everyone else enjoyed their meal.
I saw the value in not just eating to survive or to appease those around me, but eating to actually live — to enjoy the food I’m eating, the company I’m sharing it with, and the memories we’re building around it.
Food is fuel and it’s also culture. It is an integral part of cultural heritage, celebration, identity and tradition. Foods you grew up eating or are specific to the cultures you identify with are part of what makes you you! Holidays you observe and familial traditions are often made special by the meals that you share with the people you love.
Food is fuel and it’s also an art. I love baking and nothing makes me more excited than when something I’ve made not only tastes good, but also looks quite pretty! Cooking, the presentation of food and the work that goes into pairing different foods is an incredibly artistic and creative thing. How luck are we to get to experience it with all five senses?
Food is fuel and it’s also joy. We all have our favorite/comfort foods, our staple items that we keep on hand. When I go home for breaks and holidays, I always realize just how much I missed my family’s cooking (and am over the moon about getting to eat a meal that isn’t from a dining hall!).
Life is far too short to be “angry” 24/7 and avoid the foods that you’re actually craving. Nourishing your body with a variety of foods is one of the kindest things you can do for yourself.
Food is fuel and so many other wonderful things. Food is fuel and it’s also not something you should torment yourself over. Walking through life constantly worrying about what you just ate and what you’re going to eat next is inexplicably exhausting.
Food is nourishing in tons of ways beyond just fueling your body, and embracing all the wonderful things that it gifts us is a powerful kind of freedom.