If you are (or have ever been) accustomed to checking calories; tracking food; choosing low-calorie, ‘healthy’ options; stressing about weight gain; and trying, in the midst of all of this chaos, to gain control, then this message is for you.
Unfortunately, if these thoughts and actions sound familiar to you, you are part of the disguised club of self-sabotaging, body-judging, food-fearing individuals who believe they’re doing what is best for themselves.
“But I’m not like that!” you may protest. Sadly, that’s just the denial talking. Do diet coke, black coffee, and tons of chewing gum sound familiar? Perhaps you eat only “healthy” food, thinking that eating anything remotely non-nutritious will make you a bad person, causing guilt and shame. Perhaps you forbid yourself from certain foods, constantly weighing yourself or checking your body in the mirror, never quite satisfied.
I’m sorry to say that you are indeed part of this mentally exhausting club. The good news is that you can leave whenever you want to – you aren’t destined for misery your entire life. You just need to want it enough.
Let’s assume you don’t leave this hypothetical club of self-hatred. You continue in this tiring cycle, day-in and day-out. How is your future going to look? Are you going to be living with your significant other, turning down late-night takeaways, movie marathons with popcorn and chocolate, Sunday morning pancake parties – all because it isn’t ‘healthy’? I’ll tell you what really isn’t healthy – starving yourself of happiness and memories with your loved ones.
Let’s look at another situation. Are you going to turn down the delicious slice of cake at your own child’s birthday party because you still fear sugar and carbs? Is your child going to wonder why you never join in on pizza night, and slowly learn from your example?
I, for one, do not want to be middle-aged and still refuse to enjoy the delicacies that life has to offer. I do not want to harbour resentment towards myself or my body, only eating certain foods and forcing myself to go to the gym for the rest of my life – all in the name of health.
The stress we go through about food and our bodies is so far from healthy that it’s ironic to believe we are actually achieving health and wellness.
No, we don’t have to run extra tomorrow because we ate dessert today. Yes, we can have sugar in our tea simply because we like it. No, we don’t need to diet for ‘summer bodies’, and yes, we can accept ourselves just as we are.
Instead of focusing on changing our bodies to look ‘better’, let’s focus on changing our minds to feel better.
It is time, right now, to challenge your mindset so that you’re not still refusing cupcakes in your old-age home, never having enjoyed your life fully.
Who do you want to be in 10, 20 or 50 years? I’ll tell you who I want to be – a friend, a wife, a successful businesswoman and a mother, one who loves life, food, and most importantly herself, unconditionally.