I recently met with a friend who has lost a staggering 28kg. She really looks amazing. She changed her lifestyle and we both got talking about the changes needed to succeed. I know I have already gone on my boring dietitian rant, but her success really got me thinking about what the average joe needs when it comes to working out a diet. I'm not talking radical juice fasts or low carb, high protein. I'm talking about finding the balance.
To me, the balance is a place. Rolling green hills and waterfalls. I've always associated it with mythical lands where birds help you get dressed in the morning and there is an evil queen and a happily ever after. And whenever I feel like I have achieved this balance, it is like a magic garden, where your body is a tree and your roots are stable and your leaves strong and vibrent. Finding it is the hard part! Witches hand you candy apples and you get so lost and confused in the haunted forrest with whispers and misleading information. And all your emotional baggage and how you have formed a relationship with food leads you to the hidden trap where dwarfs snap you in a cage and laugh at your misfortune. I am getting away with my imagination so I will get back to the point I am trying to make.
We need to create a healthy relationship with food.
The psychology of food is really interesting. How we relate to what we eat, the thought process of when we eat and how much we eat. Let's first talk about this idea of 'Emotional Eating'
Come on, we are All guilty of it. We have all watched Bridgette Jones's Diary when she doesnt get the guy and she goes home and devours 1000 calories of Ben and Jerrys. We have even used this as justification and an excuse to eat our feelings. When did feeling become such a problem, so much of a problem that we need to bandaid any emotion with eating. It's an unhealthy idea that has been put into our heads and is not a natural association. Eating doesn't make a bad situation better, if you struggle with your weight then its going to make it harder. Disassociate your feelings from your food. The mind is such a powerful tool and you can train it to do whatever you want. Take control and break the link.
Another one I have personally had to struggle with is 'The Reward.' Rewarding your actions with food. Rewarding your kids and your friend with food for that matter. Why can't we reward eachother with encouragement? Reward ourselves with love? I'm going to be really honest. Just because you went to the gym once this week, it does not mean its okay for you to over eat or drink. Again, it is all about using the most powerful tool we own, our minds. Train your thoughts in a new direction, create a new relationship.
I understand that finding the healthy relationship and the balance is difficult, it can sometimes seem like a fairytale, but I promise that at the end is a wonderful place. A place of achievement and success. Next time you want to have a cheat day, or you think you deserve a chocolate bar, think about it. Doesn't your body deserve love and health and nutrients. Sometimes you will fall, we all fall, there is no shame in falling. But it's all about the comeback. Learn to Love your food, love it without all the baggage!
Now for something a little more fabulous
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