Diet
Diet, it’s a negative word.
I have a passion for food.
It’s something I talk about often, at work with clients and out with friends and family.
The irony in my love for food, is that I have cut so much of it from my life.
Where my body transformation began…
I jumped on a food journey approximately 13 years ago; making promises to myself and my body, to treat myself better. I didn’t jump into a tedious diet or a diet of any kind really… I had failed at that too many times to count previous to this particular day. The thing that changed in my mind, the click, it happened while reading A Return To Love by Marianne Williamson. A chapter in her book was her experience with dieting and the challenges she had faced. The way I interpreted her messages in this specific chapter was simple, I needed to change my life and I needed to change my mind.
It all started slowly… left to pick up a more authentic momentum, rather than a forced one. I tried to be an observer in my own life, and began listening to the things coming from my mouth; about everything, including myself. Knowing now that negativity would only bring more negativity. Saying terrible things about my body would cause my body to be terrible. I was reading about the Law Of Attraction and love, and it was telling me to attract the life and body I wanted and to love myself and others.
With this new routine, I heard my mouth say awful things about my body, habits, and mind. I would NEVER have said these things to another person, so why was I saying it to myself? I was judging me, and harshly! Instead of scolding my ego for the poor word choice in regard to my physique, I began stopping and correcting myself. This thought, “Whoa, these pants are getting tight! Your booty must be getting bigger! NOOOooooo…. why did I have to eat…….” was cut short, and stopped mid sentence. Rather than finishing my guilty rant, I decided to recognize it. With time came the practice of correcting it, this does take practice. As humans we have been conditioned not to say nice things about ourselves.
Why is that?
I have learned with this ideology, that when in fact, I tell my body it is healthy, strong and happy, I will then make better choices with what I put into my body. The cycle I begin is one that starts with positivity. What I was previously experiencing was guilt cycles which were far more detrimental than ANYTHING I could possibly pollute my body with.
A guilt cycle looks something like this…
Looks in mirror sees dimply bum or tight pants and then makes goal to go on diet. Immediately following, walks into kitchen and eats (insert naughty food).
Feels remorse for poor choice, claims to start said diet Monday.
Proceeds to eat whatever until Monday.
Monday comes co-worker brings donuts.
Eats donut.
Feels remorse for eating donut, claims to start diet the following day.
Did you see what I did there?
This vague “diet” thing and the guilt cycle that comes with it, is something that keeps coming full circle. Sure there are times you have a plan, and a book, and a diet buddy. BUT the one thing that never changes with a diet, is the NEGATIVITY. We are setting ourselves up with expectations and expectations are the root of all disappointment.
Diet as a verb begins by definition with the word, RESTRICT. When I hear this word, what comes to MY mind is uncomfortable. Words carry their own negative juju, catapulting emotional negativity and body image issues, furthering emotional negativity. See how everything is a cycle?
Here is where it all starts…
We stop using the word and the verb diet. Erase it from our minds, our day, our lives entirely. Its an icky word, we don’t accept its limited thinking as well as its negativity. If it is a healthier body and mind that we are after, we will choose words that are positive and healthy as well.
So how do words change our bodies?
As we begin telling our bodies they are healthy and beautiful, it becomes much harder to open that Twinkie wrapper and take a bite. Because it is a lie, and we cannot lie to ourselves. We know that the Twinkie is the last thing our body needs for nourishment. We also know that indulging in something that is completely lacking nutrition of any kind is an action committed from our emotional beings not our physical ones.
Who has heard of emotional eating?
Eating is an act of ingesting food to fill a hunger or void. If our bellies are not asking us for a Twinkie, then what is? Could it be our bad day or relationship frustrations asking for that Twinkie?
Overtime, I have learned that the only thing that eating heals, is an empty belly. Sure that pint of Ben & Jerry’s feels like a cure for an achy heart, but once you have finished it… Is your heart still aching? What are you filling up on? And what is your heart really asking you for?
Questions we never dare ask ourselves.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t an emotional eater, and I would REALLY be lying if I said I no longer choose to down a pint of ice cream rather than a bundle of kale… The point to this is to have awareness. To begin the process of recognizing how your thoughts and choices affect your physical body.
That is all…
No lecture here, just advocating our beings and spreading love to them in the process.
Click here to check out more about conscious eating!
Happy eating my loves,
Tia