Open Up To New Ways of Thinking About Food
Finding your way to a healthier way of eating is a journey. It’s a long journey. It’s one that’s not linear. It’s one the weaves in and out of various eating philosophies. It’s one that changes based on life circumstances. It’s a whole lot of things. But, more than anything else, it’s a journey that is deeply personal. It’s yours. And though you may share it with your family — this journey truly has to suit you. Until it suits you, it will never be something you’re able to maintain.
Discovering what actually suits you when it comes to eating is a complicated process. We form our foundation of eating habits based on choices that are not our own. It’s formed based on the choices our parents or other caregivers make for us a young children — well before we have the ability to communicate our food desires. That foundation is deeply rooted, and sometimes those roots don’t align with who we are or who we want to be as decision-making adults. And it’s hard to change habits that literally feel as if they are an extension of ourselves.
Sound familiar?
Trust me, I know the feeling. I started feeling a tension with the common foods in my home and other environments I experienced as a young child. I’m talking 9-10 years old. I went through an early phase of vegetarianism around this time. It was as a result of a mad cow disease outbreak, but it made me realize I had a lot of choice when it came to my foods.
As a grew older, into high school, I found that I had issues with acid reflux, and this further shaped my eating. I stopped eating the foods that made me feel bad — namely fried foods and heavily processed foods. I didn’t know it then, but my willingness to give up foods that I actually enjoyed but they caused me problems was something that many adults struggle to do. I also didn’t know that this would lead me to what I do today — helping people reshape their own eating habits.
As we enter this season of renewal, think about your habits and ask yourself the following questions.
If I shifted my eating habits would my body experience the changes I desire?
Is the food I eat causing me to not feel my best physically?
Am I holding onto eating habits established during my childhood that no longer align with who I am or who I want to be?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, ask yourself one more?
What better time than now to open up to new ways of thinking about food and the life-changing results you might receive from that?
It’s your time to thrive, and you’ll soon realize that the foods you eat truly matter when it comes to doing just that.
Take the journey. You won’t regret it.