What is it about our relationship with food that gets us into a tizzy? We are either racked with guilt because of our cravings and indulgence, or we throw ourselves into a land of hopelessness, giving in with the feeling that we'll never recover from this one!
How did we develop such a seemingly unhealthy relationship? Food is supposed to be savored and eaten with as much enjoyment and love as the person who prepared it did for you! Instead we worry about what eating that slice of pie will do to our waist. or, we worry about the unhealthy effects of indulging in a bowl full of our favorite ice cream. We long for and imagine the taste of the food we are craving, denying ourselves, and at the same time admonishing ourselves for that weak thought! Again I ask, how did we get here?! This place?! This place of longing and admonishing, and dare I say regret? We regret this love that we have for food! How could this be?!
Looking back over my own love affair with food, I must say that somewhere between my teen years and my adult life, that is where it all began for me.
I was a fat child, yes I was. My mom would regale us with stories of my love for food, that, of all of my siblings, I was the one who never seem to have enough. I would eat anything, and everything if she let me! As I got older and started school, in Primary School, then through All Age School (Elementary & Middle Schools) in Jamaica, I continued eating anything I wanted, not caring what I looked like, because my parents loved me and no one made fun of me, that was until I got to the latter part of All Age school (Middle School)and I realized, hey not only am I taller than all the other children, I was the second largest one in my class!
Thankfully, as an older teen, when I got to high school I reached a pivotal point and made the decision to begin taking care of myself. Exercise became a part of my daily routine. I got trimmer and leaner and became more active with my friends, going from one adventurous activity to the next!
Throughout the years, I continued my on again, off again relationship with food. Eventually I became an emotional eater. The only way I could overcome this emotional attachment, was to face my addiction, identify it and own it! I realised that the more emotionally upset I was, the more I would indulge in anything that would somehow satisfy that need I craved! Becoming a mother, which has been three of the greatest experiences of my life, also added to my food affair! Then In between my pregnancies, my mission was to get my body back into shape. That proved to be even harder than I thought!
Today, at this beautiful fabulously over 40-ish age, I've learned to combat the emotional part of my love affair with food. Yes, I do still have cravings, I do still get emotionally tied up with food, just a tad, but today, I do have a much healthier outlook on this affair of mine!
The next time you get that craving, go ahead, indulge it, because if you don't, you will over indulge! Just do what I do, either have a small portion that will hit that spot, or choose a low-calorie and healthier version of what it would normally be!
How did we develop such a seemingly unhealthy relationship? Food is supposed to be savored and eaten with as much enjoyment and love as the person who prepared it did for you! Instead we worry about what eating that slice of pie will do to our waist. or, we worry about the unhealthy effects of indulging in a bowl full of our favorite ice cream. We long for and imagine the taste of the food we are craving, denying ourselves, and at the same time admonishing ourselves for that weak thought! Again I ask, how did we get here?! This place?! This place of longing and admonishing, and dare I say regret? We regret this love that we have for food! How could this be?!
Looking back over my own love affair with food, I must say that somewhere between my teen years and my adult life, that is where it all began for me.
I was a fat child, yes I was. My mom would regale us with stories of my love for food, that, of all of my siblings, I was the one who never seem to have enough. I would eat anything, and everything if she let me! As I got older and started school, in Primary School, then through All Age School (Elementary & Middle Schools) in Jamaica, I continued eating anything I wanted, not caring what I looked like, because my parents loved me and no one made fun of me, that was until I got to the latter part of All Age school (Middle School)and I realized, hey not only am I taller than all the other children, I was the second largest one in my class!
Thankfully, as an older teen, when I got to high school I reached a pivotal point and made the decision to begin taking care of myself. Exercise became a part of my daily routine. I got trimmer and leaner and became more active with my friends, going from one adventurous activity to the next!
Throughout the years, I continued my on again, off again relationship with food. Eventually I became an emotional eater. The only way I could overcome this emotional attachment, was to face my addiction, identify it and own it! I realised that the more emotionally upset I was, the more I would indulge in anything that would somehow satisfy that need I craved! Becoming a mother, which has been three of the greatest experiences of my life, also added to my food affair! Then In between my pregnancies, my mission was to get my body back into shape. That proved to be even harder than I thought!
Today, at this beautiful fabulously over 40-ish age, I've learned to combat the emotional part of my love affair with food. Yes, I do still have cravings, I do still get emotionally tied up with food, just a tad, but today, I do have a much healthier outlook on this affair of mine!
The next time you get that craving, go ahead, indulge it, because if you don't, you will over indulge! Just do what I do, either have a small portion that will hit that spot, or choose a low-calorie and healthier version of what it would normally be!
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