So you think you’ve tried everything – low-carb, no-carb, cutting the fast-food, not drinking soda, staying away from sweets. Well, at one point you even went vegan, because you thought it’d do the trick! But somehow, someway, you always fall short, giving up before attaining your goals, because you just don’t know how to diet!
As a former Starbuck’s Frappuccino enthusiast, Oreo McFlurry trash secretly stuffed in the side of my car door, drive to get donuts at 1 AM, eat an entire pizza to myself recoverer turned NPC Nationally Qualified Overall Figure Champion, trust me when I say, I understand the struggle. While I will admit that sticking to a certain diet can be a difficult task, it can also be quite simple to reach your goals. How you might ask? By taking one day, each meal, and every bite one at a time while maintaining a positive mental attitude and by choosing to consciously consume with gratitude.
Although I understand that this is difficult to accomplish, by taking the time to retrain the mind on your outlook towards food, there is no reason why it is not possible for you to reach your destination.
Unfortunately, the majority of the population has a terrible and overly detrimental relationship with food. We tend to think of food in terms of “good” or “bad”, “healthy” or “unhealthy”. The truth of the matter is that food is food.
Food provides both energy and nourishment to our bodies, or it can even bring us pleasure.
Nonetheless, when we as individuals choose to indulge in excess or lack self-control, what was meant to bring us nourishment can leave us feeling sick; and what momentarily brought us pleasure can accrue an exhausting amount of pain. Similar to all aspects of life, food is meant to be enjoyed, but just as all things are, food can be potentially harmful. Therefore, a key component to sticking to your diet is to reestablish a beneficially healthy relationship with food.
When we think of the word “diet”, most individuals falsely associate the term with an extremely negative connotation. As soon as we speak the word, our natural reaction has become to run and hide, encapsulating a feeling of “I can’t” and an unnecessary envisioning of feared restriction, rather than considering a hopeful tool to guiding our self-image to a state of positivity and freedom.
In actuality, a diet is no more than the foods we habitually eat.
So, in order to possess a more positive outlook on dieting, first, change your perception of how you view the steps towards reaching your goals. Rather than focusing on the things you can’t have, focus on the positive – all the foods you can eat to help you get to where you want to be, the sense of accomplishment you will feel, loving your body, the list goes on and on! Whereas, the list of negatives only goes so far as “I can’t eat a pizza today”. Even then, you could eat pizza today, but “I won’t eat a whole pizza today because I rather feel awesome and be better than I was yesterday” is the positive aspect which will undoubtedly continue to build your self-empowerment.
Furthermore, another commonality that tends to produce a negative relationship with food is that we tend to use food for instant gratification or as a means to satisfy desires that have no real relation to hunger or accomplishing our goals.
Before you begin to eat, assess why you are truly eating and what you are about to eat. Are you eating solely for convenience? Is it out of habit? Are you eating for taste and pleasure? Or are you eating for purpose and because you are honestly hungry?
When we take the time to be fully present with the food that we are consuming, we are less likely to be sorry in the future by being full of care in the now. If we want to treat our bodies well and have a positive relationship with the food that we eat, it is important to pause and be considerate of ourselves before gluttonously shoving just about anything we have the opportunity to consume into our entities.
In other words, don’t become a fool for food. Take the time to know your food, what you want from it and yourself before eating. When we are aware of what we are about to eat including its contents, ingredients, the way it was prepared, and both the positives and seemingly negative aspects of our diet, we are least likely to stray away from the path which will lead us to achieve our goals. In the same regards, take the time to know yourself before you eat. Often times we can mistake tiredness, emotion, thirst, or even being bored as the “need” to eat, when, in fact, you may simply need to rest or hydrate your body.
Overall, think before you eat.
Become conscious of the who, what, when, where, and why of your consumption. Maintain a positive relationship with the food you eat. Remember that there really is no such thing as “bad” food; it’s just the way we choose to look at it. Food can always be enjoyed, but be willing to treat yourself instead of cheating yourself. If you want to change, first change your mindset. You can always stick to your diet if you always love what you do. It may seem far off, but you can definitely stroll to the goal and still get to where you want to be!
You can achieve your dieting goals. Believe in yourself! It is always a more than awesome day to!
Stay Uplifted,
