For a lot of us, food is the first thing we think about when we wake up and again the last thing we think about before we go to sleep. It has become an obsession with so many of us as we strive to have the perfect body, stay fit and healthy and be as thin as we can possibly be. Unfortunately this obsession then spills over into other parts of our lives to the detriment of everything else. Food is just food. We don’t have to be “good” or worry about being “bad”.
Food should be used to nourish our bodies in a positive way and that should be the end of it. Yes it’s important to eat healthily but not in a way that deprives us of our favourite foods. This is because deprivation only serves to make us crave what we are missing out on. Ironically once you allow yourself to eat the so-called unhealthy food, you actually won’t want it. As it is no longer forbidden it doesn’t have the same appeal as it had previously.
The key is to learn to eat “naturally”. This is a process of eating which simply enables you to listen to your own body so you can eat what your body wants and needs and stop when you are satisfied. When you are truly listening you will find your body doesn’t actually want too much sugar, fat or salt and it will actually crave the healthy nutritious foods instead. Accordingly you will eat these foods most of the time. However, when you really need an unhealthy option to fulfill you emotionally, you will be satisfied with a small portion, because now you are listening when your body tells you to stop.
Eating “naturally” gives you the best of both worlds, enabling you to eat in a positive and empowering way and put food in perspective. However this takes conscious thought and will not happen overnight. Often we have spent years eating in negative ways without even realising how we are eating. We have got into little habits, which are very difficult to change until we focus on what we are doing every time we eat. Once we start to eat mindfully instead of mindlessly, then it is possible to change.
It also enables you to make positive changes in other areas of your life, as your brain is no longer solely focused on food, weight loss and body image. You will find you are at peace with food instead of constantly fighting with yourself to achieve an unrealistic weight or body size. If dieting and food obsession is holding you back, learn to eat naturally, so you can then be the best that you can be.