Why do you eat???

Our society worships food like no other on the planet. We are very busy and very unfit, but we do find the time to slam in junk food at a party or barbecue, or any other ’special occasion’ that may be going on in our lives.

In fact our lives are constantly full of special occasions. So using that excuse as a way to feel better about our food choices won’t work, because we will never get anywhere. We will constantly complain about how we look but will look forward to the next get together where we can have numerous drinks and an infinate number of cheese cubes and desserts.

We don’t have to eat that food but it makes us feel better emotionally. More on that in a minute.

Our food must entertain us and must constantly taste good for us to eat it regardless of what it does for our health and our bodies. The food industry has figured this out and put out a bunch of crap food claiming it is healthy and feeding into our emotional attachment we have with food and making some serious coin while we are getting fatter and fatter.

Since when did we rely on food to satisfy our need for pleasure and excitement? Have we gotten so boring that we must have food as a focal point to our social gatherings and events? Sure I get it that food has its presence at social events and special occasions, but is it truly necessary to go overboard all the time.

I used to have the very same mentality that because it was a special occasion that I could relax and indulge in all of the food that was offered. The problem was that special occasions often turned into special weeks, and months. The turning point came when I sat down and asked myself the real reason why I ate; is it for pleasure or for necessity. At that point my mind shifted toward eating out of need for my body to do what I wanted it to rather than eating for my thoughts. I learned to shut off my brain and emotions (most of the time) when it came to food. Over time I was able to train myself to eat healthy in this way.

What I didn’t expect was the feeling I got from eating healthy foods. I felt great about myself rather than regretful, and had a very positive outlook. Not to mention a ‘I can conquer the world’ mentality because I had just conquered my thoughts about food, I felt like I really could conquer the world.

Next time you are tempted by your thoughts of finding comfort in food, ask yourself why you feel you must have this food to be comfortable. Then ask yourself if you feel comfortable in your skin. Lastly ask yourself if you will feel comfortable in your skin after you indulge in this food. Sometimes the answer will be yes and that is ok, but if you want to defeat the thoughts in your head, the answer must be no 90% of the time.