30 days of self love – eating naturally
Posted: September 16, 2010 at 9:00 amI’ve shared before how right now a lot of my favorite healthy foods don’t hold the same appeal as when I’m not carrying around a two ton stomach pregnancy. I do, however, continue to make a concentrated effort to eat as healthfully as possible. That decision has nothing to do with weight gain or how others perceive my eating habits. I simply know that eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, lean proteins, etc helps me feel better and live a higher quality life.
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I have certainly been in a place where I could care less where my food came from as long as it helped me reach my daily caloric intake goals. Even when I focused on eating enough calories to fuel my body, the calorie count still reigned supreme. I didn’t consider reading the ingredients of nutrition labels over the other statistics. I didn’t think about where my food came from. I didn’t determine a food’s worth based on its wholesomeness – an apple or a 100 calorie pack at lunch were interchangeable.
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I had already given up those food rules of things being “good” or “bad” but the calories still defined how they fit into my eating habits. After my fitness competition, when I could freely give up calorie counting (and coincidentally a bit later picked up reading blogs), I began to change how I viewed food. Not only did I want to fuel my body with enough food, but also with valuable energy.
I knew my body deserved respect. I wanted to care for the body God had given me. It could do so much for me by surviving years of binging, enduring months of brutal competition prep workouts, carrying a child, and beyond. Why should I not give it my best? And wouldn’t it make sense that the best I could give my body came in the form of the foods God gave us?
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That was how I personally become to understand the importance of giving my body the best quality and choosing the apple over the 100 calorie pack every time. Only I have the choice on what my body receives nutritionally. I still don’t view things as “good” or “bad”. I still will have processed items without any guilt. Now, however, I desire the wholesome foods because of how they support my body, instead of how they support my personal goals or body image. I am still a work in progress and have a lot to learn. Nevertheless, I also know that I will make that progress and continue to honor my body with natural, wholesome foods. Because it deserves it.
- Have you experienced any shifts in how you view food?
- What are the biggest influences in your food choices? Without getting preachy, my personal reason lies in trusting God. He gives me so much…including my body’s wellness. To keep that wellness it only makes sense to me to trust God’s food to feed it as well. Just as His word feeds my spirit and joy in life.
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Check out these bloggers who shared their personal 30 DSLR thoughts on their blogs!
Tags: self-love reflections
I have gone through sooooo many shifts in how I view food, I am kind of embarrassed to admit… I always fall into some “diet” concept 100%, totally convinced this is the best thing since sliced bread and then the side effects hit and I realize how dumb that was… For the last 6 months or so I have been eating products that are natural/clean eating type foods and am surprised how now I don’t even want the other stuff just because it does not taste like “real” food to me anymore!! I now find myself wondering who ever invented all those food ingredients we cannot even pronounce 😀 And my biggest influence is pretty much how I feel. If I eat something my body does not like, I WILL know, and it will be all too clear I should not eat that again!
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[…] Uh-oh. This isn’t going to be pretty. Maybe I should start with a disclaimer; or a rating like PG. Or more appropriately, UE (unhealthy eater), or some equivalent. Healthy eaters and nutritionists out there will cringe at my responses to today’s blogging challenge which is about Eating naturally. […]