Now stop! Put the chips down. No, seriously. I get it. I've eaten enough French onion dip for a few whole lifetimes. At parties, I've shoveled chip and dip, chip and dip, chip and dip... out of nervous energy. Like I need to not park my butt in a conversation near the snack table. If my stomach is the size of my fist, I've scarfed down handfuls at a time. Don't go thinkin' now I'm never eating chocolate or anything. I'm actually the one of my friends who will eat the most at dinner. But I budget my calories and all that. I do not measure. I intuitively eat. What the heck does that mean?
I do not treat myself like a garbage disposal. I lost weight by doing this. I stay healthy that way. I don't do the thin word. It's a four letter word to me. I don't like fat either. I am all about wellness. I am a food snob. If I'm gonna eat cheese fries... they're going to be the BEST ones out there. I do zero guilt with this. I will eat chocolate as well, decadent but with really good ingredients. It's expensive, and I'm worth it. Life's too short to not eat treats. I don't call it cheating either, cause that's bad. I do indulge days. That feels so much better. Losing weight doesn't have to be a struggle. I don't do no pain, no gain. I do yo hun, have fun! Way better and creates long-lasting results. I do protein shakes because they taste good and not to deprive. I'm about thriving, not surviving.
How do you really shift this? Especially when you crave junk food? Okay, think like a naturally-skinny person you know. They don't eat the entire bread basket when they waitress places it on the table. They eat like the French do. Small portions and they are not afraid. As Americans, we're afraid of food. Avocados were bad for years, now they're good. Margarine, now it's a no-no. Is coconut oil better than olive oil? Who can keep up? What doctors do you trust. Trust your gut! It will tell you. Does certain food make you feel bad afterwards? Then don't eat it. Simple, right? We don't listen though. We numb out with food. It's easy too. But you can also do things differently. Don't follow the herd. Decide for yourself what your body likes. If all food was neutral and you could eat whatever you wanted, no "good" or "bad" food, or shame, guilt, diets, or any of that... what would you eat? Maybe you'd actually crave strawberries.
As I got older and would be jonesin' for a certain food that I thought would hit the spot, from my memory of how good it was, it would often fall flat. Like did they change the recipe on those chips, or did they taste better when I made them a badass food? Oh how funny would it be to be daring and bold to like broccoli? I mean, hey, it could happen. Kale is the rockstar right now. Just think about it. Next time you go to finish that mac n' cheese off your kids plate, decide that those calories do count, but are they worth it? Do you want it? Are you on autopilot? Are you acting like you're a garbage disposal? If you really want macaroni and cheese, make it from scratch. Enjoy the art of cooking it. There is such pleasure in that and you will not eat like there is no tomorrow this way. I promise. When you eat on purpose, you make totally different choices. Live on purpose too while you're at it. Hug someone. You'll feel better. Conscious living and eating can be cool and fun and can make you look good too.