FOOD: Friend or Enemy

Have you ever been asked to go out to dinner with friends or family, said Yes, then quietly freaked out in your head because you are so scared of eating food that you haven’t cooked yourself or because you don’t know what sauces they might have snuck into your meal or you don’t know the exact gram of the chicken your about to eat?

Have you ever been stuck in a position where you haven’t had a chance to eat for more than 3 hours then get home and completely raid the fridge and cupboard and eat absolutely everything in sight?

I know I have and I know a lot of you girls have been through these same emotions. I have actually spoken to at LEAST 4 girls just this week alone about this exact feeling and it has brought to my attention how many girls & woman and I’m sure some men out there, have a bad relationship with food. It’s not good and it’s not healthy but unfortunately it’s so common.

The way society and social media is these days it is so hard to get by in life without feeling like you’re always doing something wrong or you’re being judged by what you eat, whether its good or bad.

There are so many ‘diets’ out there and I bet you have tried them all. I’ve definitely tried my fair share and I can tell you they have all ended up in the same way, which was back to where I began or even worse.

I would be 100% strict from Monday to Friday then spend my weekend eating like I had never seen food before in my life. I would binge. I would eat what ever I wanted until I felt so sick and at times I would need to make myself vomit. It got so bad that I had to tell my partner at the time to make sure he would take the bag of chocolate or chips off me after having a few and forcefully tell me I couldn’t have anymore, otherwise I would keep going. There was also times I would hide in my room and eat by myself so no one in my house could judge me. I had no filter and I just didn’t know how to stop, no matter how full or sick I felt. I had the mentality of “I need to eat as much as I can as I cant have it again for another week.” It was terrible and very very unhealthy. And what’s even worse is that I know this is still happening to so many people and it breaks my heart.

I have had to teach myself, along with the help of a few close friends how to enjoy good, healthy, nutritious food and how to have control over my actions.

I don’t eat a lot of “bad” or junk food these days and it simply comes down to the fact that I don’t like the taste of it or how it makes me feel when I have eaten it. Why would you want to do something that is only going to have a negative effect on your body and your mind?

At the end of the day you have complete control over your body and your actions. Yes it’s hard to teach yourself how to take control of this but it is so worth the fight. If you don’t feel like you can get passed this on your own then it’s time to ask for help. And that is perfectly fine! I know this is not an issue we would generally announce to the world but I can promise you, asking for help was the best thing ever.

If you’re not in prep for a competition, photo shoot, special event or a “challenge” then you really need to be able to find that balance within your diet. Fill your diet with healthy, fresh foods that you love and enjoy so you wont feel the need to binge on anything else but also find room to enjoy a little treat here and there.

If you workout, remind yourself of how crappy you feel if you have indulged on something bad then tried to train. Unless you’re someone who enjoys having no energy, feeling bloated and depressed then I’m sure this can be that little reminder that you need to change those habits.

I’m not telling everyone to never eat anything ‘bad’ ever again, but you need to find that balance. You need to get to that point where you can just have one or a couple and be satisfied. If you can’t, then say no all together. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth putting your body through so much stress and hating yourself all because you ate yourself silly.

It is such a touchy subject but to hear from grown woman that they are scared to have a protein shake incase it makes them put on weight or that they are worried to eat carbs at night because they don’t want to get fat really saddens me and has made me realise how much bad information is still being thrown around out there!

Don’t believe everything you hear or read and if you need it ask for help. There are so many people out there that I can guarantee have been through the same thing that would love to help. And if not, I certainly do!

Eat for your body, your mind & your soul. Don’t let food control your life. Life is way too short.

Han xox