Possibly the longest title ever and that’s okay.
Lettuce talk about food shaming and food comparison, something we have all done at one time or another. And coming from an eating disorder background I can tell you, ain’t nobody got time for it.
Food shaming typically occurs whenever we eat something and then immediately regret it. Like when someone brings donuts (doughnuts?) to work and you’ve already eaten breakfast but you decide to have a donut too and you being thinking, “should I have eaten that?”
Food comparison usually occurs when you start comparing what you’re eating to whatever your friend is eating. For example, you’re out at a restaurant with a friend and you’re starving so you order a hamburger with fries while your friend orders a salad and barely leaves a dent in the lettuce.
So how does the vicious cycle of constantly feeling guilty stop? Well, I have found several ways that help me personally.
Number One: Remember why you are eating what you’re eating. So you wanted a hamburger for dinner when you were starving? Totally fine. If you are hungry, EAT. There is nothing wrong with eating a hamburger and fries every once in a while.
Number Two: Remember who you are is NOT who someone else is and who someone else is NOT who you are. So your friend barely made a dent in her salad? Who cares?! Maybe she had a big lunch, maybe she wasn’t hungry, or maybe she has her own food battles. Either way, you are YOU so embrace it!
I have struggled with this one dating all the way back to 1996. I cannot tell you how many times someone has been like “Oh my gosh your mom is so skinny!” Oh really? I hadn’t noticed. Only, hold the phone, I had noticed! I spent so long comparing myself to my mom that I totally forgot that I am not her. I am me. (And it only took me 20 years to realize it) So its only natural that we have completely different body shapes. And guess what? She’s still my BFF that I absolutely adore.
Number Three: Stop telling yourself “NO” If you want cake, eat cake. If you want a salad, eat a salad. If you want Taco Bell, eat Taco Bell.
Food is food is food is food. Food is meant to be fuel for our lives and to be enjoyed among friends and family. Our society makes food out to be this enemy that says we can only eat at certain times and we can only eat so much of this and so much of that.
If you’re hungry, eat. And eat what you’re hungry for. Life is way too short to be stressed about the calories in a piece of carrot cake. Am I right? Or am I right?
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