There is so much morality caught up in food. I often hear friends and family members say something along the lines of, “I was so good today because I drank so much water” or, “I was bad because I had two coffees.” To be super clear, your food and beverage choices don’t define you as either a good or a bad person. I know that people don’t literally mean that when they make judgements on their food choices, but when we take a step back, the language they use is powerful. It also provides insight into their inner dialogue. If someone is critical of their food choices, chances are that they are also critical about other things that they do in their life too. There are so many things to worry about in life these days and I don’t want your food choices to be one of them. 

Here is a little story for you. For a long time, I was so caught up in the way I looked. I made food choices solely based on my appearance. After realising that living that way was unsustainable, and let’s be honest miserable, I decided that I needed to change. I was not going to let my inner food critic, Edna, dictate my food choices anymore. I shifted my mindset from focussing on my weight and appearance to my health. Health expands far beyond the physical (blood pressure, digestive, immune, and muscular). Health also encompasses our mental health. This means choosing joy and the things that make us smile too. 

A few months into the year that was 2020 I was really stressed (like most people). The pressure of working from home, studying from home, and trying to navigate how on earth I was going to graduate on time was enormous. One day I was just completely burnt out. I was so emotional, not coping, and my period had also decided that she wasn’t going to come. I mean I get it, an environment of high stress probably isn’t the most ideal to bring a baby into the world. I was fortunate enough to be able to take a few days off at this point. In those few days I slept close to 12 hours a night, ate a wide variety of foods, spent time with my family, started reading again for pleasure, went for walks, did gentle pilates sessions and got back into cooking. After a few days, I saw a massive change to my mental health. 

When I returned to work and study, I made a conscious choice to continue being kind to my body and made self-care and fuelling it with enough food a priority. I was also very grateful that my period decided to come back. None of what happened was about my aesthetic. All I cared about was the feeling. I have to say when you start living from a place of wanting to FEEL good, you appreciate your body so much more. 

The point of me saying all of this is to reframe the way you think about food. Every food serves a purpose. Sure, some provides more nutrition than others, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t deserve a spot in our diets. You are a wonderful person just as you are. Your food choices don’t define you.