Keep Your Power

During several conversations over the past few weeks people have fretted and apologized to me about eating. They confess that they were "bad", that they ate the "wrong" foods. There seems to be an underlying fear that someone, somewhere, will hold them accountable for these transgressions and they will be punished.

Studies have shown that we make over 200 food related decisions a day. It's not just what's for dinner- it's eggs scrambled or over, white or whole wheat toast, orange or cranberry juice, coffee with cream or milk, is that milk whole, 2%, skim or soy? You get the drift. If you are making that many decisions a day there are bound to be a few that get a little off track. The idea then is to keep the vast majority of them, 80% or more on track. Whether for weight loss or maintaining good health, eating healthy foods in moderation will get you where you want to go.

Yes it is true that one decision, let's say to eat an entire bag of chips, will slow your weight loss plans, but does that make you a bad person? Does it make sense to feel you should be punished? This kind of thinking gives food more power than it deserves. It is only food. Despite what we think sometimes, food cannot actually talk. The only power food has is that which we give it.

Unfortunately there is a tendency to punish these poor food choices with more "bad" food. The thinking runs "if I've already blown it what's one more ...." This is actually abdicating further thoughtful decision making and not thinking at all. In this scenario food is given power over all our food related decisions without actually uttering a word.

So what if that bag of chips could talk, what would it say? Maybe something like "enough already, go out for a walk", or "wow, you seem stressed, go relax in the yard". You probably wouldn't hear "you are a really bad person". What you eat may reflect your emotional state, but it doesn't define your character. Keep the power on your side.