What Do You Eat?

I recently opened up for some feedback on what information my readers would like to see. I’ve received amazing feedback by the way, so thank you so much for all of you who asked for specific material. I always find myself going back to talking about relationships with food. Relationships with food can be really tough stuff, man. And with the media hoopla out there with all of their branding and money and sales and bullshit, it’s really hard to develop even a decent relationship with food. Everything just seems so difficult now-a-days. If you’re pregnant you can’t eat cheese. If your kid has McDonalds they are going to die. If your kid doesn’t have McDonalds, you’re a crazy tree hugging, terrible parent. If you eat bacon you’re going to get fat. I mean, COME ON ALREADY! It’s bad enough that we have the strong-minded “clean eaters” out there telling you not to eat anything that’s processed but yet eat oatmeal. It’s bad enough that our peers judge us for our parenting skills or lack thereof (oh, you feed your child FORMULA?). Whatever happened to just living life and doing the best you can with what you have? Instead we have all this nonsense “stuff” to worry about that it’s basically taken over our lives! All this, Coke-a-cola is going to kill you, Aspartame is going to give you cancer, sugar is the root of all evil stuff. This stuff gets thrown at us day in and day out. So, how do we even feel able to form a good relationship with food if we’re so worried that it’s going to kill us every day. 

Before you say it, YES food in CRAZY HIGH consumption and a HUGE LACK OF food can absolutely kill you. But, for the common person and the majority of the world, this is not the case. And also, let me address you “3/4 of the population is overweight/obese” people. Look, those statistics are taken by a measure of Body Mass Index (BMI). Which is simply a correlation between your weight and your height. It does not take into account your muscle or your fat distributions (another reason that doctors and insurance companies really irk me). So, according to BMI, I am overweight. Do I look overweight? No. It’s preposterous really. 

Now, coming from a person who has struggled FOREVER with food, and one who has come to understand basics of food and science, I can tell you I am not perfect. I LOVE a juicy cheeseburger with some deep fried french fries. I know that it’s not going to kill me to indulge in one every so often. I also know there are ways that I can eat a cheeseburger today if I wanted to without going over any of my calories/macros for the day. I know that I could make a cheeseburger with ground bison, use a regular fatty piece of cheese, and use half of the bun or maybe I can use portobello mushrooms in place of my bun. Who knows? The possibilities are endless when you get creative enough and learn to stop fearing food. This is simply the point I am trying to get across. I am no better than anyone. I am not better than a clean eater, a paleoer, a vegetarian, a pescatarian, a hunter gatherer, a McDonalds everydayer. I am not. And I’m not trying to be. I’m just a woman who struggled with food and body image my whole life. I am just a woman who was once very over weight. I am just a woman who wants to help other women learn to love themselves and form a good relationship with food. I am just a woman who hopes to spread enough love and knowledge to my son so that he never has to go through the heartache I did as a child. That is simply what this blog is for. To the girl throwing up in the toilet, I’ve been there. To the girl stuffing her face with as much food as possible while sitting in the cupboard alone, I have been there. To the athlete who might be too heavy for their sport, I have been there. To the girl starving herself in private, I have been there. I am just a normal person, just like you. I don’t have it all figured out. And I may never. But what I do know is that you can give yourself permission to be happy and form a better relationship with food.

By request, here is a list of foods I eat regularly:

Eggs

Bacon

Bison

Beef

Chicken

Turkey

Shrimp

Scallops

Bananas

Pineapple

Quest Bars

Mozzarella and American cheese

Mission tortillas

Healthy Life bread

All vegetables

Basmati rice

Anything with tomatoes

Whey protein

Almond Milk

2% Milk

Sparkling water

Coffee with cream and natural cane sugar

Lucky Charms

Marantha Crunchy Peanut Butter

Real Butter

Plain Rice Cakes

Unlimited amounts of spices/condiments (except mayo/ranch/etc)

Salsas/Hot sauces

Extra Virgin Olive Oil/Sesame Oil/Coconut Oil/Canola Oil

Of course I do partake in date nights where Wine, Vodka, Steak, Crab, Pizza and Sushi can be present. 

This is just a small list of what I eat the MAJORITY of the time. I fit some cookies and ice cream in here every so often, but there are my usual staples.