sunnuntai 17. elokuuta 2008

you are what you eat


Food is essential for survival, that is a fact. If you consume more than you burn, you will gain weight and vice versa. We all know these simple truths and should also know how to apply them, i.e. eat sensibly. Yet it seems that an increasing number of people are having trouble with eating, some eating too much and some too little. What exactly is it that makes eating – an everyday task – so difficult?

What we eat affects the way we look, thus affecting the way we feel about ourselves and how other people see us. The food that we consume shapes us, affecting everything from our body to our mind. There is no denying that food is an important part of life, “we are what we eat”. In a society that admires will power and self-control it is natural that food intake should be controlled so that we could decide exactly what we become. However it’s not always that easy.

My personal relationship with food is a complicated one. I see food as a ‘necessary evil’ that one needs to survive. I’m often disgusted by food that I consider unhealthy and I hate myself if I’ve let it slip and eaten too much. Yet I respect my body and want to give it sufficient and good nutrition. I want to be healthy and I understand that food is an essential part of health. Even though I want to be thin and would do anything to get there, I would never ever starve myself with, say, 100kcal/day or something, I find that extremely stupid.

I count the calories, carbs, fat and protein of every single bite I take. I can’t eat it if I don’t know what it contains. I got this small scale a few days back and I’ve been using it to weigh everything I eat so that I know exactly how much I’ve consumed during the day. I know it shouldn’t be like this, I know that eating shouldn’t be made that complicated but I can’t help it. In some weird way I’ve become obsessed with this control.

Back to the original question: What makes eating so difficult? Well, I really don’t know. Maybe when everything else seems to be spiraling out of control, it is only natural to turn to food. What you put in your mouth is up to you, you control it. The feeling of power, of total control, is exhilarating.

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