Do you find yourself thinking about food a lot?
Do you start dreaming about the next meal, snack, or salted caramel macchiato…after you’ve just finished one?
(Sorry. You’re probably thinking of one now. Let me fix it. APPLES! PINEAPPLES! Umm….baked chips? No carb, gluten-free meat jerky. There. We’re covered.)
Okay, maybe you rarely ever think about food. Maybe you go out of your way to shove it out of sight and out of mind for as long as possible…
…only to wind up binging…
…or eating in a way you’re not altogether pleased with later?
If this is not you, cool. Just stick around for my little teaspoon of wisdom in case you need it for someone you love…
Because what I’m about to say is really good news!
Whether you…
…dream about food all day…
…or try hard not to…
…if you’re struggling to eat well even though you want to…
…I’m going venture that both, having the same result, also have the same root.
Repeat after me:
“There is nothing wrong with thinking about food.”
There.
Glad we’ve got that out of the way.
Moving on…
If you are thinking a ton about eating, or else giving it no thought and inescapably plummeting into eating habits and patterns you don’t like…it could be that something *in* you is legitimately trying to get your attention.
Hence, the “inescapable” part.
(It’s like a pain signal. The more your body needs you to stop walking on your broken toe, the louder the pain signal.)
We want the “right” kind of thinking. An effective quality of mind towards food will often trigger a reduction in the quantity of thoughts.
Allow me to rabbit trail for a moment, and I promise it will make sense in a few sentences.
I’ve lived long enough to know that I don’t know the HALF of the treasure God’s put in me…
…and neither do you.
I am forever discovering new potential; latent gifts; treasures and super powers hidden inside weird, quirky behaviors.
I keep finding out there’s so much more to me than I could ever imagine. Super fun discoveries often come as soon as I stop judging myself (or being in denial) and start paying attention.
And guess what?
You don’t fully know yourself, yet, either.
You’ve got some super fun discoveries to make right now about yourself, and some of them are hidden in something quirky.
Repeat after me:
“I am the top dog.” (Deuteronomy 28:13 MSG)
That’s an old scripture that means you are boss! You’re on top of the mountain, not the bottom. You’re the A-list, the CEO, the winner. You’re a “have” not a “have-not.” You’re the bees knees. YOU’RE THE DUDE, MAAAAN!
There’s something you can do better than anyone, and the world desperately needs you to use all your tricks to make the world a better place.
And that involves getting to know thyself, which involves understanding your “ways.”
Now…if you really are awesome, how do you judge the rightness or wrongness of your own behaviors and habits? Are they always right?
Well…they are always…information.
Habits and behaviors serve a purpose. There’s a reason you do them. They serve a purpose. They keep things homeostatic.
Do you think about food too much? Not enough? Why?
If you don’t fully understand the behavior…
…or if you don’t know how to change it…
…then it really doesn’t help to just settle with “right” or “wrong.”
Observe and learn from it, even if it takes a little while. It’ll be worth the fight.
Why do we assume that certain behaviors must not be good?
At the bottom of it all, you’ve got to know that YOU. ARE. GORG. Inside and out. Anything that takes from your awesomeness is just a green bean smudge on your white tee shirt. It’s washable!
But you? You’re a dazzling white tee shirt. Or a glittery gold one. Or whatever sounds fun to you. The point is…we’re not out to “fix” you! There’s nothing to fix. There’s only removing what no longer is part of you…
…to uncover and discover more of the true you.
In that, assumptions will get us nowhere.
Just because other people have an opinion about it (including you) doesn’t mean it’s true for you. To get the most out of this life, we must know the truth. We must be patient, young grasshopper, and be willing to look at these things with a gentle eye.
When Weird Is Good?
I have caught myself a thousand times assuming that something I passionately desire is *wrong* or *weird*, or that the way I think is *off*…
…only to later have God show me there was nothing wrong with my desire…
…to be fit, for instance.
In some quagmire of shame and distorted wisdom, I would try and shove the thoughts about food from my mind, feeling as if thinking about eating was evidence of being overly consumed with it (pun not intended).
You see, years ago I felt ashamed of my hunger for fitness and strength (pun, again!), because I feared I would “worship” it and like…lose my soul.
Hey, it’s a thing! It happens.
I discovered over time, though, that supporting others in health and fitness is part of my life’s “calling.” Therein, no matter how hard I tried to stop thinking about it, or stop wanting it, the desire never left. A frustrating relationship with food also persisted…because the more I tried to push the thoughts away, the more they intensified.
Once I decided it was “okay” to think so much about food, to study nutrition, and learn how to be fit, I started seeing significant improvements to my health, physique, and career, too!
Do you think a lot about eating? Or about food, in general?
You have no idea what discoveries this process will lead to.
The spirit and breath that lives inside of you is telling you to pay attention.
It’s okay to think about eating…deeply, if you need to.
Just take authority over those thoughts.
Make them work for you…
…right now.
Right now, think about your day. Think about your next meal, snack, or beverage.
Think clearly about how you would like it to look. For now, let’s not allow your tastebuds or cravings to do the talking. We are thinking from your intention.
Do you want to overeat?
Except maybe on a few occasions, must of us don’t plan to overeat. Overeating tends to come more as a result of not planning, and not thinking “enough” about food.
Go back to that meal, snack, or beverage.
Do you want to add some veggies to it? Perhaps a fresh piece of fruit? If you’ve already got chips and that’s your plan, go for it…
…but can you plan, right now, one small change or addition that will make it just a smidge better?
…just a little closer to your ultimate dream and goal for your body?
Maybe don’t dip it in the ranch dressing? Or dip away, but eat slower and more mindfully, taking a breath or two between chips.
I don’t know…it’s YOUR process! If you’re one of my clients, we can totally strategize together.
But either way, you can DO this.
And for those not thinking about food much…
…yet you binge or eat in a way you don’t like…
…it could be that you’re actually pushing away thoughts like I did un-consciously for so long.
Try it.
Think about food. Do it intentionally. Be willing to plan.
It’s not important to get the plan perfect today. Just start thinking…on purpose.
Remember what I said about undiscovered treasure in you?
You really don’t know the half of it…
…what’s in you, I mean.
Be encouraged. You are valuable beyond compare, even beyond your wildest dreams…
…and even though we’ll always have room to grow and mature…
…you are absolutely, 100% acceptable, NOW.
Junk the ‘stinkin thinkin’. Be curious. Talk to God constantly. Listen for that gentle guidance that comes in response to your prayer. If it’s God, it will always be life-giving.
Let me know how it goes.