Does Wellness Mean Giving Up My Favorite Foods?

MYTH #1
Healthy eating means giving up all the delicious foods that you love.

TRUTH –

Someone once said to me, “I saw your travel snack post on Instagram and I thought ugh, is this the way I'm going to have to live?” (I had some goji berries and almonds/ and a supplement pack)

Let me tell you a little story:

A few months ago I was on a train en route to the airport and there were 3 men standing in front of me. One had a bag from Zaro's bakery, inside the bag was a loaf of sliced rye bread. On this 21 minute train ride from Penn Station to Jamaica Station this man ATE THE ENTIRE LOAF OF BREAD. Seriously. One slice at a time: roll the slice, shove in mouth, 3 chews, big swallow. Repeat. He was chatting with his buddies the whole time and very casually consumed an entire loaf of bread in under 21 minutes.

I was mesmerized. I had never seen anything quite like it.

And I thought, my god.

What was he feeling? How did his body handle food like that? Did he get heart burn, take digestive enzymes? Would he continue to eat through the day? I can't say for sure what was going on for this dude, but I can tell you that there was no enjoyment in that food behavior. It was merely a compulsion, just like chain smoking.

In that moment, in an admittedly boastful way, I was elated to think of my travel snacks tucked into my carry on. I was overjoyed to sip my green smoothie while en route. l knew that my food choices that day would determine how I would feel when I landed at my destination. I would feel great.

Fresh seasonal veggies

So the way I live is JOYFUL and amazing. The food in my life isn't always almonds and goji berries but when it is I LOVE IT.

The truth is you don't HAVE to live any-sort-of-way. You can choose what habits and foods serve you, deeply serve you. You may, however, need a little shift of perspective.

Goji berries serve me, in a big way. I love them. But I also shared a burger with a friend last weekend and it served me at the time. I plan on having a glass of wine this weekend, and that will serve me in the moment.

I haven't given up anything I love, I have found a way to increase all of the love and joy and goodness in my life through healthy, healing food.

I haven't given up the foods that I love, I have increased the degree to which I love all food. But everything I eat serves me (well, almost everything I am not a fan of perfection)

Karen (our friend from Nutritious Yogi, and my BFF since we were 15) has a curious food habit, of which I would bet she is quite unaware.

That's me and Karen frolicking in a radish field.

Whenever she eats, no matter what it is, she says, “Ohhhhh, this is perfect.”

Oftentimes the food is actually far from perfect (a quick sandwich at the airport, or a bland meal at a friends house), but she is utterly and completely in the moment with whatever she is eating. Appreciative and grateful. You know what, I bet the food does indeed taste better to Karen because she immediately tells herself how great it is!

The choices we make about food go much deeper than thoughts of “giving up” favorite foods. It's quite the opposite wellness warriors, healthy eating is living in a way that is utterly and completely abundant. If I've given up anything on this journey it is shame, disappointment, stomach aches, headaches, bad skin, and those awful marks on my stomach where my jeans used to dig in.

Don't believe me? That's ok, we just have more work to do. Stick with me, I can't wait to show you how glorious this side of healthy living is.

Still have your eyebrows raised? Leave me a comment below.. let's chat 😉