You may not know this but there was a time I wasn’t too concerned with Healthy Eating. It just wasn’t on the radar. What was on my radar? Cheese burgers, fries, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, and all things sugary, doughy, and cheesy. Greens? Not so much. Also, I ate until my heart desired at any given meal. There was simply no sense of portion control or self-control.
Reflecting on why my food story is what it is brought me to scenes of my childhood at the kitchen table. One thing that was awesome about my food story is that my family practiced sitting at the table to have meals together and talking with one another on a daily basis. I loved that and plan to instill that practice when I have my own family to nourish. But it’s what happened at the table that developed my relationship with food of hills and valleys. I was given a certain amount of food, which to me always seemed like more than I needed. I didn’t have much of an appetite. Regardless, I was not allowed to get up from the table until I finished all of my food—even if I didn’t want the rest. I do appreciate why that rule was a thing in my home though. I totally get it. My parents wanted to ensure that I was well fed. Who could fault anyone for that? Also, having parents who migrated from a third world country to America and able to work and provide good home cooked meals for their kids everyday is flat out a blessing. So yeah, “eat your food young Yardley!” But subconsciously, that resonated and stuck with me throughout my food journey. And to add to that, which plays a major part, as I’m a thin woman now, I was a thin girl then, and when I became of age where I could buy my own cooked food, I ate what I wanted and a lot of it! I had/have a big appetite. In my mind and to those around me, “I could afford it” since I couldn’t gain much weight even when I tried. Friends in high school would call me the “skinny fat girl” (not my words) as a joke and no one had two thoughts about it, including me. I essentially became “exempt” from portion control and ultimately, self-control—which is something I still face today if I’m not paying attention to it.
Over the years, as I tried figuring out how to improve my health, because eating like that was bound to catch up to me, I began to make healthier choices. It didn’t happen overnight. Little by little, slowly but surely, making healthier food choices became a lifestyle. The result of those actions that turned into habits was me feeling really good physically, and I wanted nothing more than for others to experience the same thing too! But, I eventually got a bit obsessed about healthy eating. I became a Healthy Food Nazi. I found myself giving (strong) food advice to friends and family, even as they ordered their meals in front of me at restaurants. Although I don’t conduct myself in that way anymore, folks that want to do better in the area of food have shared that they feel guilty or even judged when they eat in front of me—still. Yikes! I feel bad about that because most people don’t even know that I have my issues with food too! Food issues like: I can eat emotionally because it soothes, albeit temporarily. I get cravings for sweets like unhealthy baked goods. Although 97% of the time I do eat healthy foods, I can eat larger portions than necessary at times.
Just like there’s such a thing as a relationship with People and a relationship with God, there’s also a relationship with Food. In a food relationship, there are ups and there are downs too, and I’ve found that the part of the ride that goes down is when I’m personally off-centered. Causes can be things like lack of sleep, work shenanigans, abbreviated time reading my Bible or in prayer, and letting my schedule dictate me instead of me dictating my schedule. Can anyone relate to these seasons or is it just me?
Hold up, but wait, I’m the Health Coach here! I’m supposed to be perfect as it relates to healthy eating because I’m the poster child of good health! Right? Actually, no—not right. I had to discover for myself and really accept the fact that my food hurdles that I must consciously jump through, past and present, don’t discredit but actually serve a purpose. They remind me that I’m not perfect. Duh. They bring me down a notch and humble me out. They help me relate to the friends, family and my readers that I serve in the area of healthy cooking/eating/living. They help me understand that struggles with food, sleep, time management, work, etc., are struggles we all have, and we all need help with them from time to time. They also help others that are watching me to be reminded that healthy living is possible—and moments of falling short are opportunities to get up and keep moving forward. No condemnation. No guilt. No self-imposed or social media-imposed pressure. Just the striving to do better than you did yesterday.
Although I too can be vulnerable to resembling the woman I used to be, eating haphazardly and such, I’m here to say as living proof, no matter what your food story or history is, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is possible, and enjoyable! All this being said, I want to use this platform to help us women in this area.
I want Rise & Shine Bright to be a place where we discover ways to overcome healthy lifestyle hurdles. A place where we inspire each other to make better and delicious food choices as a lifestyle—but not be all Nazi about it. A place where we feel supported in our food journeys. A place we can have fun cooking and feel the beautiful effects of eating our own healthy home cooked meals. So what’s happening is, through a series of blog posts, Rise & Shine Bright is collaborating with other Health Coaches that have great insight to share about various topics of achieving good health and a healthy lifestyle! These are women who have faced their own health challenges and have their own food stories as well. And they have a plethora of nuggets to impart that’ll help all of us, readers, writers and all—as none of us are exempt from doing #betterthanyesterday.
My hope is that this is a blessing to you, so please chime in whenever you have a thought, question or request to share, either here on the blog or on social. We’d love to hear from you!
Continue to Rise & Shine Bright, ladies! And let’s live #betterthanyesterday!
Love,
Yardley
