Philosophy on Food

 

In order to discuss my philosophy on food, it is important for me to be honest with you about my relationship with food and how it has changed over the years. For starters I love food and, since we are being honest, I am actually eating a cookie as I write this. 

 

My father started a cookie company before I was born.  Therefore, for all practical purposes, eating sugar and cookies is extremely natural for me.  One might say I am a professional at it.  Growing up I was consumed by sports, dancing, and horseback riding.  My mother, who is a dancer, insisted that I did ballet, jazz, tap, and modern dance.  My father, who’s every thought is about basketball, insisted that I play basketball on two different teams year round from the age of 11-18.  The horseback riding was my own dream and I still do it to this day.  To make a long story short, with all of this physical activity I was able to eat everything I wanted and as much I wanted.  My nickname on my basketball team was “Hollow Leg” because I was able to consume more food then anyone on the team.

 

Well as most good things have to come to an end eventually, by the time I hit 20 I was still acting like “Hollow Leg” but I was no longer exercising 8 hours a day.  Needless to say I started gradually packing on the pounds.  Specifically I was 150 lbs when I was 18 years old and by the time I was 22 I was 180 lbs.  The last 20 lbs came on when I was living in Ghana, West Africa for 6 months.  Who packs on 20 lbs in West Africa?  I do – you know, “Hollow Leg.” 

 

When I returned from Ghana my sisters told me I was a big mama African princess and I knew things had to change.  I tried everything from counting calories, to not eating (which led to binge eating), to only eating meat and veg (atkins diet).  Some of these diets worked at first but the second I stopped following them strictly I put the weight on again.  My relationship with food at this point was not great.  I was frustrated that I couldn’t eat everything I wanted and as much as I wanted and I was very unhappy with how I looked. 

 

Eventually, with exercising more and not eating as much, I lost 15 pounds but I was still not back to where I wanted to be.  It wasn’t until I moved in with a friend of mine who eats incredibly slowly did I start losing a bit more of the weight and realized one of the most important tips about eating well and losing weight.  Eat slowly and stop eating when you are full.  I realized that I was actually full quicker than I thought.  I had just been eating so fast that I wasn’t able to feel when I was getting full, just when I was stuffed. 

 

Fast forward a few years when I moved in with my French boyfriend (now husband) I realized the second most important tip.  Cook your food instead of eating packaged food.  The French cook simple food and take pride in sitting and eating together.  Home cooked food is more easily digested by our bodies because there is less crap in it. 

 

Now I am back to being excited to eat.  I refuse to never eat cakes or chocolate or pasta.  What I am prepared to do is eat slowly and stop before I am stuffed, avoid processed food, limit alcohol, and happily eat my husband’s home cooked food.   I may not be “Hollow Leg” anymore, but I’m definitely not a without my cookies.