Do you have a fear of food?

Things have gotten weird lately. It seems that anyone that eats healthy now has a fear of food. And by that I mean, a fear of eating the wrong things.

“I can’t have any canola oil in my food because it is GMO (genetically modified).”

“I can’t have ketchup unless it is organic.”

Now, I’m not saying that there is something wrong with this. What I’m saying is if you can never let yourself eat, for example, canola oil or non-organic ketchup – then there is a fear of food.

We all need balance and when we become too stringent on our eating habits it becomes unhealthy. And I know this because I was there. I was afraid to eat lots and lots of food. I would constantly look at the label. I wouldn’t eat anything that was considered bad in the health world. I  started to create a very unhealthy eating pattern.

So, where does this food strictness come from?

It can come along from:

Social media

Society

Past traumas

Control issues

Perfectionism

Disordered eating

Everyone seems to be telling us what is wrong and what is right for our bodies. We forget to listen to our voices.

These days all food groups seem to be demonized. Gluten is the devil, sugar can kill, meat is death, and carbs are never to be touched. I mean, come on, this has to stop!

When we make food wrong, we create a fear of food. Food is food, nothing else. When we make it something else that's when the real issues start.

What if we just ate for ourselves? Ate what we liked and stopped putting some thought into what the ingredients are? I’m not saying eat all the junk food you want. But I am saying that there is a place for everything and restriction is unhealthy.

I mean, really the saying “everything in moderation” really does apply nowadays.

Food is meant to be enjoyed. It’s not meant to be thought over into a state of stress. Deciding what you want to eat shouldn’t be an hour-long conversation with yourself at the grocery store, looking at all the ingredients and putting down anything you pick up because there is a so-called “bad” ingredient in there.

You should listen to your body and pick out what you need, pay, and leave. It should be that simple.

Don’t fear food.

Make it simple. And stop listening to all the marketing out there that says you can or cannot eat this. If your body is craving something, it is okay to eat a bag of chips or chocolate if you want to.

“Everything in moderation” – remember.

The most important takeaway is to listen to your body and create balance. Make it simpler. And stop avoiding carbs, please!

Life is too short to avoid the foods you love.

Made to be Wild

©2022 Marina Dimitrova