I love my boyfriend for many reasons, but especially for those moments in which he teaches me something new about something I already know and opens my eyes to a new perspective. Such an event occurred last night over dinner at a local Italian venue. A firm believer in disassociating guilt from food, I still struggle from time to time to keep the mindset thanks to my years of full-guilt eating. Last night was my “cheat” meal from my regular clean eating and slow-carb nutrition. Happily, I glowed to him about how great it felt to savour my pizza and lobster bisque completely guilt free. He stopped me dead in my ramblings and told me that food should always be guilt free.
Not only does Brandon not associate guilt with food, he never has and he never will. He is on to something, and that something is called freedom. The great thing about freedom is that it is available to everyone. You don’t always have to have been free to qualify for it, so if you have been shackled in guilt, take heart, freedom is ready for you.
Are there going to be moments in your relationship with food where you will wish that you had made better choices? Absolutely; however, those moments do not demand or necessitate guilt. Guilt is useless when associated with food, because in the end it will just drive an unhealthy relationship of denial and indulgence, leaving you powerless and exhausted. If you want to stop pushing your giant rock nowhere up an endless hill, start learning how to dissociate guilt from food. As you do, your body will speak louder as to the nutrition it really needs, and your relationship with food will transform.