I LOVE food…… bread, candy, chocolate, ice cream, you name it I like it-okay NOT big on fish…..damn…. take that back-deep fry it and I will eat it!
As someone who has always been active, into sports and okay I will say it somewhat vain :P, I have to watch what I eat. Not to mention I am a trainer and who wants to train with a fat trainer? We live in a society that initially judges you on image, every ad bombards you with the “ideal” body and you can’t pick up a magazine that doesn’t have someone on the cover with the “perfect” body …..no cellulite, no fat, no skin imperfections…ugh!! At what point does the obsession with food, calorie counting, carbs, fats, protein (insert scream) border on INSANITY??
I have a client whose daughter is suffering from anorexia, she is currently in rehab and as a family they have to attend therapy sessions about food. Unlike, drugs or alcohol-you can’t simply stop eating or get away from food-it surrounds us from super markets to restaurants to gas stations and carry’s over into social situations too. In therapy they work on changing perceptions about food. In their last session they discussed disordered thinking. Basically, if you eat pizza, it would be considered disordered thinking to feel as though you need to do more cardio to burn the calories, or eat less at dinner to make-up for the “lapse” in judgment. According to my client, the food therapist said “normal” thinking would be to just eat whatever you want and not have a second thought about it.
Wait…..Really? Who thinks this way?!?!?!
I would have to say most everyone I know has disordered thinking, including myself. My client said she couldn’t even comment in the therapy session because she too thinks about the food she eats and feels guilty when she over eats. She also felt as though she’s somehow responsible for her daughter’s anorexia disorder, since she didn’t allow her to eat certain foods in excess.
As a mom I really feel for her, I have to admit that I too make my kids aware of their food choices and portions as well as monitor how much activity they are getting in. We live in a society that has an increasing number of overweight children, Starbucks is on every corner and you can get 12 tacos from Taco Bell for five dollars. I want the best for my kids, I don’t want them to go through school being ridiculed about their weight, not being able to participate in activities or unable to wear cute clothes. More importantly I don’t want unhealthy kids.
I also don’t want to be that mom, you know the one-she is in great shape but has the overweight kid (there are a few of these moms at my daughters school-they are in awesome shape and their kid is 20 pounds overweight wearing sweats cause jeans are not comfortable) and all the other parents talk about them.
For me, I became utterly aware of food and calories after my first fitness competition. You must track caloric intake, timing of meals must be precise, weighing your food becomes second nature and in the end you may even carb deplete or load to get the perfect conditioning come game day. After the show you want to maintain the look but you’ve starved yourself of anything delicious for at least 12 weeks, if you are like me you go on a complete binge over indulging in all those foods denied you that you damn near die of gluttonous overload……. Can someone say BYE BYE abs
I don’t feel that I do anything teetering on the extreme –MODERATION is key. I do, however, have those feelings of should I or shouldn’t I, as I am opening up that Resse’s peanut butter cup wrapper-it seems like an evil mind game that one plays when you know youv’e eaten really good all day and BOOM here comes that moment of weakness to bring you down. Lets face it, there are consequences of eating whatever you want in excess too. Maybe you don’t care what you look like on the outside but if you are at risk for high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholestrol, you better believe your doctor will want you to get your diet in check!
So what do you think, do you have disordered thinking and do you agree that it’s abnormal?
