Bad Food! No Donut for You!

I am so desperately tired of hearing people complain about not looking "good enough", "thin enough", "young enough" or "attractive enough".  The women that come into my coffee shop berate themselves on a daily basis.  I don't even think that they realize that they are doing it.  Honestly, I truly don't.  It breaks my heart when I hear women state, "Oh, I'm trying to be good today."  Or any similar form of that statement.  What qualifies as being "good." What qualifies as being "bad."

It appears that these women truly and whole heartedly believe that if the coffee drink they get is nonfat, sugar free, with out whipped cream and void of all things caloric they then feel that they are being good.  Heaven forbid they decided to get 2% milk or, gasp, whipped cream.  Oh no, they can't, as that would constitute being bad.  They can't be bad because that would mean they might actually consume some calories!  Eeeeek!

Men are not devoid of this behavior.  I have heard many a man say, "I'll be good today."  So they decide not to get the apple fritter, the whipped cream or the largest size available.  (Don't even get me started on the ridiculous portions my coffee shop offers. As that is for another blog post another time.)

I used to be one of these people.  I used to consume as few calories as possible.  There were days that would go by where I would not eat one gram of fat.  That last statement is no where near an exaggeration.  If a food had fat in it I would avoid it at all costs.  I used to base my value on how well I ate that day.  "Well" being defined as how few calories I consumed.  I was bad if I had too many.

But I'm not that person anymore.  I now have a healthy relationship with food.  Well, at least healthier than it used to be.  I'm still working on my relationship with it.  Food and I are on this understanding.  I now know that there is no such thing as "bad" food.  Food, in turn, now holds no power of me.

What I eat does not effect my personal view of myself.  I am not bad if I eat a piece of cheese.  I do not need to run on a treadmill for 20 minutes longer just so I can have whipped cream.  (Treadmills, ugh, there is outside for a reason!!!)  I will not abstain from having my delicious black and white salted caramel mocha.  I instead have a lovely little 8oz size.  I have what I want and my day goes on.

My love for myself is not affected by what I put in my mouth.  My love for myself is based upon what I am able to do.  I judge the health of my body by what it can do, not the size it is.

I wish I could pass this knowledge on to those who come into my store and berate themselves on a daily basis.  I wish there was someway I could help them to see that they are doing damage to their psyche not encouraging a healthy lifestyle.  But their problems are not mine.  I cannot take on their issues.  I have enough of my own issues to deal with!

Instead I will live my life as a healthy example for others.  I will continue to love myself for what I am capable of doing and for who I am.  Who knows, maybe it'll catch on!