Can’t Food Just Be Food

In my 20 years on earth I’ve succumbed to many diet habits, food trends and “fad” diets. From much too young an age the goal was to have a perfect body with no imperfections: something I could show off and feel confident going about my daily life.

I’ve tried juice cleanses, a gluten free lifestyle, calorie counting, protein maxing and most things in between, and I’ll tell you, they’re harmful in so many ways. Not just to your body because you’re limiting the types of energy you can access, but to your brain. Since I just became a teenager, my thoughts have focused on food. Not what felt good in my body or what I liked the taste of, but portion sizes and categorising my favourite foods as “good” or “bad”.

In full transparency, my brain still tries to do that. Growing up as a young woman, a lot of family and media around us dictates what our bodies should look like and what to eat, how much to exercise and what to restrict. This becomes second nature as we grow up and enter adulthood. 

For me, it started to affect my life more than just thoughts or my physical health. It affected memories and crucial moments in my life. Coffee with my friends, a quick lunch between work or uni, dinner dates and family events constantly felt scary and I’d find myself trying to avoid these situations. Not because of the people, or the situation, but because there was food involved that I couldn’t always control and the worry that I’d be judged for my food choices. 

When this became a constant fear for me, I realised that the problem wasn’t me or my body shape, but instead diet culture and what I had engrained in my brain growing up that stopped my enjoyment of food completely.

I’ve now started to realise that food is food. Food is energy for journeys to and from places. 

Food is healthy both mentally and physically. Food is fun and enjoyable and causes happiness. Food is a chance to explore new flavours and cultures. Food is memories. Food is many many things, but it is not something that should be controlled constantly or be doubted, or cause guilt. 

I will eat what I want to eat, and when I want to eat it. I will eat sugar and “junk food” when I want to pick myself up or as a treat for a long day. I will eat whatever I want at a restaurant and enjoy being with the people I am there with. I will eat whatever I find tasty and helpful at that moment, whether that’s a specific craving or whatever’s most convenient. 

Our bodies let us go wherever we want, do everything we want to do and spend time with the people we love. That is their purpose and we need to fuel that appropriately.

And yes, it still feels weird for me to write these when I am still accepting these facts myself, but it’s something we should be hearing from our childhoods rather than rules and restrictions when really: food is just food. 

Written by, Charley Sands