Being at Peace with Yourself & Food

(Stick with me on this one. It's not a post about my child. It's about you.)

With my son just turning one, I find myself reading my first parenting book to prepare for the toddler years. One of the main points this particular book drives home is that I am the parent and will ultimately make the best decisions for my kid despite what any pop culture, scientific "study" or Facebook comment may say. The book continues to encourage you to say to yourself "I am the parent!" and I love it. It's so empowering to quiet the many other noisy sources I look to confirm that maybe I'm doing something right or my fears that I'm totally screwing up my child.

Change gears to healthy eating -- lately I've been wondering if I'm doing enough to be a "healthy" eater. Yes, even I doubt myself and efforts just like you. I find I want to compare myself to other friends and moms and then feel like I'm falling short on the health-o-meter. It's an awful feeling. Guilt, fear and inadequacy haunt my thoughts.

Now, let's put these two story lines together. You, my friends, are the expert on your body and I am the expert on mine. You know what promotes health, vitality and energy in your life. You feel the positive and negative consequences of your decisions.

Listen to yourself. You know what to do.

There are a lot of good sources for true evidence based nutrition. There are also many "methods" of eating that make everyone else feels like losers, sometimes intentionally but usually unintentiontally. It's time to start blending your own strategies.

So start by asking yourself, what's working for me and what's not? You are the one that is going to be the best author of your healthy eating plan. Take everything you know about yourself and your personality into consideration. Sew in the good foundations of health-promoting eating. Tweak with principles that work for you and help you reach your goals.

Then, don't look back and don't compare.

Certainly keep your eyes open for new good ideas. It is ok for your eating to change through your life as you find new principles that work for you. But don't berate yourself for not eating like the Jones'.

Be at peace. Be yourself.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson