I have always loved to eat. I especially love to try new things. Food for me, always seems to taste better when it looks good and is presented well. I am definitely a visual eater. I have also had an interest in food as medicine for quite a while. I am not sure when my interest started. I would love to say it was after my cancer diagnosis back in 2011 when I had to be on a low iodine diet a few times or when my Dr in Virginia recommended the FOD diet for a little while after I had some horrible gut issues (which by the way I never tried: I can be a slow learner lol) but I believe it has been a gradual journey to where my thoughts and feelings are today on what I choose to eat every day. Health Coaching school helped me realize that your health isn’t just determined by what you eat. There are many factors which can be put into 12 categories. I don’t want to chat with you about those categories today (I might at a later time) but I just want to share with you how I am struggling with navigating all the different information that is out there about food and how it is affecting what used to be a fun trip to the grocery store. I used to look forward to making our shopping list and spent hours browsing the aisles, often stopping when I saw an item I hadn’t seen before. Nowadays, I try to get in and out as swiftly as possible. T might disagree but I have definitely scaled my time back within the walls of the local store. This reality makes me sad because I am not a shopper for clothes, accessories etc. I wouldn’t say I despise shopping for these things, but I don’t relish the thought and in the past might have partaken in a morning or afternoon stop at a local coffee shop for a scrumptious pastry to help me through. Grocery shopping on the other hand I have never had a problem with. No promises of a stop at somewhere fun on the way to or from the store has ever been needed, because the fun was inside the store! I say all this to tell you all knowledge isn’t always power and can sometimes be a buzz kill, a party pooper! Yes prices have gone up which just adds to my dilemma as I read label after label, bar codes, check for inflammatory oils, hidden sugars etc. I have come out with several bags in hand feeling weary and exhausted. I was listening to a Podcast several weeks and the guest was speaking about orthorexia and it hit me I am struggling with a few of the things that she mentioned and are listed in the article posted https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/other/orthorexia. I realized just this week while talking to T and a lady whom I am serving with this month that I can’t control where I am living. God has me exactly where He wants me. Am I disappointed in the American food system? That would be a resounding YES but am I trusting God wholeheartedly with my life including with what goes into my body and my health? I can still use the information I am collecting to help me make good decisions about what I eat, but to remember to give myself grace. That some days its okay to just go crazy and eat that big ole sugary doughnut, that piece of glutenous bread and enjoy the company I am with. To not stress so much and trust God. He’s got this!
