B.E.D.A 2018: Day Four

Hello again everyone and welcome to the fourth part of my BEDA challenge.

MY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD

So far this week I have spoken quite openly about my struggles with caffeine and alcohol. Now I’m going to talk about another thing I have had a problem with in the last few years – FOOD.

Even though food is a necessity for all of us, it is something that can cause a great many problems, from over-eating to under-eating, from not making healthy choices to eating at the wrong times.

I have faced so many problems of my own with food and my diet in recent years. A lot of it, I believe, is related to my troubles with anxiety and depression, and the need to have control over something in those dark times (it was in fact the complete opposite and it was loss of control over food masquerading as having control.)

Here are just some of the problems I faced.

·         Not eating breakfast because of being “too busy” or “late” in the mornings

·         Not eating lunch because of being too busy or not feeling motivated enough to get myself food

·         Not eating dinner because my body was so hungry that it wasn’t hungry anymore (does this make sense?) and so I didn’t feel hungry but was in fact getting more hungry

·         Eating ONE meal a day which would be late at night (around 8 or 9pm) and wouldn’t be home-made. By that stage I lacked any drive at all to make my own food so I would just get a take-away.

·         What this meant was that even though I wasn’t eating much, the nature of the food meant I put on a lot of weight in the space of just a few months.

·         Putting on weight made me feel terrible about myself

When it comes to countering the issues I was having with food, as with anything that is a vicious circle, the solution is never easy. Here are some of the strategies I use to keep my eating routine on track.

·         Eat breakfast. This may seem like a no-brainer really but it will get your brain into gear and boost your motivation for the rest of the day. I have trained myself to believe the old saying breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it really is true. Having something to eat early on in the day, even something small, can make a huge difference to your health.

·         Drinking more water. Again, it sounds simple, but it can have a massive impact on your eating habits. Water balances out your system and can make you feel more motivated to eat.

·         Make time for food. Most people who have busy lives often skip meals or forget them altogether because they are “running late” or “don’t have time”. I can tell you that this is a lie. Everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE, can make time in their day to eat. We simply have to put aside certain things which aren’t necessary (for example checking e-mails instead of eating breakfast, working at a computer rather than eat lunch, TV/ YouTube videos when it’s dinnertime) and train ourselves to put food before everything else. Get up earlier in the morning for breakfast, turn off that laptop/phone/tablet, and go and eat. Whatever is on those devices CAN WAIT but your body can’t.

·         Listen to your body. If your body is showing you signs that you need to eat, then for goodness’ sake, LISTEN TO IT. There is a reason our bodies are tuned to give us these signals and we ought to pay attention. If your stomach is rumbling – go and eat. If you are feeling dizzy and haven’t eaten – go and eat. If you are moody or snappy with people (hangry) then please – go and eat.

I am slowly beginning to regain control of my eating habits after years of struggle. I know this is a battle I won’t win overnight and that this is a long-term fight, but I am getting better every day. Learning to prioritise food and to practice healthier eating routines is difficult but I am making progress all the time and I am incredibly proud of how far I’ve come already on this road.

I have always tried to promote positivity on this page.

Even when the subject matter has been difficult, I have tried to find the positive side of it. sometimes, it has been hard, but I can always see a good in every bad, a positive in every negative, a light among the darkness. This is because I believe in the power of positive thinking, and I have full faith in it as a way of living life.

Remember to always try, no matter how hard things may seem, to think positive and you can accomplish anything, do anything, get through anything – believe me. 

SONGS OF 2008

Now it’s time to continue counting down the best songs of 2008.

At number 54, it the first appearance on this list by Barbadian superstar Rihanna. Here is her chart-topper from 2008, Take A Bow.

Coming in at 53, this is such a sing-along tune. I remember hearing this everywhere when I was thirteen, and I loved it as much then as I do now. A one hit wonder it may be, but what a hit it is. This is Iglu & Hartly with In This City.

54	Rihanna Take A Bow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3UjJ4wKLkg
53	Iglu & Hartly In This City https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUF-IlF1UW0

Thanks so much for reading, everybody.

My next post will be up tomorrow so keep an eye out for that. Until then, keep positive (as said above), keep smiling, and above all, keep believing!