Poor diet choices are made for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they are made due to a lack of information but more often than not, this is not the reason why we make our worst decisions. A lot of times, poor diet choices are caused by an underlying emotion – stress, anger, sadness- and we act on that emotion by reaching for food that we think will make that emotion go away or feel better. If this is something that you struggle with, the next time you reach for something unhealthy due to an emotional response, think of the two quotes below:
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” -Victor Frankl
“The food you eat either makes you more healthy or less healthy. Those are your options.” -It Starts with Food by the creators of the Whole30 program, Dallas and Melissa Hartwig
I didn’t make either of these quotes up, but they are extremely powerful and begin to introduce how you can approach food from a more mindful place. The first quote is about that space between stimulus and response. This space exists before virtually every decision we ever make and it applies to much broader topics in life than food. If we all just spent an extra 10 seconds in this space before a response, I think we would all be kinder, healthier, and overall better people.
The second quote is something you can ponder while you are in that space between stimulus and response. Strive to make the answer to this question “more healthy” at least 90% of the time. Indulgences happen and should happen from time to time, and when they do, they should be enjoyed, not ridden with guilt.