The perfect edges that cookie cutters make in shaping a gingerbread man, a Christmas tree, stars and even Santa please my organized brain. I love the reliability of the cookie cutter’s ability to stamp out the perfect shape every time.
I wish life and clean eating were more like the perfect edges of a cookie cutter. It would take all the guess-work out of what to do next, unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. I was questioned on the way I eat the other day and was told to watch a documentary. During the documentary, they suggested that sugar and carbs were not the cause of all the health issues in America, that it was in fact, meat and fat. I was blown away that they would say sugar wasn’t the cause of health issues, but I was more frustrated at the fact that this “one size fits all” videos exist everywhere. People keep thinking and trying to prove that one specific way of eating is the only way – it’s the ‘cookie cutter’ answer for all life’s eating and health issues, but that’s not how it works.
You don’t fit into a Cookie Cutter
Guess what?! You are uniquely and wonderfully made and do not fit into any cookie cutter. You are one of a kind and you should treat yourself as such! People try to give advice constantly about what are the best foods to eat to be healthy and lose weight.
Temporary side note – our country is obsessed with losing weight and trying to fit into yet another cookie cutter body shape that for some reason we’ve identified as the only way to look! ugh!
The problem we have is that we believe that what one person is doing should also work for us, and when it doesn’t, we feel like failures and end up in a whole mess of emotion. I’ve heard people talk about other countries and point to the way they look and their disease rate and how we should eat like them. I’ve heard that you should never eat fat because it makes you fat. The list of dos and don’ts are endless and contradictory. Each area of the world, every person, and even each blood type requires different nutrients to help our bodies thrive. I get so frustrated because until we realize that we can’t fit into a mold, we will continue to yoyo diet, cause mental and physical damage to our body and lose all joy in the day-to-day of living.
Another side note – I hate the word diet – it’s not a diet it’s a lifestyle. I also dislike when people say “I can’t eat that” – unless you’re allergic, yes you can eat it, but because you know that you feel crummy when you do – you “choose not to eat that”.
It’s easy to listen to others and attempt their way of living and it’s much harder and time-consuming to take notes about how your body feels when you eat certain foods. Let’s be honest – that’s the only way we will ever know what we, as individuals, need. You need to listen to YOU, accept yourself, enjoy the foods you eat and not feel deprived… You’re not made like anyone else, thank God! “Do you not know that your body is a temple…”
You want to feel good, look good, have more confidence, feel more alive and energized? STOP listening to what other people are saying and start listening and learning your body and needs. Stop measuring yourself against others! “Do not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God..” Romans 12:2
Talk better to yourself, treat yourself like the unique amazing person you are, take the time to learn what your body needs and doesn’t need, and stop listening to what other people say. One person might be able to eat all carbs and sugar all the time and another person could, as my sister and I say, “just look at that food and get a dimple on our butt”. Food Journal – that’s the answer to feeling more energized and fueled by what you eat.
