Taking it back

can we please take the word diet back. can it not mean restricting oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight?!

originally a “diet” was a lifestyle. it is a way of eating in which a person or animal injests things that give it sustenance. foods that have nutritional value and give the body energy. if we eat in this way we wouldn’t need to go on a modern day “diet”. i get upset when i hear this term bandied about. it irritates me. (not very yogic, i know, but i am being truthful and human.)

what would happen that if instead of eating for our emotional state for pure enjoyment, we actually gave our body the sustenance (food and drink) it needs in order to keep us healthy? instead of gorging on processed food because they are convenient or “so good” or made us feel better emotionally, we paid attention to how they made the body feel afterwards? 

i am not just reprimanding others, i too am guilty of this. i have moments of breakdown where i view the way i eat as something for pleasure. i have a tendency to be an emotional eater. (if you see me with a bag of doritos in my hand, you know i’ve had a rough day :-). 

but overall, my diet is not something i go on. it is a lifestyle i maintain in order to keep myself healthy and keep infection, viruses, and disease at bay. and if i do eat processed foods, i wanna be the one to process them so i know what goes in my body. i do not trust modern day food companies to have my health in mind. (but that’s a whole other post.)

okay, that is my rant for the day. i feel better now :-) thank you for listening.

cjj