The partial definition of “food” that keeps you struggling with your body
According to Merriam-Webster, food is the “material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy”).
Defining food in this way is like saying you have read a book when you have merely glanced at the cover; the same as only focusing on the gray tones of an impressionist painting: the immense beauty of its nuances, its essence, is lost.
If food is only energy and a source of quantifiable nutrients for survival, how is it that the more than obsolete and ultra-exploited magic formula for obtaining the “dream body” has not worked for decades?
I am referring to the equation:
“Eat x grams of food A +
+ y grams of food B –
– completely demonize food XXX +
+ add 3 capsules of supplement KK”
A concept exploited by an industry that generates billions (yes, with a "b") in profits annually, while its results show, year after year, decade after decade, that more than 95% of people who lose weight (following its guidelines) regain it in less than two years (and often gain more).
What’s missing from the above definition of food?
What makes us keep our hopes pinned on a formula that is as ineffective as it is expensive?
In other words, what is missing from the simplistic calorie-counting equation?
In short:
The emotional dimension of food.
Here are some examples of what the average human being experiences (probably subconsciously) when faced with food, and what makes the best intentions to reach their desired weight futile.
In general, food is synonymous with:
🍊 Nutrition:
The basic definition above
🥘 Culture:
Every region on Earth has their own culinary culture (some better than others, I must say).
🍇 Social connection, exchange:
We break the ice, we connect, we share experiences around a table.
🥂 Something to celebrate:
Any excuse is a good opportunity to celebrate it with some good food and drink.
🍓 Source of pleasure:
We are designed as mammals to enjoy food and sex; a wise wink from Mother Nature to guarantee the survival and perpetuity of our species. If they weren’t both pleasurable activities, we would have stopped wandering around this planet long ago.
The above features are quite universal, and we have probably all experienced them.
However, other aspects of the food spectrum (deeply) also enrich and nuance our lives.
For many, food can be, in addition to the above:
🍽️ Something to reject:
Food as an enemy to avoid, to fight, to resist by deceiving hunger…
Life revolves around repressing the most primal impulses to eat.
Why? That coveted ideal weight, probably dictated by that billion-dollar industry.
🍨 A subject that needs to be ruled with an iron fist:
Counting grams of sugar, fat, protein, and calories so strictly that your accountant would be impressed: A self-deceptive strategy that reflects the need to maintain some control over the unpredictability of life.
🍕 Source of fear and suffering:
What nourishes is, scares us.
For many people, food can be synonymous with pain and fear of illness. This is especially true if you have had a negative experience in the past associated with digestion or with a specific food.
🍫 A substitute for rest:
An inefficient way of raising vital energy levels by compensating for the lack of time-out moments..
You can find an example in the post, “The woman who confused the refrigerator with the sofa”.
🍺 A way to blow off steam after a day at work.
We relieve tension and stress with the plate in front of us.
🌮 A "Natural Anxiolytic", an "Edible slow-down"
The sequence “I feel bad → eat → I feel good” is engrained in us from the moment we leave our mother’s womb and get fed (“I bawl → I am fed → I calm down”).
🍲 Your best friend…
… when on the sofa, watching Netflix (alone or with company).
🍪 Entertainment:
Food as a hobby, to stave off boredom.
I have some free time; I don’t know what to do, so I obliterate my apathy with food.
🥡 THE “BLOCK” USED TO CRUSH AND REPRESSED THE ANGER AND FRUSTRATION RAISED FROM THAT CONVERSATION NOT MAINTAINED WITH SOMEONE (YOUR BOSS, YOUR PARTNER, YOUR PARENTS, YOUR BEST FRIEND...)
You dissipate the energy of your voice by clogging the pharynx and the stomach.
Some may read this in terms of “blocking the throat’s chakra”.
🍔 Trying to fill the void (and discomfort) that we feel in our chest for living our lives on autopilot, without a purpose:
The hamster (which we may have become without even noticing) turns and turns the wheel of its daily existence, looks ahead, sees a neon sign that says “no exit”, senses a void in the pit of its stomach… and decides to ransack the pantry drawers to fill that otherwise painful hole.
🧀 Habit:
The saying goes: “Man is a creature of habit”. At a certain time, or associated with a certain activity, the Pavlov’s dog that lives inside of us begins to salivate.
🍟 The lead for the brain to numb our feelings:
It is easier to deal with a full stomach and heavy digestion than with some uncomfortable feelings that we want to avoid at all costs (which most likely have nothing to do with food).
🍓 An easy substitute for sex, pleasure, and intimacy
There will undoubtedly be many more definitions. Dare I say almost as many as souls on this planet.
The idea here is not to draw up an exhaustive list, but to emphasize that, until we consider a broader definition of what food means to each of us, any attempt to regulate our appetite by imposing “mathematical calorie-counting” is a losing (and incredibly frustrating) battle.
Not bringing to light the emotional aspects of our lives and continuing a “nutritional addition and subtraction” pattern is like applying a monochrome filter to a Van Gogh painting: we will lose the essence of its rich colors, precisely what makes it unique.
This is where I invite you to ask yourself the following questions:
Which of the above do you think might be “garnishing” your plate at this time in your life? What are your “unique colors”?
Is there one that stands out or do you have a combination of several?
Are there any others you would add to the list? Which one(s)?
Identifying and bringing to the table the emotional mechanisms that guide part of the decisions about your plate is the first (big) step towards achieving a healthy and sustainable relationship over time with food and your body.
A wholehearted hug.
Teresa M.
Photos: Depositphotos; Marek Levák, Toa Heftiba en Unsplash