Recently I had a client straight-faced ask me: “Should I enjoy everything I eat?”
I’d like to pose that question to you: do you think you should enjoy everything you eat?
See, as humans we think that if we suffer through something then it must be worth it to get the results we want. Because if we did something easily maybe we didn’t really earn it. Or if we are suffering through something right now, we think we must keep going because, well, we’ve already done all this suffering! Can’t stop now – or all the suffering would have been pointless.
No pain no gain, right? Sorry, but that’s bullshit.
If no one has told you this before then allow me to be the first. You do not need to (and should not) suffer to “earn” anything. There are plenty of people out there skating through life with no obstacles. Do you think they’re thinking, “hmm, I’m not suffering therefore I don’t deserve any of this.” No.
I don’t know about you, but to me food is one of the greatest pleasures of life. I’m obsessed with food. I watch cooking shows to learn new flavor combinations and cooking techniques, or just to enjoy. I go to three grocery stores each week to explore. I walk through Williams Sonoma for fun. Almost everything I eat has been prepared in my kitchen (I say almost because sometimes I’m at my parents or my in-laws). When I wake up I can’t wait to cook and have my oatmeal (don’t @ me). I am constantly thinking about food.
So when I eat something I don’t enjoy, I don’t write it off as part of the plan. I get annoyed. And I do everything I can to not repeat it.
I want you to reflect on how and what you eat every day. Are you enjoying yourself? If you aren’t then you need to dig around and figure out what’s missing.
Don’t force yourself into a way of eating that you don’t enjoy. Let me teach you how to enjoy everything you eat – all the time!