You Are What You Eat” — Is It Really The Truth?

There are many sayings and quotes about eating well to make sure you stay healthy and the phrase YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT is a popular one. We are bombarded with reasons as to why what we eat makes a difference in the outcome of our health.

So why are we so unhealthy? Why are we not getting the results we are taught to expect?

My father always led an active life and his body looked like he was much younger than he was. Vegetables were sometimes from our own garden, keeping the skins on to retain the nutrients. He didn’t like to eat junk food and restaurants are a waste of money and should all close, as far as he was concerned.

However, in his later years my dad began to show the trauma of the lack of care of his body. How could this be, if he ate a diet full of fresh fruit, veges, meat and small amounts of dairy? One belief he held was that food was nothing but fuel for the body, which is why he didn’t want to pay much for it, such as at restaurants or cafes. Meals are cheaper at home.

Here’s something that I realised recently. Another common term is Garbage in = Garbage out but what if it is not the type of garbage that most people think? Most people think of junk food being the garbage but here are some more things that my father used to say:

• I don’t care about the taste of the food
• I don’t like to waste good food, that overripe fruit is still edible
• You don’t have to like it, you just have to eat it

The garbage that causes the damage is the words and attitudes we bring upon ourselves. It’s the things we deny ourselves because of an unwavering determination to manage or to be struggling valiantly.

You can often hear it in their words:

• I can’t accept that gift
• I don’t deserve your kindness
• I have to do it myself
• I have to work hard to get anywhere

My father complained to me that his friends were fussing over him when they decided to shout him breakfast one morning. Not only did they have the nerve to pay for his meal, but then they asked him if he wanted to sit in a better spot and then offered to get him a napkin.

There is no glamour in cheating yourself by giving all excess away so that you have nothing more than the bare minimum. There is no honor in cutting yourself off of pleasures or treating yourself as a garbage bin by consuming leftovers. Either way there is going to be waste — one type of elimination of waste will never be seen again, the other will live in your body and cause long term pain.

You would never treat a friend as a garbage so why would you treat yourself that way. What if you treated yourself as a friend. Getting a little selfish is giving yourself honor and doesn’t come at the expense of anyone else.

If YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT, then isn’t it time to eat well:

• Shop for things that you love
• Serve yourself platefuls of things that matter to you, because you matter
• Eat the happiness that comes from spending time with friends
• Consume the bountifulness of nature
• Season your life with activities that fill your heart with pleasure
• Leave room in your life for moments of inspiration

And have A Fabulous Life