by Rochelle Griffin

Food. We all need it to survive, yet it tends to have a much bigger hold for many of us, far beyond survival. Week 2 of my master cleanse has really brought the issue to the forefront for me. It has me thinking about the various meanings that food has in our lives.

I grew up in a Jewish home. Just so you know…Jewish homes are stereotypically like Italian homes when it comes to food. We EAT! I grew up learning that we eat when we are happy, when we are sad, when we are celebrating, when we are lonely, when we are angry…you get my point. No matter what I was feeling, I coped by eating. When I was younger, I didn’t realize that this was an issue. It was normal. I was active enough and had a young girl’s metabolism. I was average in my size…healthy.

As a result, I took my coping mechanism into my adulthood. Hey…it was working…why change a thing? Here is where I started to really have issues with it, was less active, and of course, naturally gained weight. It became a cycle…gain weight, be frustrated about it, lose weight through conscious food choices and exercise, let my guard down, have life “happen,” cope with life by eating, gain weight, finally get frustrated with myself, and start the trip all over again. I did this over and over and over and over. It was exhausting. Just writing it makes me tired.

It wasn’t until I really became aware, in this last year, of my unhealthy relationship with food that I started to finally deal with it. I learned to talk about my feelings vs. stuff them…literally. Of course, I had slip ups, but I naturally started to lose weight AND feel better about my life because I was dealing with it head on…the good, the bad, and the ugly. What a concept! Guess what? As I started coping head on with toxic issues, I found that some people in my life weren’t comfortable with it…with the changes happening to me…and we parted ways. (Shrug shoulders.)

Fast forward to these last 2 weeks. My master cleanse has really opened my eyes further. Food and eating is such an intimate thing if you think about it…pleasurable. It’s meant to be enjoyed, not to hold us in bondage. Wow…for the majority of my life, I HAVE been in bondage. There have been a few times these past 2 weeks, when my child was really testing my limits, I desperately wanted to open the fridge and simply shove food in my mouth. I wasn’t hungry…I was frustrated.

I had to flex my self-control muscle in a way that I haven’t before. Because I’m in the test group for my master cleanse and will be having bloodwork done at the end, I knew that I would NOT cheat. NOT being able to satiate myself with food was frustrating in itself. Actually at lunch today, as my husband and I ate our Quinoa-Lentil Pilaf on Day 11 of our master cleanse, we talked about this very topic. He’s been my biggest supporter for the past 20 years. I honestly told him that if I were offered a bag of Cheetos right now, I’d totally want to eat them. I wouldn’t, but I’d want to. Talk about a tug of war!

In short, I don’t believe that any one of us is forever in bondage. God hasn’t created us to have lives like that. I believe that if we learn new coping strategies, we can be free. I’m still a work in progress as is everyone. In the end, it’s truly all about self-control and choices.

Are you having a tug of war with food? Are you using food as a coping mechanism? Let me know in the comments below.

A Toast to Your Health,

Rochelle Griffin is a Registered Nurse with over 20 years experience who has transitioned her love for fitness, health, & freedom into a 6-figure company that now helps others live the life of their dreams.

 
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