Mastering The Art of Eating What You Like

    

A large section of my life has been, and continues to be, dictated by negative connotations and rules surrounding what and why and how and why and where I eat food. Despite these lengthy rules and the outward appearance of hatred towards food, the assumption that eating disorder sufferers hate food is entirely incorrect. I don't. I love it. Always have and always will. Over the course of the last year, I have began to take charge attempting to regain control over my behaviours, emotions, and feelings around food. This will take a lot of time, but we are in the process now. I would consider myself as actively trying to recover - although, I think some health professionals would disagree with me as I continue to experiment with veganism. 

Eating what you want to eat and listening to your body is crucial. I do envy those that can eat a meal and think nothing of it - it's just a meal. That is how everyone should think but it's not that straightforward. I remember when I was in treatment and building my meal plan with a dietician, she advised me to incorporate meat/fish/dairy back into my diet as veganism is just further restricting the foods I intake and this lifestyle is actively discouraged by professionals when in recovery. Well, she was right though. My reasonings for eating vegan are loosely based on animals welfare, but more surround restriction. I must admit, whilst, of course, there are ethical reasons behind why I eat plant-based, the main reason is purely described above - to restrict and control further what I eat. I have edged towards my own constructed belief that 'meat/dairy/fish is bad/will make me gain weight' to justify my reasons for being vegan, but I have made attempts to educate myself on animal cruelty/exploitation - it's just a little difficult to quieten the restrictive voice.  It is definitely possible for an eating disorder sufferer to be vegan, but I think in order for this to be successful they must choose this lifestyle because they want to - not because their brain is wiring them to. I hope that this will one day be me. 

I can understand the backlash that veganism/vegetarianism gets sometimes, and I can understand why some may think that vegans push their lifestyle onto others.It's not right to discriminate someone over what they do or don't eat, or shame people into being vegan. There are many factors why a vegan lifestyle is just not appropriate for some people, but it is clear that excessive meat consumption does wreck havoc on the environment and the body. To separate my diet choices from my eating disorder, I make a conscious effort to educate myself on the environment. For the sake of the planet, I think everyone should:  

• be aware of where your meat/dairy/eggs come from 
• educate yourselves on the conditions of factory farms and the impact they have on the planet 
• try to shop as locally as possible - support your local businesses/markets!!
• reduce your meat/dairy/egg intake. 

Cooking, creating and eating food that makes you feel good is one of the most wholesome things to do. You can get so creative. Food shouldn't be boring. And it's even better knowing no cruelty took place to make your meal. Mastering the art of eating what you like, when you like, is a skill I am yet, but excited, to learn and carry with me in my life. 

There are plenty of resources (books, documentaries, film, podcasts, blogs) that are available to educate you. Please see below 3 environmental resources I have found personally useful and touching. I will continue to update this list if I encounter others that may be of use to you (or when I remember some more!): 

• Conspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)
• David Attenborough - A Life On Our Planet (2020) [anything by David Attenborough is fantastic, insightful, and powerful] 
• What The Health (2014)

- e.a.w