Body Positivity and our Relationship with Food
WHEN FOOD IS TOO GOOD TO HANDLE, JUST LOVE YOURSELF!
Since we were young girls, society imposed specific ideologies on us about food, diet, and beauty. “You should play with this toy, not with this one” – “Act like a lady!” – “You should lose some weight” and many other phrases that unfortunately, at least one time in our life, we heard (or even worse, that someone told us).
We grew up with the idea that being slim is good, and fat is bad. This unhealthy conception has taken root in our minds so, what do we do as soon as “we see extra kilos”? Go on a diet! However, most of the diets that we come across online are dangerous for our health. They are either too restrictive (like the hypocaloric diet) or not well balanced to give us all the nutrients we need. One thing is for sure, though: women have different daily nutritional requirements to men, but this DOESN’T MEAN we must not eat carbohydrates or fats!
IT’S TIME TO CHANGE OUR VIEW OF DIETS
The Low-Carbohydrate Diet (LCD), in fact, may help to lose weight in the short term, but a recent study, published in the National Library of Medicine by Thomas M. Barber, Petra Hanson, and other researchers, evidences the long-term limits of this nutrition regime. According to the authors of the article, it would seem that keeping the LCD for more than 6 months could negatively affect our metabolism. What does it mean?
It means that our body gets used to working with a certain amount of energy but, as soon as we eat a little bit more, it struggles to assimilate and store correctly all the nutrients so… we accumulate weight faster! Additionally – researchers argue – that maintaining this kind of diet could cause
nutritional imbalances, like a reduction in dietary fiber intake, with potentially serious harmful consequences for our overall health.
Let’s accept, treat, and love our body (as it is!)
We should start to think about diets in a different way, not simply as a tool for weight loss, but as an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. Here are some tips to help you to (re)think about diets, beauty, and body in a more positive and inclusive way.
1 LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
Stay in contact with your needs and feelings: sometimes a plate of pasta, or a yummy pizza are a cure-all for the mood!
2 LOVE YOURSELF FIRST
Look in the mirror – What do you see? – Those are not imperfections but features that make you special and unique, just the way you are! Accept your body, and work on it if you want to change it.
3 DO ONLY WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL HAPPY
Feel free to say NO when you don’t want to do something. Your happiness depends on you, and you deserve to be happy (never forget this!)
Would you like to share your opinion? We are all ears Sharing is caring.
P.S. anonymity is guaranteed, this is a Women’s World
– Simona Panella