Food is Fuel...?

Ever since I started training under my fitness coach, she has repeated this particular phrase to me over and over again.

"Food is Fuel."

But... what does that even mean? It's a simple phrase and there really is a simplicity in that statement. We eat food so we don't die. That's about as simple as it gets for me at least. So why do I have such a hard time grasping such a concept?

Being Filipino, I think it goes back to the singular fact that my entire childhood revolved around food. Family parties always had buffet style spreads with family sized portions and no limit to how many times you could plate up. The mentality of "eat everything on your plate" was a big one growing. Food was and is a staple in my life. A lot of my happiest memories have food in there somewhere. To me, cooking represented love. The love of family, and the love of eating something my mom or grandmothers spent hours in the kitchen making just for me. It meant laughter and hanging out with cousins and new babies and simply enjoying company. Before I started retraining the way I thought about food, food was the center of everything. That sounds kinda sad as I read that, but that's how I grew up. I'm actually quite surprised that I didn't become obese, but had I not started exercising and watching what I eat, I have no doubt that I was on my way to becoming obese. Before I got into fitness, I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and didn't care how much I ate. If I wanted McDonald's for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I went ahead and got McDonald's for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I didn't care about counting calories or the nutritional value of whatever I was stuffing my face with. I didn't care about my food intake vs. my caloric output ratio. I just liked to eat.

Now that I am exercising and watching what I eat, relearning the concept of "Food is Fuel" has been a real struggle for me. I have a massive sweet tooth. Carbs call my name everyday! Changing my diet so drastically from eating what I wanted and however much I wanted to a specific diet plan and weighing the food that will go in my stomach down to the friggin' OUNCE has become a pain in my butt! So why do I do it? Why bother if it's a miserable process that requires self-discipline and an iron will? Because I want to have the body that I can be proud of. I want to be able to look at myself and say I went from being a 5'2", husky chunk of a girl to someone who can run 5 miles without keeling over and throwing up. I can throw weights around and enjoy it. I do it because I see how far I've come and see how great I feel and LOVE IT! This is really the only thing that pushes me to stay on track and eat salad after salad after salad. Some may say it's a vanity thing. And yes, it is. But I'd rather love me and how I feel than hate my body and wish I looked like someone else.

Long talks with my coach and listening to her spit knowledge about why we eat the way we eat makes so much sense, even if my stomach disagrees. We eat to survive, not til we pass out from food comas and become so lazy that we sit around and do nothing until we are over saturated with high cholesterol, diseases and disorders. We eat unprocessed foods so that our bodies can digest them properly rather than stuffing ourselves with preservatives and high sugar contents until we develop diabetes or cancers. Our bodies were meant to run and jump and play with our kids and do amazing things, not sit around, unhappy with ourselves while we eat a whole carton of Cookie and Cream ice cream. We are wonderfully made. We need to treat ourselves like we are.

Does this mean we can't enjoy our favorite foods once in awhile? Of course it doesn't mean that. But changing the way you think about food definitely plays into it. It changes your whole mentality. I may still struggle with the concept, but I understand enough to know that saying no to a plate full of chicken and rice adobo (*sigh*) which is high in carbs and sodium, means a healthier and better me.

So, yes. Food is Fuel. Just keep saying it until you sympathize. LOL!