food is NOT the enemy

After reading Run Like A Mother How To Get Moving-and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea, I realized that I have the wrong perspective on food. These past few months, I have been viewing food as the enemy and that is WRONG! No wonder why I can’t run farther than 5k without feeling depleted. Food is NOT the enemy. Food is fuel. I am trying to reprogram my mind into viewing food as the fuel that keeps me going. As I have mentioned on here before, I have lost over 75 pounds since I became a mom. I admit that I look at food as the enemy sometimes; it is what made me fat before. I know that is not true, I know that my sedentary lifestyle combined with poor eating habits AND having babies is what led to my weight gain, but I choose to blame food instead. I am afraid to get rid of my “fat clothes” which are sitting in a box in my closet. If I do, I feel that I will immediately gain all of that weight back. Also not true, but it is a fear.

When I was training for my half last fall, I looked at food as fuel. I weighed myself once a week just to make sure I wasn’t fluctuating too much. I wouldn’t drink any alcohol the day before a long run in fear that it might make it hard. While I was abstaining from alcohol, I was sure to eat plenty of carbs. I saw my training as my new full time job and I was going to succeed, come hell or high water. Now that I have crossed that finish line, I am looser with my diet and I don’t have any problem having a drink the night before a long run. I’m also looking at food differently. I’m afraid that if I eat too much, I’ll get fat- completely wrong. Food is fuel. If I eat bad food and not exercise then yes, I will get fat. I don’t see that happening. I need to appreciate my body for what it is and accept that the good food that I eat is fuel to get me moving. It is a daily struggle that some day, I hope to win.

Happy Running Y’all!!!