what you eat

Food.

Most of us love it. We are constantly opening the fridge hoping something yummy will magically appear in it and we love to try out new foods at our favourite restaurants.

Sadly, some of us forget to enjoy eating once we go vegan. No doubt influencers play a big part in this decision.

We starve and diet and count calories… or we go to the other extreme, we overeat and binge on everything we see because we are bombarded with delicious plant-based alternatives that we are discovering daily.

One of the things I see people fail as vegans at is the way they eat and look at food.

Way too many ex-vegans blamed food for their problems and why they went back to eating their fellow animals. We have to acknowledge that fact and find a solution that works.

Drinking only water for 30 days straight, being a strict raw vegan, avoiding carbohydrates and restricting how much you eat are all very unhealthy ways to approach this plant-based lifestyle.

If we are not feeding our body and giving it fuel, how can we expect to feel good? How can we expect to live this beautiful lifestyle when we are harming ourselves?

Here is how to love what you eat:

  • Practice seeing food as a part of nature – a gift from Mama Earth. She is birthing fuel that is sustainable, eco-friendly and healthy, and your body thrives on it.
  • Instead of counting calories, count the number of plants you eat. In this case, the bigger the number the better you are doing.
  • The only thing you can be strict with is the people you are seeing daily – and social media counts. What are people on Instagram posting? What eating habits are they promoting? Make sure you are following people who love healthy food and you will be reminded to do the same every time you come across their content. Same goes for the people you hang out with in your real life.

Basically, one of the biggest keys to staying vegan is to create a beautiful, healthy relationship with food. To love what you eat.

I am still working on it. 

I overeat sometimes.

The excuse I give to myself is that at least I overeat on healthy foods (I love baked potatoes and salads) so I am not actually harming my body with junk.

But that’s not a way to respect food either – or my body.

So I am mindfully observing myself whenever I start reaching for food (again, even if it’s just a big bowl of a salad) when I am feeling anxious or upset. I really want to see if I actually feel hungry, or if that’s just something that takes my mind away from thinking about the problem.

I want you to do the same, okay?

You know I preach about meditation every chance I get, but learning mindfulness is the solution to this problem we have. Mindfulness is the answer to changing our relationship with food. Mindfulness is the answer to staying vegan forever.

I use the Waking Up meditation app but you can check out my resources list here for other great meditation teachers and audios. 

I hope you give it a try. For the sake of your happiness and everything you value.

Please find me on Instagram and Pinterest.

Tanja

love what you eat

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