Eat the Pizza

I can't eat this cake, I've already had dessert like three times this week. My pants are too tight, there's no way I'm eating anything at that tailgate party. Another beer? Do you KNOW how many calories that is? Does that sound familiar? Well, enough of that kind of talk. The guilt and the shame we place around food is just too much. Food is something to be enjoyed, something to bring people together, and something to appreciate. Food is not a tool for guilt and shame, food is not a means to feel control over your life, and food is not out to get you. Over the past year so many women have taught me what it means to have a healthy relationship with food, and for every revelation I have, I see another woman fall into an unhealthy relationship. I see another woman pretend that everything is fine when inside she's fighting a battle with herself.

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A few weeks ago I was watching the movie, Eat Pray Love and a particular scene really hit me. I knew I wanted to write about it and I thought this was the perfect time to do so. In the film, Julia Roberts's character travels to Italy after her divorce and immerses herself in the culture. She makes new friends, she learns Italian and she enjoys the food, without apologizing to anyone, especially not to herself. In this scene she's eating Pizza in Napoli with a friend and after her friend says she can't eat the pizza because she's gained weight, Julia Roberts reminds her that life is so much more than a few pounds. Life is about embracing experiences and opportunities, and about buying new jeans.

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So stop. Stop the shame and the guilt. Let it go, love yourself exactly as you are and LIVE your life to the fullest. We only have so long in this world, why waste your time counting calories, avoiding social situations or making yourself feel awful?  

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Do you ever experience food shaming or guilt? How do you handle it? Do you notice other people doing so? Does it affect you?