This past Sunday night in my church service, our youth pastor preached a message about craving. While the nitty gritty part of his message had to do with the Bible he also talked about craving food. He used examples of food to build into his message but there were some real truths in what he spoke about.
He talked about habits that we develop and how habits play into the types of food we eat. There are some foods that we eat because of pleasant memories we are brought back to. He used the example of his grandma’s pecan pie and how every time he sees or tastes pecan pie he is brought back to memories of his grandmother making it for Thanksgiving. He talked about how some of these foods can become comfort foods.
It made me think about some of the unhealthy foods that I turn to for comfort. I started thinking about my childhood and began to see a pattern in how the foods I choose play a part in things from my past. I felt like I could better understand why I struggle with some food choices.
Then of course there are the foods that we refuse to eat, perhaps bad memories are the cause. I remember since my family really struggled financially, we ate a lot of “Hamburger Helper”. There is absolutely no way you could ever get me to touch that stuff. We just had it too much when I was a kid.
It might be helpful to write down a list of the foods that you struggle with and try to see if something from your past plays into it. Why do you turn to those unhealthy choices? This could go along with an idea I have given before, on keeping a food journal.
Our youth pastor also talked about how we may struggle with getting a Big Mac at McDonalds instead of choosing something healthier like a salad. Yet he pointed out how we make the choice to drive to McDonalds. It is easy to say that these places are just too tempting yet we make the decision to get into our cars and drive there. We could just as well not go there.
The reality is that many times emotions play into our eating habits. Not just current emotions but even emotions from our past. There can be things from the past that influence today the way we eat. We may need to dig deep to uncover those things but it is worth it.
This isn’t the time to blame others, to take the responsibility off your shoulders but instead, a way to figure out where some of your struggles come from by uncovering your past. Then with that knowledge you can begin to take steps to change things and start a new pattern of eating in your life…a much healthier one.