Seriously. It is.
Why do I always see shame on the faces of people who’ve not been able to stay on their diet? I used to be perplexed by this, and then one day, the light bulb went on.
We all think it’s our fault. Believing the diet plan is full-proof, most people blame weight-loss failure on either a lack of willpower or personal strength, never pointing a finger at the blueprint.
But food is neither the enemy nor your BFF. It’s fuel, plain and simple. Eating food is physiologically necessary (especially if you want to keep up with the pace at your practice) and here’s where I make the comparison between food and urine.
Food. The desire to eat is an internal indicator just like the urge to go. It has nothing to do with willpower, internal fortitude or character. A message starts in your stomach and tells your brain Hey, I’m hungry. Do something about it. You either respond to the request by eating, or you ignore it. If you’re trying to lose weight, like many others, you’ll likely try to suppress the desire to eat and disregard the message. But ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. And no good can come from not eating. Besides, how can you properly handle your patients without energy that comes from food?
Urine. The same thing happens when your bladder is full. A message goes up to the brain saying, Hey, I gotta go, which, of course, prompts you to begin looking around for a bathroom. At your earliest convenience (maybe after you finish with your next client), you address the situation without giving it another thought and move on with your day.
An interesting thought to ponder: What would happen if you didn’t have a built-in monitoring system that notifies you when it’s time to go? Now I’m no urologist, but I know that if we didn’t eliminate the toxins in our bodies on a regular basis, there’d be a lot of sick people walking around, not to mention the mental torment and physical discomfort that goes along with holding it. Not an enjoyable experience. And really how effective would you be at work, at home, in life, if you suppressed the urge for an extended period of time? Talk about unpleasant, distracting and absolutely pointless.
No, I’d wager you’ve never thought about waiting as long as you can to and I also bet you’ve never connected this sensation with a flaw in your personality and yet that’s what people do, everyday, when it comes to eating.
Are you guilty of going for long periods of time without eating, all in the name of I’m too busy? The practice needs me? Do you think ahead by planning, preparing and bringing food with you to the hospital, in case you get too busy to take an official lunch break? If you take the time to get rid of what you don’t need, you can stop long enough to take in what you do.
Basic principle of human existence: Hunger = empty tank. Food = the fuel needed to fill the empty tank. We need to make peace with our only source of energy, stop blaming ourselves for feeling hunger and take the time to give our bodies what they need.
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