Thursday 28 February 2013

Love and diet

Today I noticed that my relationship with love is similar to my relationship with food. In the same way I, like so many women, can't help falling for men who are no good for me and will do nothing for my self esteem I can't help eating foods which are bad for me which I'm allergic too or are doing no favours for my thighs.
We cannot ignore the part of our brain that controls attraction, desire, aesthetic appreciation or sensory need.
A bar of chocolate is like the boy that leads me on but doesn't really care about me. They are beautiful, they appeal to all my senses, my brain impulsively craves them, wants them, needs them. The fact that I know I shouldn't have them makes them all the more desirable-we are all familiar with the forbidden fruit concept.
As a lactose intolerant (without even referring to the fattening side of it) chocolate is bad for me, for my inside and my outside. Similarly a badboy is bad news for my body image, my self esteem and my heart.
The ones that treat you well-food and men-are always there, always in your fridge or your life yet somehow they seem like more work, they seem scarier, like more of a commitment. Just like a healthy diet a relationship with a good guy requires balance and compromise. While we can see all the benefits in the long term we sometimes don't realise the short term benefits for our bodies and minds.
I guess it's intriguing to consider that we always know what we need, want what we can't have and our mindset in a moment can effect our attitude in everyday life. I only hope that as I get back on my feet and into the gym I can throw the bad relationships out with my bad attitude and my junk food and focus on me and what will do me good- what we want in the short term rarely reflects what we want in the long term.
Maybe a change in lifestyle will lead to a change of mindset...and ultimately a change of heart.

1 comment:

  1. Very beautifully written, Katy.. a certain English teacher we know would have been very proud.. love your thoughts and insights xx

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