“Guilty Pleasure”

You know what brings on most everyday guilt?  Food!  We are bombarded from every angle, from health industry to the media marketers” to eat well, be healthy, and look your best.

A great deal of the stress about eating is well intended to keep us healthier, enjoying a longer life and better quality of life.  But then there is the guilt throwing culture and tabloids plastering size 0 models, hurling pangs of guilt on good times!

Just listen to the conversations around you and HOW people talk ABOUT what they eat. “I fell off the wagon,” and “I have to be good today, I cheated yesterday”? “Well, I really shouldn’t eat this, but ….” “I look at that pastry and I see poison”.

While I’m enjoying my sliders (rationalized that 3 small burgers are better than one large one!), the woman next to me wants to order a “skinny margarita”. The man next to the “skinny wanna be” inquires how much cheese is on the Caesar salad.  The frustrated bartender informs us all that they don’t have skinny anything!

Does Pleasure Throw Guilt Your Way?

It’s a given, we all want to look, feel, and be our healthiest.  But why take the fun out with the calories?  We need moderation and we also need to remember that we live in abundance no matter what our state is.  And a wonderful meal, a delicious brownie, and a stuffed baked potato are all reminders of a really important message:  life is meant to be enjoyed.  Somehow, our enjoyment, our eating pleasures have been tied to sinful indulgence, when just the opposite is true.

We need to live in gratitude celebrating our abundance every day. We are blessed and it’s time to recognize  “eat, drink, and give thanks” for gifts of this world.  With our gratitude we make every day a holiday, Thanksgiving.

So when you are ready to enjoy a delicious bite, don’t be dragged into the pit of guilt with the idea that we must eat the healthiest choice EACH AND EVERY TIME.   We need to be in the middle of the road and use common sense remembering that we do have special occasions giving us “permission” to celebrate breaking our everyday habits.

So when it comes time to choose between the “sinfully chocolate cake” or “guilt-free veggies” don’t regret the decadent dessert or beat yourself up because you didn’t order the veggie platter! Follow your grateful heart and enjoy with gusto whatever your choice.

Bon Appetite!