I hadn't thought of it before, but yes, I definitely had anxiety about my body. This began when I was a child when my mother (who was a weight watcher) monitored my food. When I was a baby I rejected milk, when I was a bean thin ballet mad pre-teen my Mum wanted me to eat more, and as a teen with dance aspirations, thinness became an aim for me as much as anything else. My mother kept negating my body changes and this focus caused me to swing between fatness and thinness.
This left me with a very poor body image, and a suspicion of food. I loved to cook but not to eat. Food made me bloat and feel heavy, so I avoided it. I ate badly. I made all sorts of excuses and reasons for this aversion, but basically, food made me feel bad, so I didn't eat much, and when I did it made me (what I called) fat.
Discovering I am gluten intolerant has been a revelation. I can now eat and feel fantastic. I am even considering getting a stove. I now love food (GF of course), I am eating like mad and LOSING WEIGHT would you believe it! I had been "binding my body" just like the Chinese bound feet. Now I am free.
The sacred texts tell us that we are given a body. It will not change until we change, and I have.
I now accept my body totally. Yoga taught me to accept the outside, GF has allowed me to accept the inside...... and I encourage you that you can do the same. It feels fantastic. Once your body is working properly you can really forget about it. I have the confidence now to know that my body will and can "Self Heal". It can. In the past I took this body anxiety for granted. It had become an aspect of me.
Did you know that 50% of 9 year olds are dieting. They, like me, will grow up feeling that food is dangerous. They will not be able to respond naturally to hunger. Parents are even photoshopping baby photos!
Recently in the UK there has been an enquiry into the Weight Loss business. In the process the CEO of Weight Watchers was interviewed. He admitted that they were most interested in the 85% of members who didn't/couldn't loose weight, because that was where their revenue came from. He testified at this enquiry that the average weight loss of WW members was 5kg, and even that would not be able to be sustained for more than 2 years (Source - Radio National).
Your body should be a reliable place to live, and you shoud be able to respond naturally to hunger or thirst, accepting the body will change as we change and age. The body is not an emergency we have to deal with.
If you have some of the symptoms I have been talking about, try living without gluten for just 2 weeks. In the first week you should feel a whole lot different, after two weeks - a new person will emerge. Don't worry about food choices, there are heaps out there, as more and more people are identifying this as their problem.
Here is a GF recipe to tempt your tastebuds, and do away with the need for wraps made with wheat as most are. Those that are not made with wheat are extraordinarily expensive, and I am not sure why. They don't cost any more to make, although they have to be made in a totally gluten free bakery.
GF OMLETTE WRAP.
Ingredients: Coconut oil, 4 eggs beaten lightly, 2 tablespoons gluten free mayo, 2 teaspoons finely chopped dill, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 100g watercress trimmed, 100g smoked salmon, half Lebanese cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks.
Method:
1. Brush medium frying pan with coconut oil. Cook half the eggs over medium heat swirling pan to make a thin omlette. When cooked, slide out of the pan and cool on paper covered wire rack. Repeat with remaining eggs.
2. Combine mayo, dill and lemon juice in a small bowl.
3. Spread each omlette with the mayo mix, top with watercress, salmon and cucumber. Roll omlette
to enclose filling.
4. Slice omlette in half and place on serving plate.
PS: The omlette and the filling can be made the night before, covered and stored in the fridge to be combined and assembled the next day
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