Trust Yourself

Trusting yourself can be a struggle for a lot of us. But for me, when it comes to decision making, I'm pretty fast. I like making quick decisions because most of the time, I know what I want, and I seldom regret the decision I make. My husband jokes with me at how fast I am at decision making and how he takes more "time to think." Everyone is different, and that's just the way I've been wired.

Except when it comes to food. 

It took me a long time...YEARS in fact, to trust myself to know what to eat. 

Yes, I'm a  dietitian. Yes, I went to school for 7 years and have a Masters degree. Yes, I can help others formulate meal plans and help them make decisions that are best for them. Yes, my clients are successful and reach their goals with my advice. 

But man, OH MAN, sometimes, I wish someone would make these decisions for me. It's so hard to take care of ourselves, right? In the busyness of our world today, and the overwhelming information available to us constantly via Google, we can experience paralysis by analysis, and literally not know which decisions are the best for us. 

But, what I've learned over the past year, is that I can trust myself. You know why? Because I trust GOD with me. I'm flawed, broken, and human. I can be joyful and I can be sad. I can be heartbroken and I can be bursting with childlike excitement. But in all these forms, I trust God, because He made me and He knows me. And I trust Him with my life, EVEN my food choices. 

I believe God cares about how we treat ourselves, because our bodies are His to begin with. We are the temple of His Holy Spirit who dwells within us. God is in us, so how can we NOT trust ourselves?

I used to not trust myself around sweets. I thought "if I have one, I'll have them all." And sometimes, yes, "all" happens. Because chocolate is delicious. But I digress...I've learned that I can actually trust myself, because I trust God. I can stop at one brownie and enjoy it to the full, instead of numbing myself into a sugar coma with 4 or 5 o them. I can trust myself to know when I can treat myself with a healthy mindset, versus when I need to practice some self-control and say "no, thank you."

Freedom to me is trusting God and trusting myself to know what is best for my body, given a particular time and place. And it can take time to get to this point. But, practice makes perfect, and the more you tune in to what your body truly needs and truly wants, the better you'll be at making these decisions and finding your "sweet spot" of health. The spot where you feel healthy and vibrant, but not ruled by your food choices or what you "can" and "cannot" eat. Only then are you truly trusting the abilities and the brains that God gave you, and are ultimately trusting HIM to lead you along this journey. And always remember: