In high school, I would go on beach vacations with my best friend every summer. It was like any vacation where you enjoy the hell out of every day, and don’t think a bit about anything but loving the moment. I never thought about my body on these trips. By the end, we would always be shocked to find that we felt lighter than before we left.
That was because we were happy. We thought positive things about our bodies because our days were filled with joy. Our minds experiencing the lightness of the present moment translated into our bodies feeling exactly the same way. They synced. We probably looked no different, but the mental equilibrium and enjoyment of life we were experiencing created a favorable perception of ourselves, that increased the overall happiness and satisfaction with our self image.
This is my philosophy of why this is. When you restrict food in any way for the wrong reasons, you are energetically telling your body that there’s something about it that is not good enough for the life you’ve been given. Intentional energy restriction, in itself, sends your energy field into a low vibration + low mood. When we do this, not only do we create a “debt,” which is why so many people struggle with binge-eating, we also perpetuate a cognitive imbalance with how we view ourselves. With restriction, the brain comes to believe you are in scarcity environment, which sends you into the stress of flight or fight mode. The habits that come as a result of continuous survival mode create distorted thinking patterns in the mind, which is what the people marketing things like “Flat Tummy Tea Appetite Suppressing Lollipops” want. They want you to think you have things about you that need fixing so that they can fill a need in the market, and make money. When a scarcity feedback loop is created between your body and brain, you’re more likely to develop a mood disorder like depression or anxiety, and then what happens? A lot of the time, people end up pumping money into the Pharma industry. Scarcity mode = higher demand for product = $$$. “Money is the reason we exist. Everybody knows it, it’s a fact, kiss kiss” - Lana Del Rey. It’s really no wonder adolescents have more problems than any other generation as a result of exploitative measures companies take to manipulate them. They are the easiest to reach and most susceptible to ideas. It takes less strategic planning to capitalize on their emotions than any other demographic.
The lack of awareness about the content we absorb is what needs to be fixed. People need to have background knowledge about intent behind the belief systems they are exposed to. There needs to be a filter through which diet media is consumed, so that people can understand that their body’s wisdom regarding what it wants/needs is the only reference point to consider. Without a filter, the subconscious is able to jeopardize the bounty of your existence after repeated exposure. What is the most abundant is what is natural to you and that is your attained when the body is happy. The human propensity to complicate and judge it is what creates the poor self-image cycle and sends out shock waves of shame, putting a target on your back. The relationship we have with our bodies is meant to be natural - aka, left alone to be as it is. It was designed to be completely separate from the mind’s judgements.
I write this as someone that learned it the hard way. Finding what works for you and what makes you feel good can be measured only by checking in with yourself. You must asked yourself, what is the vibration you feel during and after your habits of nourishment and self care. You know what feels good and what does not, regardless of the unsolicited advice you constantly get. Nothing outside of us could ever help us decide what it is that we need and when. At the end of the day, our quality and enjoyment of the human experience is only “journey” necessary.