Eat to live or live to eat | But I Smile Anyway...

All this healthy eating… it’s set my mind thinking…

Do we eat to live, or live to eat?

It stands to reason, that the majority of us eat to live doesn’t it? If we didn’t have nourishment, then we wouldn’t be here.

If we lived to eat, we would all be rolling around, obese, and probably dying way before our time…

This only really came into my mind as I was cooking my dinner for today. Hubby Dearest decided he didn’t really fancy anything overly healthy, but I stood my ground and said I would stick to my plan, and then sort him out with whatever he wanted.

As I sat eating my healthy homemade food (Lamb kebab, quinoa stuffed mushroom and salad) he glanced over at it, with a look that didn’t say “YUM!” but rather “Nah, I don’t think so!”

Was it really that unappetising?

Was I making myself eat something awful, all in the name of living a healthy diet? Was I eating to live?

It doesn’t look that bad, does it?

No. Not today anyway!

There have been times though, in my life, where I have attempted to eat things that were not for my taste-buds, but meant to be good for you, so I tried. You gotta live, right? But it felt like I was making myself suffer, in order to look good.

From various fruit and vegetables, to herbal teas, I forced myself. But I couldn’t do it. That time of my life, I think I really did Live to Eat. I was in my prime. My weight wasn’t an issue, Mummy Tummy was a thing of the future, not yet experienced.

I would eat all sorts of rich foods, takeaways, drink soft drinks, and alcohol, without a care in the world. It was a wonderful time! But I guess all good things come to an end.

My metabolism changed with my age. I had 2 children. My body changed. I could no longer eat like I used to. I was unable to exercise in the same way, and even if I did, it wasn’t working like it did before. And I was definitely Eating to Live. I needed energy to cope with these two boisterous children, a job, and general family life.

But I was eating the wrong stuff.

And coupled with my general lifestyle, it was not good for me. So, I piled on weight, and found myself stuck with a jelly belly, wobbly bum, cellulite, bingo wings, and a double chin. No thigh gap visible here y’all!

But the good thing with getting older is that generally, you get wiser. And with that wisdom, I realised that I can try the ‘good for you’ food, and I can learn to love it too.

Currently, I am experimenting with different healthy recipes, some I have tried before, some new to me, but it is different to my recent diet.

And yes, I am definitely Eating to Live now, Eating to Live a healthy life, for my family, my children, and most importantly, for ME!

And as I become accustomed to some new flavours, some maturer tastes, I think, I may be actually Living to Eat too… because I have started to enjoy this good stuff, almost as much as some of the naughty food too!

I believe that in general, we all go through both phases, Eating to Live, and Living to Eat.