Lifestyle

Who has FOOD FEARS?

December 15, 2014

I don’t think there is a single person in the world we live in who doesn’t have food fears and food anxieties. This simple and stupid fact absolutely breaks my heart and brings me near tears because it is NOT cool that food interferes with our lives so much that we are unable to live and function in the way that we all deserve.

So… instead of focusing on how sucky that fact is, we are going to do our damnedest to change it. How might we do that, you ask? Well, I have a few ideas up my sleeve…

#1: Challenge ourselves to constantly play with our diets by adding in foods we’ve once feared and eliminating foods we suspect might be bothering our tummies. If we make it fun, and make these changes by trusting ourselves and being curious rather than punishing ourselves and beating ourselves up if we “slip up,” then we can slowly but surely loosen that hold that food has over our lives.

Speaking of CHALLENGING ourselves…

Yesterday I tried full fat cow’s milk for the first time since I was 10 years old, and it didn’t bother my stomach, didn’t bloat me and didn’t make me feel guilty/freaked out/any of the above.

And you know why? Because I did it in a LOVING way. I trusted myself to call the shots and I did it when I was ready. I didn’t force myself to do it like I did with some other food challenges in the beginning of my eating disorder recovery process. I waited until I was very ready, and I did it in a curious way.

If the milk had bloated me and made me feel like crap, I wasn’t going to beat myself up over it. I was just going to pay attention and take note so that from there on out I could decide if milk bothered me based on my own concrete knowledge versus on fears I had been subsisting on for years & years.

So, after I tried the milk, naturally I made a video about it. There is only so much I can say about it by writing, since sometimes the whole “food fear” discussion tends to sound repetitive on the Internet.

So instead of going on & on (like I kinda want to), you can listen to me talk about it instead! And, as you can see, I’m so passionate about this topic that I teared up mid-video and could barely regain my composure afterward!

If you are like me, and you have suffered from food issues that run so deep you feel like you can’t even concentrate on anything else let alone ENJOY every ounce of life, then please know that you aren’t alone.

Let me know your thoughts, and if you like it, subscribe! I am filming some professional quality videos this Friday, and I am oh so thrilled about it. I can’t even wait to step it up and keep sharing with you all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mgZpeByB-s&feature=youtu.be

So much love!

11 comments

I Wanna Know what do you think?

Cancel reply

Michele @ paleorunningmomma

Loved this video and I think many people will relate! I don't believe recovery means eating anything and everything just because it was previously "bad" food. That is a good way to get really sick, just like you described. You are right on target with experimenting to see what foods you are able to digest and which make you feel terrible! Really glad you had a great experience trying milk :)

Jordan Younger

Thank you, Michele. Your support means the world to me. I am so glad that you liked the video! Xoxox

Liz S.

ABSOLUTELY loved this video and your excellent reminder to challenge the food fears. Life and better health depend on it.
Older Cow Girl

Jordan, Have you figured out why you have these food fears in the first place? I did. In my early 20's I was obsessed with my body. I just had to have the perfect body. And I did. I exercised. Anything to be beautiful...and perfect. But I suffered for it. I wouldn't eat fat or sugar. Many salads. I was hungry all the time. Very unhealthy for the body (I know now). Worst of all, I knew that boys/men/guys liked skinny women. I was hounded and hated. Men hounded me and women hated me because of the good looks that God gave me. I got so sick of men hounding after me, they'd do anything for a beautiful woman. I had no peace. Cops would stop me and ask for a date, just because of my looks. And women hated me...jealousy to the max. Beauty became a curse to me. Now that I'm 45 years older and wiser, I don't care much anymore if I carry some extra weight. It's not good for my body or my self image though if I'm too fat. My self worth is no longer attached to my physical shape. Now I work at being a good person and loving others. My husband loves me just as I am. So I think the more we go on and on about beauty, slim bodies, calories, nice clothing, makeup, hair, wrinkles, exercise, etc. the more we obsess about the food that makes us fat, wrinkled, etc. We focus on health eating...which is very good. But are we really just seeking that golden nugget called beauty? What is the cause of our obsession? But how much of our food obsessions are actually driven by our own vanity? Mine was. I've never lost the craving to be skinny. But it's tempered now. I won't even obsess now about healthy eating. I'm now programmed to eat health so it's easy. But if I want a juicy burger...I'll have it and enjoy it. I've learned to focus outward...not inward towards myself. I wonder how my friends family are doing. I care for my animals. Being obsessed with our "Self" is our biggest challenge to overcome. Get over yourself, and you become a much happier and a much less stressed person.
Meghan

"I trusted myself to call the shots and I did it when I was ready." Love this. When I first talked to a nutritionist about my strict and perfectionist eating habits, she told me to go down to my university's cafeteria and eat an ice cream cone (I think she thought that if I did this I'd simply "get over it," "it" being my eating disorder). At the time, the mere thought of even just touching my lips to sugar- and preservative-laden cafeteria ice cream made me feel anxious. I was not ready to adventure this far, so I didn't (even though I told the nutritionist I would). A year after taking small steps to become less restrictive, I finally had an ice cream cone (mint chocolate chip!). And I'm glad I didn't force myself to eat it earlier--I know if I had done it when I wasn't ready, I would have beaten myself up about it for a week. Instead, since I was ready, I was able to enjoy every lick and realize how far I had come...I could finally think about eating an ice cream cone (and better yet, eat an ice cream cone!) without having a meltdown.
Ms.J

Hiya Jordan! I guess one can only be a silent reader for so long... I'm not sure if this is a suitable space - granted an email would be better, but since I'm not going to be bad-mouthing anyone...quite the contrary actually. I recall my first visit to your blog back when you were vegan; if I remember correctly it was a WIAW post and my immediate thoughts [being in the delicate state of mind that I was in] were on the lines off: this is not a blog for me. When I did return it was to your announcement of breaking veganism. And I want to seriously applaud you for the strides you've made since then. Not solely for introducing non-vegan food, but for being honest, genuine and real in admitting what works for you and what doesn't. And taking the brave step despite receiving negative feedback. Now cow's milk - I swear for the most part it seems taboo in the blog world. Regardless, I have zero access to almond milk in my neck of the woods...but it took me foreverrrr in making the switch from non-fat to full fat cows milk in recovering. I actually assumed I would never be able to, because apparently I loved the thin, tasteless fat free kind, hah! The pleasantly surprising thing? It happened when I was ready :D . No big deal. And I've never looked back. Hello healthy periods, shiny strong hair, and tons of energy :) !!

Jordan Younger

Aww, THANK YOU for this amazing comment. I can't tell you how much it means. I am so glad that this story has resonated with you, and even more glad that you've decided to break your silence and write a comment. :) I know it can be hard to share your thoughts, and omgggg does it make me sad that my old WIAW posts pushed you away from the blog (Although I am NOT surprised and I applaud you for knowing to stay away at the time!). I am so glad that I am in a better place now so this space can be one you can come to for enjoyment & trust. And yay for trying new things in our recovery process. Sending you lots of love and wishing you a very, very happy holiday season!! Xox

Teffy

This came in perfect timing!! I actually started realising I might be developing food fears, especially regarding dairy, gluten and refined sugar. I always say I avoid those things, instead of saying I don't have them, as I feel you never know when you'll have it again (like you said in your video) and also gives me the control of when I do choose to have something that might have a little sugar or dairy. I saw this amazing post at Sporteluxe ( here ) , which I think you'll love too. It's about being flawesome (flawed and awesome!) and it hit so close to home that the next day I had some goats cheese and loved it! So much so that I have now decided to add it back into my diet in moderate amounts! Especially once we start getting into wanting to improve our healths, we need to be so careful as not to go overboard and become unhealthy in our quest for health! Like you say, it's all about balance - but that can be easier said than done! {Teffy's Perks} X

Jordan Younger

Yes, FLAWESOME! I love it! Best word ever. So glad that this video came at a good time for you. Sending you sooo much love. We've got this!

Jordan Younger

Carly, you are so not alone. Thanks so much for watching and for the love. We've got this, girl. We will kick our food fears in the butts!!
Jordan Younger

Alexandra, you are so not alone. Thanks so much for watching and for the love. We’ve got this, girl. We will kick our food fears in the butts!!