Part II
Throughout my college years, I can definitely say I developed some disordered eating patterns (unfortunately, I think many girls around that age do). Maybe it was from being around others girls, constantly feeding off each other’s comments about diet, weight, exercise and body image or, the fact that I am an anxious person whose anxiety naturally peaked during college.
As you may know from my previous posts, I have always loved food, particularly good food that nourishes my body, but never really stressed or questioned what I put into my body too much until I got to college. Food and exercise were two things I knew I had control over when I felt so anxious with my studies and “out of control”.
Now before I go any further I do want to clarify that I did not have an eating disorder. My relationship with food just wasn’t the best at the time. If you or anyone you know is struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating patterns, I encourage you to seek help from myself, another registered dietitian, mental health practitioner or a combination of the two.
In my mid college years (before I started taking nutrition courses), I became pretty obsessive with the food I was eating and often very restrictive. So restrictive that I eliminated bananas from my diet because they were high in sugar and I only allowed myself fruits that were known to be low in sugar (grapefruits & berries were two of my “fav” at the time). Now if you know me, bananas are my absolute favorite…so I think cutting them out says a lot. Fast forward to today and I can’t even look at a grapefruit the same because at the time I read somewhere that they were “good to reduce belly fat” so I made myself eat them ALL THE TIME.
After the Fall semester of my senior year, I decided I wanted to see a therapist. I was the one who noticed these unhealthy/obsessive/restrictive patterns in myself and I was sick of them. After only a few sessions, my therapist was able to assure me this was not an eating disorder but was my anxious personality creating these “rigid rules” (as her and I would call them) around food.
This is where food combining comes in. I remember in the spring of 2019, I had been using MyFitnessPal to track everything I ate (red flag). I was still in therapy at the time. It was helping, but I was so fed up with this way of living. And then one day, I randomly stumbled upon someone on Instagram by the name of Kenzie Burke [@kenzieburke], the queen of food combining who maybe had 2,000 followers at the time and now has 126 thousand (yes, I am an OG follower and yes, I trust in the divine timing of the universe…this was a true blessing). I can confidently say that Kenzie introducing me to the principles of food combining has forever changed my relationship and perspective around food…for the better. Meditation and becoming more “in tune” with my body over the past year and a half has also helped tremendously because I eat more intuitively now.
So what was it about food combining that helped me heal my relationship with food? It was the fact that I didn’t need to restrict or obsess over calories anymore. I didn’t need to count every calorie and portion my meals as diet culture makes us think. I could eat whatever fruit and fill up on as much fruit as I wanted in the morning. I now put a whole damn banana in my morning smoothie without hesitation. I could also go out to a restaurant and order the pasta dish I always craved (with a big greens salad and of course, my personal favorite: a side of broccoli in garlic and oil) and not feel like shit afterwards.
By following the principles of food combining, I have naturally transitioned to a plant-based diet and no longer am scared of carbs like I once was (and I think more than half of the population unfortunately still is). I make sure to fill up on whole foods (mostly leafy greens, other non-starchy veggies, grains and legumes).
I now make some sort of pasta dish probably about three times a week (most of the time it’s brown rice or chickpea pasta because I love getting in those nutrients).
I eat until I’m full and satisfied, which let me tell you feels So. Damn. Good. And because I am a tall, active girl with a big appetite and love for food, this sometimes means going for seconds on my dinner. Again, I don’t feel guilty doing this because I trust by following the principles of food combining and eating plant-based everything is digesting efficiently through me and nourishing my body. I have never felt better in my entire life. Even though it’s not all about looks, I feel I have never looked better or felt more comfortable in my body… with absolutely NO restrictions.
I am NOT saying this way of eating is for everyone, but if it interests you, I encourage you to experiment with it and see how your body and mind feels. Refer to my last post where I break down the principles of food combining and send me an email or message on Instagram with any questions or concerns you may have!
With love & health,
Makenzi
