Restrciton Love

Last year I “tried on” the belief that ALL FOOD RESTRICTION IS BAD.

There are some really loud people out there preaching this.

So, I decided to try it out, and see for myself.

I went all in.

While eating everything and anything was fun for awhile, the consequences of having zero food restrictions weren’t.

I felt awful.

I gained weight.

My aches and pains returned along with a foggy brain.

After testing it out, I’ve come to the belief that Restriction = Love

Thinking of it this way really helps me.

We have restrictions in our marriage. We don’t kiss or have sex with others just because we want to.

We have restrictions with our children.

Even speed limits are restrictions.

And these are all done out of LOVE.

Restriction from a place of love is a fantastic form of self-care.

I’d even go so far as to say they are necessary. We need boundaries to keep us safe, healthy, and happy.

Having boundaries/restrictions on what we eat and drink is 100% healthy as long as it comes from a place of love.

Let’s think about this from a parent angle:

As a mom, I wouldn’t let my kids have a milkshake and then a donut and then fries and a bag of chips washed down with a Dr. Pepper just because their body REALLY WANTED it and it sounded good.

Nope! I know that would make them sick and if the habit continued, unhealthy too. I love them way too much to see them suffer, so I have restrictions.

The same goes for us.

Restricting food and drink we know aren’t best for our health, our body, our mind, and our weight is a good thing.

It doesn’t have to be a punishment. Are you punishing your kids by not letting them raid the pantry for dinner or are you doing it out of love?

Restriction can be a beautiful healthy form of love, self-love.