Our Frenemy, Food.

I love food. I have always loved food. I've also always hated food because whenever I've enjoyed it I've ended up regretting eating it, or feeling guilty about consuming what was "bad" for me.

How did food become so powerful?! The more OK I become with food, the more I realise how much time I've wasted obsessing over it, talking about it, thinking about it and depriving myself of it. I can remember trying to diet as far back as primary school. I went through high school feeling chubby, even though I don't think I was. When I reached the age of 20 I ate nothing but 3 slices of bread with mozzarella cheese and 1 granny smith apple per day. I was skinny and hungry for a solid 3 years.

By the time I moved to London in 2005 I thought I had my weight under control so I let go a little and expanded....like a balloon. I believe they call it the "Heathrow Injection"! The bagels, the wine, the McVities - everything was such a novelty to me and the weight crept on so slowly that I almost didn't notice it. Until I put my jeans on and I couldn't get them over my thighs. From then on, I could never get my weight down again. I tried everything - cutting calories, starving myself, eating only protein, cutting out protein, exercising like mad... nothing worked. It was so incredibly frustrating. Years of not eating anything nutritious had caused my hormones to be completely out of balance, and my metabolism was broken. I didn't understand why nothing was working so I turned to darker avenues to try and lose weight. These desperate measures are not uncommon - in fact, I think a lot of us hide this shameful secret even though most people, at one stage or another, have tried similar methods.

What I'm starting to understand now, finally after all these years, is that we were being fed (excuse the pun) bad information for many, many years. Low fat, high sugar products were being promoted everywhere, wholegrains were king and we were told that we had to burn as many calories in a day as we were eating. Simple, right? It's so unfair that we have been made to feel like we're weak because we just don't have the willpower NOT to eat. We are meant to eat - a lot! Our bodies need energy and we should never, ever feel as though we have to deprive ourselves.

These days we're told so many different things, it's almost impossible to know what is good for you. No carbs, high fat, no grains, some grains, no sugar, no dairy... what are we supposed to believe?

I can't say what is good and what is bad, but what I CAN say is that I think I may have found what works for me. The idea of eating clean, whole foods in abundance and staying away from anything processed really works for me. I eat SANE foods - they satisfy me, they're non-aggressive (meaning they are slow releasing), they are nutritious and they aren't readily stored as fat. I can eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. (SANE is a term coined by Jonathan Bailor, author of "The Calorie Myth".)

I'm not scared to eat and I don't feel any of the guilt that used to come with every meal. My body is functioning as it should, my metabolism is fixed, I have sustained energy throughout the day and I sleep well at night. I have a better understanding of my own body and I can feel now when it doesn't like something. It's the most liberating thing that has ever happened to me. I just had no idea how trapped I was.

I would love it if everybody had a joyful relationship with food. All too often I overhear my friends and students talking about "diets" and how hard they're trying to lose weight with no success. I just want to shake them and tell them that I have found the secret! I know the truth is out there - it's becoming more and more obvious to people. For those of you who don't know and are still struggling... Send me a message and I will tell you exactly how I found my way, because it may just help you find YOURS.