Sis, You’re More than Your Struggle

By Aaliyah Moore

F-O-O-D.

It’s one of my favorite words, but also one of my biggest struggles. It seems as though I have discipline over every other area of my life except my diet. In a previous blog, I opened up about my struggle with body positivity over the years. There have been times when I’ve loved my body, and also times I haven’t loved what I saw when I looked in the mirror.

In a recent conversation with a close friend, I told her I had slipped back into a space of being hard on myself about my weight. I shared that lately I’ve been reluctant to even post pictures of myself on social media because I’m so conscious about the weight gain.

And yes I know, some will say that if you care enough about something, you’ll do something to change it, and I totally agree with that. But when you’ve been doing something one way for so long, it’s almost as if you don’t even believe you can do things differently. It’s like I’ll start eating better and working out and then boom, I have a bad day and I’m right back to ordering my #1 combo from Chick-fil-A. The hassles of daily life sometimes push me to emotionally eat, and that space becomes hard to come out of at times.

Once I finished venting, my friend told me to stop being so hard on myself. She reminded me that

what we struggle with is a really small part of who we are.

I think because we spend the most time with ourselves, it’s super easy to get consumed with what we feel makes us inadequate. It’s often been said that we are own worst critic, and I think that is so true. I needed that reminder from my friend that day, and now I want to remind you that you are more than what you struggle with!

Breaking Past the Struggle

When I emotionally eat, my diet typically consists of carbs, fats, sugar and not much else. As of lately however, I’ve been trying to incorporate healthier snacks in my diet when I feel the urge to emotionally indulge. I will say, emotional eating isn’t a topic I know much about. But now that I realize it’s a challenge many people deal with, it’s something I look forward to learning more about.

Always remember, our struggles and places we feel we are lacking are not the sum total of our identities. Remember that the next time you want to be hard on yourself.