I am often asked why I published 'My Relationship with Food' and with most things in life, there is a story and a journey that accompanies any achievement.
As a child, I loved to watch my mother and grandmother cook - the bond between generations cooking together is truly special. Unfortunately, as much pleasure as I found in cooking, I also found in eating. I became dependent on food as a way to make me feel good. Eating gave me comfort. So I did a lot of it. The weight piled on and I became an overweight child and by age 13, I weighed as much as my father! I was teased about my weight by my classmates which in turn made me unhappy and so I ate more. And there the cycle began.
As time moved on, food was no longer a comfort but an enemy. I turned my back on all the items that I thought had made me happy. Food became my adversary and the only way I could 'win' was to be in control. What I didn't understand was that too much control either way is anything but beneficial. There needs to be balance.
After years of struggling and through my control of intake, I eventually lost it and was then faced with a new issue, people around me affirming that the thin me was the better me and now a new dilemma was upon me - being fat meant ugly and thin meant I was winning. This new relationship with food had my hair falling out and my periods stopping. I was now underweight with a full blown eating disorder, so again something had to change.
It took a wise older woman, my grandmother, to finally put me on a healthier path. She asked, 'What would make you happy?' My answer was given without hesitation. 'Cooking'. And that is what I did. By speaking my dream out loud and pouring my energies into achieving what was in my heart, I started my journey back to healing.
Producing a cookbook was always something I dreamed of and last year, I decided I was going to make that dream a reality. Instead of knocking on publisher's doors, I decided that I would do something about my dream - and self-publish! The process from vision to the finished article took just 3 months and the journey from start to finish was truly amazing. I had been creating recipes for a number of years, hoping one day I would have my own cookbook.
I had unwavering belief in myself and ignored all those who told me it couldn't be done. There will always be people wanting to throw you off your path and sometimes I believe this to be a test of your faith and belief in your vision. You will always know in your heart if something feels right for you; If you believe it, you can achieve it.
If you give your ideas the energy, focus and belief that they require, you will bring them to life. All of us have ideas, some however are never birthed and left remaining in our minds, but others inject life into those thoughts and the process of creation truly begins.
I am thankful that I realised my thought could become manifest in real time and I am beyond grateful each time I hold my cookbook in my hands.
Lisa
To purchase My Relationship with Food cookbook visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Relationship-Food-Recipes-Nourish/dp/1910256862/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425458421&sr=8-1&keywords=my+relationship+with+food
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