Love Your Food.

I’ll let you in on one of my biggest secrets: I love food.

Anyone who truly knows me would tell you that if you give me food, I’d be your best friend.

My dog and I have a similar outlook, but that’s beside the point.

I. Love. Food.

But I have a different relationship with food than the average person.

I could tell you that as a baby I had a g-tube because the doctors said I would never have the capacity to chew. It was removed before I was two because I fell in love with Three Musketeers Chocolate Bars.

I could tell you that my love affair with bad-for-you foods hit an all-time high when I devised a plan to drink Coca-Cola while I had a ventilation tube down my throat. The plan was a success. I was only nine. The nurses were appalled. The doctors didn’t care. And my parent’s admired my ingenuity.

I could tell you that one of the side effects of my muscular dystrophy is having a high metabolism. Technically speaking, I burn two and a half times more calories than you do. This is why I only average around 60 pounds.

That last fact is hard to swallow, and directly the point of this post.

Because I burn so many calories so fast, I am on a see food diet. I see food, I have to eat it. Some people may think that’s a great way to live. And most days, I’d agree.

But then, I remember I don’t eat food for sheer pleasure. I have to meticulously plan what I’m going to eat in advance. I have to prepare high carb/high protein meals to satisfy my metabolism and keep my body functioning properly.

I don’t eat salad. Not enough calories. I rarely eat fruit unless it’s in a high calorie smoothie. Not enough calories. I do eat vegetables, specifically potatoes. I’m Irish, and we love potatoes. There are some calories depending on how they’re prepared. Not really enough, but I can’t control my cravings.

The biggest problem with my relationship with food is that it doesn’t allow me to connect with it on an emotional or spiritual level. By that I mean I don’t get to eat with an awareness of the mystery of life in food. I don’t have the opportunity to connect with it via mindfulness, appreciation, and a loving consciousness.

I eat to live. I don’t have the luxury of living to eat.

So the next time you bite into a scrumptious morsel of some divine low calorie dish concocted simply to delight your taste buds, please savor the flavor. There are those among us who make the Ninja Turtles’ pizza habit look like child’s play.