How do you feel about the food you eat? Haunted because you are not eating as much fresh fruit and vegetables as you should be? Or riddled with guilt because you just munched a whole KitKat after you made the resolution to keep your sweet treat craving at bay?
Whatever the case. Healthy food relationships begin outside of restrictive dieting. Nondumiso Phenyane, a Stellenbosch based food blogger shares these sentiments and more of her food journey on episode 25 of Sisters Without Shame.
Phenyane is the founder of Vegan Attempts, a wellness food blog where she unpacks her journey six years in the making. Food is the fuel we must use to nourish and energise ourselves, she says.
“I stopped thinking that my relationship with food was something that I could fix in a week or in two weeks. People have different solutions out there. You just need to find the one for you.”
Battle royal
Health journeys are never easy she says. Her catalyst came when she had to deal with insulin resistance.
“There have been many times when I used food as an emotional crutch to numb pain, avoid difficult personal issues, and cope with the general stresses of life,” she says. “Using food to reverse my insulin resistance required me to stick to a strict eating regimen.”
Vegan Attempts, Nondumiso Phenyane
She attempted going full-on vegan however Phenyane struggles with irritable bowel syndrome, an intestinal disorder causing pain in the stomach, wind, diarrhoea and constipation as well as insulin resistance.
“When I stopped eating meat, I stopped liking it. In fact, I wasn’t even a meat lover but consumed it because it was part of a regular diet where I come from. I however had to eat meat time and again because of my medical conditions– irritable bowel syndrome, and Insulin resistance.”
For improved health and sustainability of a life that is balanced diet based, Phenyane says due diligence is the solution. She suggests:
You study your body
“Based on my own experience, it is important to develop knowledge and understanding of your own body. I first understood conditions that shaped my health behaviour and made decisions based on my body’s reactions to some foods.
Be patient
“For a very long time I had the impression that someday-one day I was going to find something that would work for my health, or something that change things around for life and make things just align on their own. But it wasn’t the case, my relationship with food has been a constant work in progress, it never just came about, shapes and succeeded just on its own. So, it is important to be patient, not to do things in a rush and to work on your body and your health all the time.”
Educate yourself
“It is also important that you educate yourself diligently about the food you eat and about the impact the food will have on your health.”
Listen to the full interview on Sisters Without Shame
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