Finding Food Freedom While Abroad

I've been in Belgium for about a month now. Classes started yesterday and I can feel myself finding routine and familiarity in my everyday life. As I expected, my past fears with finding food freedom have resurfaced. In the past month, I have been enjoying typical Belgian food like waffles, chocolate, frites, and many types of beer. In addition to those classics, I have been enjoying the fresh breads, gelato, cheese, and basically all things filled with dairy, gluten, and sugar. For the first time in a really long time, I haven't felt an ounce of guilt while eating these things.A couple of years ago when I really started taking my health into my own hands, I developed a lot of fear around foods. This fear naturally was around "bad" foods so the not so healthy but oh so delicious treats. Before coming to Europe, I couldn't tell you the last time I had ice cream more than once every two weeks or allowed myself to have carbs at every meal. I could justify this and say I like to eat foods that make me feel good but looking back, I was missing out on so much in life.

Food is about experiences

Food is about so much more than just calories in versus calories out. Food is about experiences. It's about sharing time with the people you love. It's about making memories. When I am old one day reminiscing on life, I am going to remember all of the amazing croissants I ate in Paris but I can tell you eating a boring 'ole salad day after day isn't going to have the same effect.

The Money Issue

Aside from having access to all of these delicious foods, there are a few more things that have shifted my diet since I have gotten to Belgium. One of those big things is money. Although back at school I do my own grocery shopping and am pretty self sufficient, I have never really set a budget. In all of my life, I have been to lucky to have support from my parents and therefore I haven't ever been aware of my spending habits. Since I am abroad for a year and I know money will go quick, I am trying to be more conscious about my spending habits.So long are the days that I can afford to throw out food in the refrigerator because "I'm not in the mood for it anymore" or going out to eat every single day of the week. It's actually been a big adjustment for me. This whole money issue hit me when I was in Paris and realizing how expensive food can be when you are eating three meals out everyday for a week.In hindsight, I think that this is really good growing experience for me. I mean first, it's about time I learn how to manage my money...especially when it comes to food because I love spending on food. But also, I am realizing how much food I usually waste and how privileged I am when it comes to food. Being aware of my spending habits is forcing me to live more intentionally because before I spend money I try to ask myself, "do I really need this?" Better late than never, I guess.

Grocery Shopping

Anyone that knows me knows that I love grocery shopping. It's one of my favorite past times. It's different here in Europe. Yeah, I miss my favorite brands like Siete Foods, Soozy's Muffins, and Siggi's but it's more than just that. Walking into a grocery store and having almost every single item be in Dutch and not really knowing what's in it is hard. I got so used to reading every label and getting what had the "cleanest" ingredients with the lowest sugar but now I just have to trust that the picture on the box is what I want to get.My first real experience at the grocery store in Belgium was a tad bit traumatizing. First, I didn't know that you had to weigh and print a label for the produce, then I didn't understand the cashier when she was speaking Dutch to me, I dropped a bottle of pesto and it shattered, and I set the alarm off because I went out the wrong door. Thankfully, since then, I have gotten a lot better at grocery shopping in Belgium. There's a learning curve that's for sure but it has forced me to get back to the basics with eating and not worry so much about the calories or sugar or protein content.

How can you find balance between a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally while abroad?

As you can see, there has been a learning curve when it comes to grocery shopping, managing money, and transitioning out of my clean and healthy lifestyle. In this past month, I have realized that a "healthy lifestyle" is so much more than just working out everyday and eating spinach with every meal. You can have gelato two nights in a row and still be healthy. You can eat waffles and frites in the same day or eat three croissants at breakfast in Paris and still be healthy. It's about finding balance.I have been talking about finding balance in a healthy lifestyle since starting Naturally Nicoletta but I don't think I ever fully understood what it meant. Finding balance is about doing your best while still experiencing life. I am in Europe for a year and I plan on doing the most. If I sacrifice my health or the way my body looked this summer for the incredible first bite of a warm Belgian waffle or for sitting by the Seine River with my best friend eating a baguette and cheese and wine then it's worth it. In the end, the extra pounds or a stomach ache here or there aren't going to matter.There's so much pressure on eating "clean" 24/7 and looking a certain way but why? As much as I love food, there is so much more to life than food. Experience what you can, cherish every memory, enjoy the time with the people you love because you can never get it back.If you are studying abroad or have studied abroad, I'd love to hear what you think about all of this! Are you experiencing similar things?