Undoubtedly food has played an important role in my life; I would say it has evolved with my conscience. I had a very difficult adolescence precisely because I didn’t know how to eat. I grew up in the midst of a struggle between family rules whose motto was eat more to be healthier, and the already emerging anorexic tendencies in fashion trends. I naively wanted to please both sides. I suffered from anorexia, bulimia and anaemia, and without being really fat, I tried every diet in the book. Luckily, through my desire to have a slim figure, I started to religiously practice exercise, just like I started to become addicted to natural water and all kinds of topics on nutrition which I avidly read.

Now after five decades of life, I am able to see that what made me leave behind this pattern of behaviour was finding my true meaning of life, knowing my values and bringing life to my projects. One of the pillars of my life is respect, and this has much to do with my body. I have learned to say no to what is good for others but not for me, the fact of being a vegetarian for example; in the last couple of years I can listen to my body’s voice telling me not to eat more than I need, no matter whether it’s just a salad or a little fruit. I’ve become very suspicious of the food industry, even if it claims to be truly ethical and sustainable, because to handle the high volumes of production, sale and distribution in the market, it must make use of preservatives and other chemicals whose repercussions have highly negative effects on the health. I am also very attentive to my emotional reactions in order not to fall into the trap of quenching my anxiety or sadness with overdoses of chocolate or sweets. Finally, whenever I give in to what I like, my work, sports, nature, reading or music, I realise that I don’t need food to fill the void or for the acceptance from others. Interestingly, I now weigh 8 kilos less than when I was 30 and I really enjoy every morsel that I put in my mouth.

Guadalupe Cóte, Mexico, 2015