I was recently reflecting on a conversation I had with a coaching client about what “food is good” and what “food is bad”. It made me sad to think that so many of us, myself included, have lived for years following other peoples “expert” opinions about what we should be eating, how we should be eating it and how we need to eat a restricted diet to see ourselves lose weight to feel our best.
No fat, less sugar, more fat, less carbs, no carbs, vegan, paleo, don’t eat bread it’s the enemy and it goes on. No wonder so many of us live our daily lives with a relationship with food that has more ups and downs than a roller coaster. Being on this nonstop ride is not good for the soul. All is does is add even more anxiety, stress, guilt and self-hate into our lives.
Many of us over the years have stopped trusting our bodies and believe they are failing us when we gain weight, crave certain foods or they don’t look the way we want them to which in turn means we no longer trust our own intuition when it comes to our own body’s wants and needs.
We forget that we are human, we are all individuals and we all have our own wants, needs and physiological reactions to food. Instead of trying to find the answers of what is going to work for us through reading the next best expert book or following the next fad diet why don’t we all become the expert of our own nutritional advice?
How do we do this you might ask?
- It’s time to start listening.
- We need to stop outsourcing our nutritional health when we have the answers inside of us. Our bodies talk to us through symptoms such as headaches, bloating, hunger signals, fatigue, brain fog, the 3pm binge and digestion issues. These symptoms can be the result of under eating, eating distractedly, eating fast, an unbalanced diet and emotional eating.
- It’s time to start trusting our body.
- We need to learn to trust our own instincts and abilities. Our bodies are unique. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. This is what makes us human. Our bodies are our ally and we have wasted too much time being at war with them.
- It’s time to give yourself permission to enjoy food
- Food is not the enemy. Many of us live our lives scared to enjoy food due to the fear of what it might do to us. Negative thoughts such as “I shouldn’t be eating this”, “I will have to go to the gym tomorrow to burn this off” and “this is so naughty” puts a black mark against food. Learning to rewrite this negative mind set allows us to feel lighter, happier and to live a life not bound by restriction, guilt and self-hate.
It’s time to get adventurous and start yourself on a journey of discovery that unlocks you from a life controlled by rules and beliefs set by other experts.
Take a look at my Gut Health Mindset Kit here and get a better understanding of the impact of gut health has on your bodies ability to harvest nutrients from the food you eat, and allow you to balance the foods you love, with the foods you know are making you feel your best.