I think about food ALL THE TIME!  When I’m eating breakfast, I think about what  my next snack will be.  When I’m making dinner, I think about what’s for tomorrow’s breakfast.  On Sunday, I’m thinking about Monday’s meals….  it never ends!!  No truly, It NEVER ENDS – because we need to eat every day!   And for many of us, we need to eat more, or more often than we do!

Could it be? As a nutritionist, in our land of excess, I’m suggesting people eat MORE?!  Ti’s true.  Tis true.  There is this interesting notion that says “I’m a good girl* if I don’t eat until lunch…I’m a good girl if I skip lunch and work instead…I’m a good girl if I have only a salad…” (insert ‘boy’ here where appropriate, though this concept may resonate more with women).

There are times when I’ve found myself feeling guilty, or ‘fat’ or just ‘yuck’ because of my forethought around food.  I’ve thought ‘maybe I’d be thinner if I wasn’t planning every meal & snack…maybe, if I could just learn to forget to eat‘ I’d be better off.’ I’ve been jealous thinking ‘she obviously doesn’t think about food as much as I do! Why can’t I be like that?’

Moments like that I realize how disconnected I’ve come from my body; my mind is running without a care for the physiological needs of my body.  My body needs nourishment; it needs 3 meals/day and snacks too!  My planning & thinking ahead only supports this inevitable need – and it is inevitable right?  We truly can’t survive without food.   You’ve likely tested that survival state just by experiencing symptoms that remind you to eat: hunger, anger (hanger:), headache, fatigue, irritability… Your body is always talking to you.  The question is: ARE YOU LISTENING? Beyond these noticeable symptoms of hunger, when we don’t feed our body, our metabolism slows (yes that means weight gain), our ability to repair & regenerate is hindered;  our immune system is inhibited; our thinking becomes foggy; the list goes on…

Sure, there’s a balance here between planning & obsession; between BEing prepared & BEing in the moment.  Ideally, we’d listen to our bodies’ cues…understand when we’re hungry, feel what we’re hungry for, and indulge in that.  But the reality is, we’ve got busy lives & we don’t have all the options (food anyways) at our fingertips.  (Or at least we don’t always have the most healthful options at our fingertips).  So forethought & planning ahead becomes crucial…otherwise we turn to those less than healthful treats because they’re quick, easy, and comforting to our bodies that may have otherwise been neglected.

Does planning meals & snacks scare you? Intimidate you?  Is it because you don’t know how to do it? (It can be learned; it just takes practice!)  Or is it because you hold a belief that food is bad; thinking about food is bad, when you eat certain foods you’re bad…

I was recently listening to an interview with Kind Abdullah of Jordan.  He made the point that “when your stomach is full, you can make better choices.”  Sure,  in our situation we may not be dealing with the same threat of hunger as it relates to poverty, but in truth, when you starve your body of what it needs aren’t you inflicting a sense of poverty on yourself?   When you have the OPTION to nourish yourself in a way that supports your body, why wouldn’t you do it?    Let’s start BEing ‘good’ to our bodies.

Consider planning ahead.

• Meal plan on Saturday.  Grocery shop on Sunday for the upcoming week.
• When you’re cooking dinner, pack leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.
• Always have a healthy snack in your bag or car.
• When you make a smoothie make extra & save in a jar in the fridge.

And remember the continual practice of:

• Eating when you’re hungry. Starving your body, starves your mind too.
• Starting to notice when you acknowledge yourself as  ‘good’ & when you acknowledge yourself as ‘bad’.  What are you doing then?  What beliefs do you hold in relation to your actions/thoughts?

These are just a few ideas.. but there’s lots more.  Share you Food Forethought ideas @ facebook.com/justbewellness

(thanks to Michelle for the hangry reference  & Marissa for the ‘forethought’ considerations)

HEALING IS MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

A month after the honeymoon trauma, I thought I was fine, and then BAM! out of nowhere Mr. Misery hit me like a ton of bricks.  How could this be?  I had been feeling fantastic!

Well there’s a lot that goes on beneath the surface…and if we don’t take care on all levels, it might just sneak up and  drag you down.  Out of nowhere I felt tired, got a cold I couldn’t shake, and my digestion was totally out of whack.  (Yes, that’s a euphamism for yucky poo, bloating,  and crazy stinky farts.  ewww.)

Ok, I’ll leave out the potty talk & you can read on to learn  3 THINGS YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD DO TO FEEL ON TOP OF YOUR GAME.

What I learned was that in trying to detox my body from the absorbed chemicals (not to mention the mental trauma),  my LIVER was working 9-5…and then 5-9 without a lunch break.   Happily, in light of this struggle back to health, there have been some amazing insights:

1) Not all foods, work for all the people, all the time.  Even the foods you consider ‘healthy’ might not be healthy if you’re eating them all the time. (All of a sudden I couldn’t digest fruit! and even my veggies juices were a no-no.  so sad.)  Learning to listen & rotate foods is key.  Yea, I know… are you one of those people that gets into a routine and eats the same things all the time? Most of us are, but that doesn’t make it a beneficial thing…

2) Getting support is key.  In my head I knew what needed to be done (removing all irritating foods and supporting my liver)… but hearing it from someone else (my own nutrition coach) suddenly made it seem plausible…like I could dive in and comitt to a plan.

3) It’s all connected! Our LIVER is our largest organ – it’s responsible for detoxing the blood, storing, reassembling & distributing nutrients as needed, breaking down fats… and guess what, it effects everything!!  When the liver isn’t working well, the rest of our systems aren’t working well. (Hence, my liver was stressed…I had symptoms of candida & dysbiosis, fatigue, brain fog, low libido, GI issues, disturbed sleep…blah blah blah)

SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH YOU??
It’s a reminder to acknowledge that soo much is happening in your body on a deeper level…so much that we can’t make sense of UNTIL it becomes a symptomatic problem that we can no longer ignore.   But you don’t have to wait until you feel like crap!

1) Rotate your food – eat a wide variety – try thinking in terms of colors – Skittles were not that far off when they said “Taste the Rainbow”

2) Get support – from a professional/friends/family/the web.  Get new ideas & be inspired to try new things (here’s on of my favorite blogs for healthy eating) & allow some else to guide you and hold you accountable.

3) Support your LIVER!  Focus on whole foods (meaning it doesn’t come in a box or a bag).   Beets, cilantro, lemon peel, broccoli, garlic, onions… these are all super foods for your liver.   And they’re all highlighted in our 10 Day Spring Cleanse!! In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the spring is the time to support the liver, because once the liver is working freely, the rest of the body will follow…and we can FREE ourselves from the winter blues (not to mention that extra winter warmth if you know what I mean:)

If you’re ready to lighten up!  click for info about our Spring Cleanse.

Could you use a lil’ help finding that joy with your relationship to food? I’m here….  ali@justbewellness.com 415.999.9404