5 Easy Steps To Instinctive Eating
I’m not a fan of ‘dry January’, ‘Dechox March’ or any of the so-called national days that direct us – mostly for economic reasons – into a deprivation mindset. I don’t dispute the fact that these months can be beneficial to those who would otherwise never give their livers a break. In a way, it also encourages some self-awareness, as many people become aware of how much healthier they feel when they ‘cut’ x, y or z. However, for many, the ‘dry’ months are often followed by very ‘wet’ 11 months of the year. This naturally happens when eliminating something that brings us pleasure – even for a short while, triggers a feeling of lack and deprivation. This will often lead to bingeing – which according to the “Beat Eating Disorders” Charity is more common than any other eating disorder.
In my practice, I always work to improve one’s self-awareness and instinctive way of eating or drinking – all year round, rather than when marketers want to boost specific food and drink sales.
So rather than implementing ‘blanket’ eliminations (and subsequent ‘lack’ mindset), I would encourage you to aim for balance 12 months of the year. This way, you won’t need to eliminate anything, really, ever.
Here are 5 easy steps to make some positive – more instinctive tweaks to your daily habits:
- Re-acquaint yourself with food. Food is never the enemy or the cause of your health or weight issues. Ask yourself: how do you view food/drink? Is it a gap-filler? Something scary or to be resented? What am I not digesting from my environment? Recognise your attitude to food and where it comes from.
- Never ignore or suppress hunger. Instead, accept and respect your body’s signals.
- Eat up to about 70% of your fullness levels. You’ll need to slow down to figure that out.
- Eat every 3-4 hours: this will balance out your blood sugar levels throughout the day and help beat the deprivation mindset and cravings.
- Check how you feel: before, during and after eating/drinking. Are your feelings in line with how you want to feel right now? Are these feelings going to be conducive to great digestion? Or do you need to pause and distract yourself or relax more to help boost your digestion?
Realising why you eat or drink will change how, when and what you eat and drink. It will help you to be more in touch with yourself, how you feel about what you put into your body, how it affects your health, energy, focus, emotions.
Let’s declare 2021 a National Healing Foods Awareness Year!
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