“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison”- Ann Wigmore
Do you find yourself looking in the fridge when you’re bored, or scanning the pantry when you are feeling emotional? A lot of the times you don’t even realize you are eating emotionally until you’ve let yourself eat a whole chocolate bar, or cake. We take food for granted in our society always on the go, and eating so fast because we have somewhere to be. We don’t take time to sit down and enjoy our food, which is why we are victims of the dieting, and emotional eating loop without realizing it.
Our body constantly sends us cues of hunger, and thirst, but these emotions are sometimes mixed with our emotions so it is hard for us to understand what our body wants. We have to recognize these cues, so we can properly fuel our body. To do this we first have to appreciate what we are eating. Growing up my family had dinner at the table every night, this is something that was established at an early age for me. This has helped me appreciate what I eat more, and take time to actually enjoy the food that I am eating. Today, many people sit in front of the television or use their phone while they are eating. Before you know it your whole plate is gone and you don’t even remember eating it, which leaves you wanting more. I have fallen victim to this many times, and I sit down and realize I just ate a whole meal and didn’t even realize it. This is bad news, because you automatically go up to get more, but you’re actually probably not still hungry. If we don’t sit down and take time to appreciate the food that is in front of us we constantly find ourselves wanting more. This is what happens when we are bored, and emotionally eating.
The next time you find yourself in front of the fridge, or pantry when you are bored think to yourself, when is the last time you drank a cup of water? Are you eating because you’re bored? Or is your body actually hungry? You have to learn to recognize what your body is trying to tell you. This is a habit that is hard to break because you have been a part of it for so long, to help break that habit spend time with your food, put down the electronics, turn off the T.V. and you will find a vast difference in the amount of food your body actually needs. Learning to recognize these signs in your body will help you put the best foods in your body, not overeat and allow you to get through the day without the sluggish feeling of overeating, and eating foods that do not have nutritional benefit for you. This causes for discipline, but it is one step closer to your long term goal!
Enjoy the food you eat, it makes you the person you are!
Skip the ‘diet’, eat healthy, and listen.
Krista