Release Your Body From Following One Specific Diet
Isn't it absurd the amount of different kinds of diets that exist now? A lot of these have so much buzz around them that following them becomes a part of someone's identity. To eat something off of the "prescribed meal plan" can cause so much anxiety for some that it brings up questions around who they are as a person.
Throughout my many years of healing my gut, nutrition research, and exploring what nourishment resonates with my sensitive system, I have been on the search for what is sustainable. What I have discovered is that first, we cannot attach ourselves to any one way of eating. How could we possibly think that eating the same way, every day, every week, every month, year to year would meet all of our nutritional needs? Our body has different needs depending upon so many different factors including the season, our stress levels, our physical activity, our environment, and for women where they are in their cycle. Second, only your body will let you know what it needs. No diet, no person, no expert has the answers for you.
To be able to hear the wisdom our body has to share with us means we need to slow down. We cannot hear how we are digesting and assimilating our food if we're eating in a fast, disembodied way. As you begin to experiment slowing down with your food, here are some questions you can ask before, during, and after each meal.
Before:
On a scale from 1-10 how hungry am I?
Do I want something cold or warm?
Do I want something crunchy or smooth?
Do I want something spicy, savory, or sweet?
What kind of protein would resonate with my body at this moment?
What foods would pair with the protein I'm desiring?
During:
What do I enjoy about what I'm eating?
How does this food feel in my body?
Do I sense my body relax and feel calm as I eat these specific foods?
Does this food support me in feeling the way I desire to feel in my body?
What are the thoughts going through my head?
Am I embracing the nourishment coming in?
After:
On a scale from 1-10 how hungry am I?
Do I feel satiated and satisfied?
How do I feel in my body?
Is this food digesting easily?
Do I feel light and energized or tired and sleepy?
Engaging in the practice of asking yourself these questions, and any other questions that you come up with before, during, and after your meal will guide you meal to meal and day to day around what foods will be most supportive to your body at that moment. Constantly inviting in curiosity you will be able to discover the foods that generally always digest and assimilate in your body easily and typically consistently support you with feeling grounded and embodied. You get to create your own unique dietary guidelines that satiates you and only you. As you cultivate more trust within your body that it will tell you what it needs and when you will find a way of eating that feels sustainable where you will never feel like you have to rely on a diet ever again.