The Art of Listening to Your Own Body!
What you choose to eat anytime of day, is often based on what available and what you are in the mood for. What most people over-look however, is how they feel as a result of each of these choices.
The food we put in our bodies each day, has a direct impact on our moods, productivity, energy level and over all health. While it is not the only factor contributing to each of these areas, it is one that is truly within our control and easier than you might think to beginning shifting in your favor.
The first step is to begin noticing how you feel. How do you feel before you eat, how do you feel right after eating, and how do you feel in the hours following? The effects of our food choices on our bodies is cumulative and will still be impacting you days, weeks, months and even years later, but its how we feel immediately that is our first step to healthier living.
It is called intuitive eating; the art of listening to your own body.
You can listen instead, to a multitude of experts tell you what to eat and when, or you can listen to the mass of marketing and advertising messages that tell you what and how much is safe and appropriate to eat…Or you can listen to your own body.
The vast array of experts and their messages are highly valuable, but not necessarily 100% correct for you. By listening to your body, you can hear the various messages out there notice what might or might not be a fit for you to try.
It really and truly starts by listening for what your body is telling you, and making shifts there first. You might love milk, but once you begin paying attention, you may notice that you have a mildly upset stomach after eating it, or that your skin breaks out in acne the day after. So you can try eating less, avoiding it altogether or trying an alternate type of milk such as coconut or almond instead.
The experts might tell you milk is necessary for calcium, but there are other experts who will tell you many better ways to get calcium into your body…And if it is not working for you, that is the most important message of all. Look to the experts to learn about the alternates for your needs.
This is just an example and not meant to pick on milk specifically, but it illustrates the reality of our current societal norms in eating. I have seen children diagnosed with allergies at age two, while their parents or grandparents suffer the same symptoms but are not diagnosed with similar allergies until they are in their 40’s or even 70’s (true fact). This is because we have become complacent in believing the messages all over TV and stores, while we have lost the art of listening to the messages our bodies give us everyday.
Just begin to notice what is happening inside of you, free of judgement and make your own choices based on HOW you really want to feel.
More on the Messages Your Body is Sending, next time…
