7 Steps to Eating your Way to a Healthier You
Food is amazing. Not only does it taste great but it also gives us fuel for energy! More energy means more working out and more endorphins! However, keeping an eye on what and how we eat plays a key role in the health and fitness of our bodies. Re-establishing our relationship with food & listening to our bodies needs will be ten times more beneficial and respectful to the fact that all of our bodies use food uniquely than following any diet plan. Here are 7 ways to start being mindful of your eating for a healthier you!
Get an IgG, IgA allergy test: This is not a standard test run by allergist. The allergies that these test uncover are known as “hidden allergies”. Basically, you can be very allergic to basic foods that are a part of your daily or weekly diet that will show symptoms days after consuming without you even realizing. This is by far one of the biggest things I recommend someone to do if they are serious about eating healthier & according to what their own needs. You can ask your doctors if they have these specific tests or search online for doctors that can provide them.
Re-establish your relationship with food: Food is fuel! Nothing more. Nothing less. That doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be tasty, enjoyable & sociable. It means that eating in a way that supports your body and your life is priority, not eating something because it tastes crazy yummy and being okay with trashing your body in the process. If you feel like you can’t eat both good for you and tasty, you’ve just discovered another way to grow and diversify your life skills by learning how to cook some of your favorite dishes yourself.
Moderate or cut out non-serving foods: Foods that are just plain old toxic to the body should not be a frequent part of our diets. Alcohol and processed sugars are a couple of huge examples. Once you get your above test results, you will have a group of foods that are toxic to your specific body. Does that mean you should 100% cut it out? Honestly, if you can without it stressing your life out, I say why not . For some people this is an impossible notion, if that is the case, start by cutting back gradually and see where that goes.
Become aware of why you eat what you eat: Most sustainable life changes come from shinning awareness onto the situation. We are born with hunger and satiety cues that help guide us with when to eat what. Over time we learn to ignore it so we can finish our plates as a kid, eat dinner at our friends favorite restaurant, emotionally eat, etc. The truth is, we don’t need to count calories-our bodies do that for us naturally. We need to start eating to satisfaction as a standard.
Educate yourself: It is great to get advice from your friends or an article BUT the real magic happens when you sit down and wrap your mind around a couple of philosophies just so you can understand, it doesn’t mean it is right for you. Use it for ideas and create your own way for food to support your life’s demands. For the most part it will be very hard to find one philosophy that you 100% works for you. Read up, try things out and pay attention and make the needed adjustments based upon listening to how your body reacts.
Balance: Balance out your diet and eat in moderation. Eating all of one type of food and none of another is not going to necessarily serve you best. All things good in moderation tends to be a more supportive plan.
Plan: I have been a mindful eater for most of my life, but as my life changes I am always having to tweak how I do this so that it fits with my days. The ONLY way I manage to eat healthy is by planning. Plan, whatever this means to you, start small so it is not overwhelming. A part of planning could even be working with a nutritionist. Once you have implemented one shift successfully to the point where it feels effortless, see what else you can do to make life healthier and easier.
