*I am not a doctor, so if you have any health concerns in any way, please speak to your doctor.*
I have personally lived through many unhealthy lifestyles. When I was young I smoked cigarettes and lived off fast food. I struggled with binge eating and binge drinking. I have tried fasting for days at a time (not eating), and have overeaten for months on end.
Now, I have a very healthy relationship with food, a degree in Nutrition, and love how I feel. So what changed?
My relationship with myself was the magic factor. Doing the inner work transformed every aspect of my life. Everything in your life is connected; your mental health, your emotional health, your physical health, your spiritual health, your family life, exercise routine, relationships, and everything else. When one area struggles, it is almost a guarantee that another area is struggling as well. If you're looking to transform your life from the inside out, I recommend hiring a professional or starting with our guided journals. If you are just looking to make some healthy eating changes, keep reading!
The food you consume is your fuel. It has the power to make you lethargic, irritable, foggy, and uncomfortable. It can also give you energy, help your sleep, brighten your mood, heal ailments, and make you feel AWESOME.
Which do you choose?
If you are trying to shift your eating habits to healthier ones, you're in the right place. I'll give you small shifts you can make as you begin your journey.
- Water is your best friend. You are literally made of water. Think of water inside yourself as oil in a car. Without the oil, the car doesn't run as smoothly. Metal grinds on metal, and the life of the car is shortened. Water is the same in your body. Your cells need it to function properly.
A nice place to start is drinking half your body weight in ounces of water. If you weigh 200lbs, drink 100oz per day. If you are extremely active and sweat a lot, drink more. This alone can change how you look and feel. It will help your skin, energy levels, sleep, and help you manage your weight. If you are shifting from an extremely unhealthy lifestyle to a healthy one, take one step at a time. Try drinking enough water for a few weeks to create a habit before adding all the other tips. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It's your life we're talking about!
- Whole foods are better than processed foods. In fact, processed foods aren't really great for you at all. A whole food is anything that grows from the ground. (and meat) Basically, anything that has one ingredient and hasn't been altered. Fruits, vegetables, beans, meats, nuts, etc. These are so much easier for your body to digest than processed foods. Your body doesn't know what to do with processed ingredients.
- CHEW. Chew every bite 40-60 times. Go try it. You'll think of me and say, "Christina, that's impossible. I chewed my first bite in 7 chews, and when I tried again, I maybe got to 30 chews."
Keep trying. Picture an entire burrito sitting in your stomach, hardly chewed. It's heavy, it's stuffed in there, and everything is basically whole--that is so much for your body to break down.
Now picture chewing everything so it's basically a liquid. (I know, that sounds gross.) But can you imagine that in your stomach? It takes up less space, and it's already mostly broken down. Your body doesn't have to fight as much to digest it all.
Also, since you are taking more time to chew, you are giving your body time to realize it's no longer hungry, and can stop eating before you finish the huge burrito you're wolfing down. (Guilty. Burritos are one of my fave.) And then you have leftovers!
- Eat when you're hungry, and stop when you're not. Your body has this amazing ability to tell you when it needs fuel. You should eat something when you are feeling that stomach growl. But eat it slowly. And chew a lot. Take your time. Enjoy it. And stop eating when you're no longer hungry. Not full. Don't stop when you're full. Stop when you're no longer hungry. There is a huge difference. It takes your brain time to actually recognize that you're full, so if you eat until you're absolutely stuffed, you've eaten too much, and that never feels comfortable. (Your stomach is about the size of your fist.....so imagine eating an entire pizza. That's a huge stretch!)
- Eat more nutrients. Vitamins and minerals. You'll get these from whole foods! Don't only eat one type of fruit and never touch a vegetable. You're not getting the nutrients you need for your cells to function properly. I take vitamins in areas I lack. (I don't eat red meat, so I take an iron supplement.) Get those nutrients! Remember, food is your fuel. If you're tired all the time, you may simply have a nutrient deficiency. (Many women do!)
We'll stop there for today so you don't get overwhelmed. Print this out, put it on your fridge, and focus on one thing at a time. Set reminders to drink water and chew your food. Write it on post-its. Do whatever you have to do to remember. When creating a new habit, it's so easy to forget to do it, so set yourself up for success!