What a topic to take a bite out of! Our bodies and food have a lifelong relationship. The body needs food to survive, the bottom line. Without food or water, the body dies. So why, if food is so important, do we turn a blind eye to it? Many individuals become numb, intolerant, or health blind when it comes to food. Convenience has become paramount, resulting in higher sodium and sugar levels being consumed.
Food can simply be fuel or skyrocket to flavor kingdom of enjoyment.
Food not only helps survive, it can boost a body to thrive!
There is a strong relationship between food and mental health or mental health and food consumption. This relationship can be a strong circle of power or a detrimental vicious cycle. Although I’m mentioning this here, I’m not going to pull apart this connection, rather I’d like to share how we can improve our mind-body relationship with food. Building better connections and a stronger internal circle of power.
How often do you ‘hum and haw’ over what to eat or make for dinner? Is packing lunches difficult or simply grocery shopping a daunting task?
Have you ever stopped to ask your body what it would like? Instead of just thinking about it?
We know ourselves the best of anyone and believe it or not, your body can tell you a great deal if you listen to it.
So, how can we listen to our body? It’s fairly simple, all it takes is a little patience and introspection. Practice may be required to become more tuned in and efficient at reading your body.
There are many ways to do it too 😀 OK, I’m not trying to complicate this with various methods. So let me give a few examples and see if any of them resonate with you.
What to eat? This one is my favorites when I don’t know what I want to eat, I take a few moments to tune into my body, just by being more aware of my physical presence, and slowly consider my options. Most of the time, one of the options will make my mouth start to water. I take that as a sign that my body wants whatever I am looking at. I have successfully chosen many meals this way. I’m happy to have the choice made by me, my body usually loves it, and my mind is at ease. It is when I choose something else on the menu that I THINK I would like but wasn’t the one my body was telling me to pick, that it usually ends up in a not-so-great meal.
What to buy? We’ve all heard about ‘not going to the grocery store hungry’ yeah? What about choosing what to buy? Some people are list shoppers, while others mass shop, meanwhile others don’t enjoy grocery shopping at all. The foremost thing one can do to save costs is to pre-plan for meals that you would like to make in a week or two, create your shopping list and stick to it. Impulse buying can add up if you’re not careful. Of course, shopping while hungry increases impulsively as the aforementioned common joke. However, sometimes a little impulse buying isn’t so bad. Instead of just adding items that your mind wants, you can take a moment to tune into your body and see what IT wants instead. You can do this by practicing body testing, otherwise known as kinesthetic testing. Some ways are less intrusive for the middle of an aisle in the store though. My favorite way of testing is with my hands, and if there’s room and I need a bigger response, I might do a full-body lean test. These few moments to tune into what your body is talking about will help you decide on the right products to buy for your body. This way, when you get home, you already know you have got some great items that your body asked for, is looking forward to now, and will likely enjoy a lot!
What to cook? OK, this one might be a bit tougher to figure out. Aside from deciding about cost, ease of cooking, or what ingredients are readily available, how else can one choose what to cook for a meal? Of course, if you have people around, you can ask them too but that doesn’t always work out. So how do you decide on your own? My favorite way is to check out ingredients in the fridge and cupboards. I pull out anything that piques my interest, what makes my mouth water, or a looming expiry date. Once I have a handful of ingredients, I will stare at them for a short time. If a recipe doesn’t pop into my head, I will try one of the following:
Kinesthetic body test with each ingredient. If you have a partner, you can do this together by holding out your arm(s) at 90 degrees with an item in one hand while your partner presses down from the top. If your arm easily falls, your body doesn’t like it, whereas if your arm stays steady at the same height when pushed on, then your body likes and it’s a good choice for you.
Personally, I don’t like partner testing because it requires another person which isn’t always easy. I prefer to do an adapted version solo, by holding an item close to my chest and taking a moment to go neutral and ask my body if it would like this item. For me, what happens is my body will lean forward if it wants it and backward (away from it) if it isn’t what my body wants. You may need to practice without items to find your yes & no or positive/negative reactions. It is also key that you find your yes/no each time you start with a new question. Note that for some individuals, their body goes right or left vs forward or backwards.
Once I have the items my body would like, then I come up with a recipe or seek the advice of an internet and search for what to make with those ingredients.
Try out some of these ways to tune into your body and listen to what it needs. It may take some practice time to get comfortable with what your body is asking for.
So go forth, get out of your head and into your body to decide on your next food choices.
**Of course, I can’t write this post without mentioning that if you are struggling with eating habits, disorders or mental health aspects that impair healthy eating, please seek professional support to help you get back on track. Counsellors, dieticians, physiologists, and many other health professionals can greatly assist with daily eating challenges. Of course, I encourage you to listen to your body, this also includes hearing how much or little your body is asking for. Moderation IS KEY! Too much or too little food can be harmful eventually. Find your happy medium overall!