No One Knows You Better Than You!

Wake up, eat breakfast. Noon-time let's grab some lunch. 6 pm what's for dinner?! Oh and let's not forget about all the snacking in between. Who came up with all these meal times and when and what we are supposed to eat? In the U.S. we have so many perceptions on food and diet. Breakfast is eggs, cereals, smoothie or some type of sweet (doughnut, pancakes, muffins, waffles), lunch is a sandwich and chips or salads, and dinner some type of meat and carbs, maybe add a veggie in there.

I've come to learn that it doesn't matter what you eat at any time of the day , or when you eat. Food is food! It's meant to nourish our bodies and give us energy and fuel for the day so we can get out there and be the best versions of ourselves!

So what is intuitive or mindful eating? In short mindful eating actually comes from Buddhist practices, which are meant to re-connect us to the experience of eating good foods and enjoying them. I won't go into full detail about the practice because it is very in-depth and there is lots to read and learn about it. I suggest you do though because it is an interesting topic! I will just give you a brief little overview at what I am working on myself with mindful eating and what I take from the practice. There are so many amazing benefits to this practice for both our physical and mental health.

Physically, mindful eating can help with our digestion and absorption of food. Digestion actually starts in the brain, not the stomach. Sight, smell, or thought of food are some of the first steps. You want to be in a calm, relaxed, and parasympathetic state, in order for the digestive system to function properly and do its job! By slowing down while we eat and actually chewing our food instead of inhaling it in five seconds (congrats you juts set a new record?!) we are also preparing our bodies for the process of digestion and absorption.

As for our mentality, do you ever stop to think about what you are putting into your body? How is this doughnut going to effect me? Sure it's going to taste amazing and I'll be super happy while eating it and have a burst of energy (sugar!). 15-20 minutes later, I feel like a slug and all I want is more coffee and food! This may not be true for all of us, as our bodies respond to foods differently, but for majority of people something to this effect happens. Where did your food come from? Is it in a box, wrapped in shiny paper with a million ingredients on it that you can't even pronounce? (which most are sugars, soys, and added preservatives, toxins for our body). Did it come out of a machine, from a factory, and then was shipped all over the U.S. ? Why not eat real, whole food that comes from the Earth and was put on the Earth for the purpose of fueling our bodies so we can live healthy and happy lives?! You are what you absorb? I'm a believe that our health begins in our gut, so gut health is so important! By stopping to think what you eat and the benefits that it will have on your body and health, you may start to make better decisions, which in turn will also have positive benefits on your physical health.

Lastly what about listening to your body's cues? No one knows you better than yourself (your brain and body). Maybe you wake up and you're not so hungry right away so you have a cup of coffee and an apple. Or maybe the opposite, you're starving so you have a piece of toast with avocado, bacon, and two over-easy eggs (me most days!!!). You may eat 3 meals a day and no snacks, or maybe 6 smaller meals. Just listen to what your body is telling you! When you have cravings, it usually is a sign that your body is deficient in a certain micronutrient. Some examples: craving chocolate you may need more magnesium or calcium, when we crave carbs and sweet things our body is lacking vitamin B, want something fat and greasy? Then your body is low on essential fatty acids. If you know what you are craving then solve this problem by adding foods rich in the nutrients that correlate to your craving.

In today's world there are so many different views and beliefs about gluten-free, dairy-free, no sugar, vegan and so forth. No one diet will work for everyone, as we are all unique and have different chemical and physical make-ups. You have to learn what works best for your body, and like I said your body knows you best! So if you can eat bread than go for it, who am I too judge? (just eat a good quality bread with whole sprouted grains, had to put my two- sense in! I am a nutrition nerd after all!). My point is eat what makes you feel good and what you know your body can tolerate. Focus on eating whole, real, and nutrient dense foods that will benefit your overall health and well-being!

For me I am focusing on listening to my body's cues and cravings, nourishing my body with the foods I am craving or for that matter nutrients I am lacking! I am also currently working on research and developing a class to teach women about their menstrual cycles and hormones. Certain foods play a role in effecting our health, hormone production, and also how we feel during our cycle. You know that thing called PMS? Well we can help to control/mange and possibly eliminate PMS symptoms to help us have a more easy-going period. Our periods were not meant to be painful. If we are not taking care of our health and bodies properly through nutrition, exercise, and self-care/well-being our hormone levels can become unbalanced and therefore we experience many of these painful and annoying symptoms. I have always had a very heavy period and experienced extremely painful cramps. I'm not one to take medicine so I would just suffer through the pain and nausea. Some days could be so bad that really all I could do was lay in my bed curled in the fetal position with a heating pad. After 2 months of changing my eating based on my research, my cramps have been so minimal. I am still working on my research and experimenting myself but I can not wait to share my findings and teach this class.

Yesterday on my Instagram, story I shared with you all how I made this delicious and beautiful grass-fed ground lamb beef salad loaded with roasted veg, kale, and a cucumber dill and lemon tahini dressing! This salad is what inspired me to write this blog post. I am currently in the menstrual phase of my cycle. My periods are very heavy and therefore I loose a lot of iron and feel more tired and lethargic. All day yesterday at work all I could think about was dinner and how I wanted to eat a ton of vegetables, and beef! During the menstrual phase the diet should consist of foods with lots of nutrients: proteins, healthy fats, and low glycemic fruits and veggies. These all help to keep steady blood sugars and add fiber and nutrients. Iron and zinc are also lost during this phase so eating foods high in those help to remineralize the body. Yay me, I was listening to my bodies cues and cravings! This salad was so delicious! I'm still working on writing up the recipe because I sort of just threw it all together so that will come at a later point!

This was definitely one of my longer blog posts so if you made it to the end I hope this was interesting, beneficial, or that you learned something new! It's also the most I've shared publicly about myself, something I am working on slowly doing! I want to help educate you all about nutrition and health and so this blog is becoming a great platform. I am not trying to criticize any ones eating habits, my goal is to educate you on what I believe is true and what I know works best for myself! You will eventually find what works for you and when you do everything will easily fall into place with your health, happiness, and well-being!