Expressing self love through optimal nutrition

Expressing self love through optimal nutrition

Here's something to think about. How you eat can be a strong reflection of how you feel about yourself. 

Interesting, huh?

We all know that how we feel can effect how we eat, and how we eat can effect how we feel. Taking it another step, to say that how we feel about ourself can be a determining factor in what we choose to eat, is an interesting idea. 

As a certified nutritionist I think it's sometimes true. 

When you love someone, you are willing to take care of them. When we love ourselves, we are willing to take care of ourselves by paying attention to what we eat and making good decisions. In my nutrition training I learned that knowing how to eat healthy and constantly not doing it for years and years (neglecting yourself) is seen as a specific type of mental illness. And I think we've all probably been there at some point, and had to turn the ship around. It's just that at some point you really do have to turn the ship around. You have to set your sails towards health and wellness to feel healthy and well. 

Yes, this type of self love through optimal nutrition takes work. Here's 3 things to do today to support your decision to take better care of yourself:

3 ways to show self love through nutrition:

1. Learn to love plain water. You are made of mostly water, so water keeps you alive. It also helps balance hormones, gives you energy, keeps you regular, and helps memory/focus. Water is a super nutrient, plain and simple, because it helps every other nutrient find it's way into cells by increasing circulation. When you understand how awesome and essential water is you tend to drink more of it. A few days of drinking more water and you will be hooked. Drink at least half your body weight in ounces. I usually coach my clients to drink more. 

2. Be curious about how healthy something is. Ask questions. Read labels. Ask how it's made. Look for foods without chemicals added. Try to buy organic. Think about options. 

3. Be flexible. Not everything you eat will be healthy. It's ok. Aim for 80% healthy and 20% other stuff. Having an all or nothing approach to eating can be disasterous. Start with a flexible mind-set and be ready to receive a meal that's not perfect. You can eat a smaller portion, drink water, take a multi vitamin and get back on track at the next meal. Baby steps forward are still steps forward!

Yes, I agree that it's ok to have a small sweet treat or eat a few chips. Variety and moderation are key. However, if we are daily craving unhealthy foods (empty calories), and then daily going overboard in response to these cravings, this could be a warning sign that we are stuck and we may need help. Love of self allows us to dig deeper, learn the science, and do what we need to do to fill up our bodies with moderation, variety and balance. 

Need help? Pleave a comment here or message me in Facebook for 1:1 client support.