It is easy to get lost in a world of numbers, calculations, theories, and all the conflicting advice flowing around you when trying to combat health issues and excess weight. 

And although some of these approaches could work... they are forgetting that one key ingredient I speak about over and over again. YOU are a unique individual and if there was a one-size-fits-all approach we would all be fit and happy. But that isn't the reality is it?

 

Tuning into your needs

When I work with my clients the first thing I try to stress to them is that obtaining optimal health and reaching your goals is really about connecting with your body. If you treat your body as your enemy that you are fighting, you can only get so far, and that struggle can get exhausting.

Instead, you need to embrace your body as that glorious, mysterious part of you that you love, listen to, and want to learn more about.

You get signals every day from your body telling you what it wants and needs. Waking up in the morning telling you it is ready to take on the day, rumbling in your stomach telling you are hungry, fatigue around 2 pm telling you maybe your lunch didn't jive with it so well, and signals of pleasure, pain, and comfort. We often try to fight these signals, ignoring the hunger pangs because maybe we felt too busy or that we already ate "too much," then spiraling into a blood sugar crash and having our body get irritable and tired because it is not getting what it needs.

This can often result in more cravings for sugar, caffeine, and high carb meals. However if we connect with what we are being told and even learn to be able to predict and forecast what our body wants we can prevent these symptoms and the excess weight that often goes along with it.

It is important to remove foods from your diet that can cause "false signals." Caffeine, sugar and gluten can all create confusing reactions in your body that make it hard for you to really tune into it's true needs. Consuming a sugary meal can cause a major blood sugar roller coaster in your body, making you feel energetic for a short period and then crashing and getting fatigued or hungry, leaving you feeling like you need another dose of sugar to keep on with your day. A similar reaction can happen with caffeine, gluten, and other processed foods, causing fluctuations in energy, focus, and hunger signals. By removing these from your diet you are able to more clearly listen to what your body wants and what it is telling you without these confusing false signals in the way.

 

Hidden irritants 

It can be especially frustrating when you feel you are eating "right," yet the symptoms and weight just wont budge. This could be due to hidden irritants in your diet, causing inflammation, stress-responses, and impacting your blood sugar and hormone regulation. Some of these foods can also be considered "healthy" foods, likely they are things you eat often.

There are many different types of reactions and responses you can have to food. The difficult part of an irritating food is that they can symptoms that can affect you within minutes or even up to 3 days after consumption. Do you remember everything you ate 3 days ago!?

Likely not, and this is why it can be quite tough to pin these foods down and trace patterns between what you are eating and the symptoms you are experiencing. 

 

The simple daily habit that can help you reach your goals

The easy first place to start tuning into your body and learning what it needs is to start to track your foods and physical, mental, and emotional feelings. 

Grab a notebook or open a new virtual note on your phone. Starting NOW, write down the foods that were included in your last meal. You do not need to have specific measurements for this it could just look something like "broccoli with olive oil, quinoa with grated parmesan, and grilled pork chops." 

Next, you will note any feelings you have between your meals, possibly noting when you start to feel hungry again, you get a salt craving one hour later, or that a headache starts at 3 pm. 

When you start to track what you are eating and how you are feeling it is much easier to connect the dots between symptoms and feelings and your diet. You can lay out your notes in front of yourself at the end of the week and see that you hit an energy slump at 3 pm both on Monday and Wednesday. Then you can see if there were any commonalities between those two days, maybe you had a late morning latte both of those days, or you ate at the same restaurant for lunch.

By learning about these patterns you can start to change your habits, remove suspected irritating foods, and find the diet that works best for YOUR body. By acknowledging these clues this puts the power and control of your diet back into your hands. You can see what makes you feel good and what makes you feel bad, so even if you decide to eat something that doesn't sit well with your body you can decide if it is worth the consequence you know will result.

This simple habit of tuning into your body and learning it's signals can re-balance your blood sugar, boost your energy and metabolism and eliminate stressors that could be holding you back, setting you up for success on reaching your weight loss and health goals.

 

 

 

 

Get started now!

This pdf contains a guide on how to get started with your journal and a journal page you can print out to start tracking today