The Diet of the Body
While I’ve always had an interest in nutrition, I have never found it more important to me than it is now. In the past, I spent years dieting because of expectations that I perceived from the media’s portrayal of the ideal woman. The downfall of the ideal feminine body type is that it does not consider complex variables such as exercise, genetics, and sustainability. In my conversations, I’ve observed lots of confusion regarding how to approach nutrition in a way that builds confidence and promotes health and flourishing in women. Proper nutrition is incredibly important as it is directly impacts our physiology, emotional, and cognitive abilities. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the sea of information available to you, telling you what to eat and when to eat it, I want to invite you to take a step back and begin with the basics. Below I will outline a few tenets that are sure to help you experience the richness of intentional eating.
Eating Whole Foods We live in a time where there has never been so much access to quick and delicious snacks and foods. Unfortunately, food companies are incentivized to use cheap ingredients (fillers) to drive down costs and promote efficiency in the production process. Additionally, highly processed foods can bypass our bodies natural satiety detection mechanisms, which makes us more likely to overeat. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a go to snack during busy moments, I highly encourage you to seek out whole foods. Consuming whole foods whenever possible eliminates a good amount of the guesswork and stress that comes with feeling as if you have to count calories and allows your body to organically identify when you are full. Less ingredients on the label is better!
Cooking for Yourself Not only is this an outlet for creativity, but it also enables you to choose the ingredients that make you feel the most energized. When you cook at home, you can decide which ingredients to add or omit based on how they make your body feel. When I am at home, I gravitate towards using natural sweeteners such as honey and maple syrup, that don’t give me as much of a sugar crash afterward. Homecooking is incredibly rewarding and with proper planning does not require any more time than eating out at a restaurant. Value your health enough long term to invest in quality ingredients. This need not be expensive, quality ingredients can be found all around you with a bit of research!
Healthy Attitudes Towards “Unhealthy” Foods Eating intentionally does not mean that you can never enjoy your favorite dessert or fast food. It is completely ok to indulge in your favorite foods that may not be as nutritionally dense. Having balance and not restricting yourself completely will enable you to commit to healthy eating on a regular basis. Food is meant to be enjoyed and can be a wonderful way to bring people together! You do not want to miss out on social opportunities because of fear of breaking a particular diet. Eat foods rich in vitamins and minerals when you can and when you are out, enjoy the freedom you have to try new foods!
Expand Your Palate Your new favorite food might be out there and perhaps you haven’t even tried it yet! The S.A.D (Standard American Diet) can be quite limiting. I encourage you to try other cuisines like Mediterranean, Latin American, Asian, etc. Consider learning more about your ancestral heritage and eat foods similar to what your ancestors ate. My brother and I swear that each time we go to Ecuador, our diet significantly improves, mostly due to the emphasis Ecuadorians put on “complete” meals. When visiting Ecuador you will often see advertisements for desayuno completo or what can literally be translated as a complete breakfast consisting of coffee, fresh juice, fruits, breads, eggs, meat, and yogurt. Similarly, a soup is served with every lunch, a nutrient dense main dish, a salad, and a fresh juice. Part of what makes Ecuadorian food so satisfying is likely that many of the foods are harvested locally and only available within season. While you may not able to have mini feasts like these all the time, the main point is to aim to have a robust diet.
Allowing Time for Digestion I have never had much luck with intermittent fasting. I love breakfast way too much! Instead of fasting, I try to simply give my body enough time to digest my dinner before heading to bed. Experts recommend two to three hours between your final meal of the day and bedtime, allowing for improved sleep quality and digestion. I like to wind down by drinking chamomile tea or homemade “warm lemonade” which satisfies my sweet cravings and promotes relaxation before bed.
Eating At Set Times Eating at similar times each day trains your body to produce ghrelin, the hunger hormone, before scheduled meals. Having meals at the same time each day also helps regulate the body’s circadian rhythm which in turn promotes healthy physiological patterns, such as regular hormone secretion. Doing this also makes you less likely to overeat because your mind and body are less likely to view food as a scare resource when you are regularly eating whole meals. A healthy diet can support stable moods and prevent emotional imbalances, which influence your ability to generally feel well and engage positively with the world around you.
Seek Help If You Are Struggling A study conducted on 4,000 women aged 25-45 found that 75% of them reported some form of unhealthy behavior or attitude regarding food. If you struggle to feel freedom surrounding eating, I encourage you to confide in a trusted friend, or licensed professional. While a friend may not be trained to help you develop a healthy relationship with food, having support helps you not to isolate while experiencing what can feel very shameful and hopeless.
Remember that change does not happen overnight and that small steps ultimately get you back to equilibrium. By keeping these key principles in mind, your body will thank you and you will be enabled to expend more energy on your hobbies and relationships. This article is not comprehensive but serves as a nice starting point for adopting a positive attitude towards nutrition and enjoying the gift of food. When you are feeling overwhelmed by fad diets and ever evolving research, I hope you can find comfort in knowing that with help from friends, and a slow integration of these methods, you can make progress towards a healthy relationship with food.