Written by: Amy Bondar, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I wanted a sandwich for dinner ‒ an avocado, melted Swiss cheese, cucumber and spinach sandwich on sourdough spelt bread. Yum! But before I took my first bite, the "nutritional choir" chimed in, singing: gluten is bad, bread will turn to belly fat, this meal has too many carbs and not enough protein, you should only eat spinach cooked, dairy is congesting, cucumbers aren't in season, and on and on the singing went. My body was saying, "yes, this looks so good and it is exactly what I want", but my mind was blocking the pleasure with all of the nutritional rules.
Over the years, my nutrition rule book had burst at the seams and in many instances took the pleasure and joy out of eating. All the rules made me lose my connection to the most important nutritional teacher – my body-wisdom. Learning to break the rules has been one of the most empowering and freeing nutritional lessons on my journey with my relationship with food. I have truly learned to trust myself, honor my body, eat intuitively, and evolve as an eater. It has helped shift my relationship with food, my body and myself. Breaking the rules took practice, surrender and a whole lot of trust, but it paid off and my relationship with food has forever changed and it has inspired me to help my clients do the same.
Is your relationship with food defined or dictated by rules? Have the rules and restrictions you have created around food caused more harm than good? More stress than value? Our nutritional world is full of confliction, chaos, rigidity, rules, fear, confusion, and constant change. All the rules have made us lose our pleasure and joy when eating.
We need to learn to unshackle ourselves from the rules our nutritional world has created, and open our mind, mouth, body, and soul up to what we truly desire. We need to learn to trust in that body-wisdom and empower our food choices. Just because you may have tried a certain way of eating that felt right at the time, doesn't mean you have to stay with that way of eating forever, especially if your body is asking for different foods. Our bodies evolve and change, and so our diets and minds need to as well. We require different foods and different macro-nutrient ratios, different supplements in different phases of our lives and in different seasons. But when we stick to rules and rigidity, we block our own inner knowing which ultimately creates the stress response. When we eat under this restricted and fear-based ambiance, we can no longer digest and assimilate our food very well anyway, nor can we burn calories optimally.
If you went gluten-free because everyone else around you did but you just want some good bread, then enjoy it. If you've been following the Paleo diet and are craving grains again, eat them. If you are a vegan or vegetarian and your body is craving meat, devour it. If you've been raw food and salaciously desire warm cooked food, embrace it. If it does not work for you, your body will instantly give you feedback through symptoms to let you know it was not a good food choice for you. For most people, letting go of the restrictions and relaxing into what your body intuitively wants often sends positive feedback, such as feeling satiated, satisfied, energized, grounded, emotionally balanced, warmed, strong, and vital.
I am not suggesting we all go out have a free-for-all and put detrimental foods in our bodies that are going to make us unwell or eat the foods we know we have true allergic reactions to. I am encouraging you to give yourself permission to break any rigid rules you may have around food that are hindering you and creating more stress and anxiety.
It is time to give ourselves permission to break any rigid rules we may have around food that are no longer serving. What if we just relaxed and let our body-wisdom guide us? Wouldn't our meals taste so much better? Give it a try ‒ no fear, no guilt, no chatter, no judgment, no rules. Just simply eat what your body is asking for with trust, joy, pleasure and love. That is soulful nourishment!
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Amy Bondar, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Amy Bondar, Certified Eating Psychology Coach, Author and Speaker, has dedicated her life to inspiring, educating and encouraging people to realize the significant impact nourishing the body, mind and soul has on achieving optimum wellness. Her mission is to help people transform their relationship with food, their body and themselves. Amy believes nutrition is so much more than what we eat. How we eat and why eat are essential components to awakening our nutritional consciousness. If you truly would love to make a shift in the way in which you nourish yourself, visit www.amybondar.com or contact Amy at (403)245-2611.
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