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Energizing Nutrition

Molly Lee

Board-Certified Holistic Nutritionist

Posts Tagged with holistic nutrition

Published August 30, 2018

How to Shift from Emotional to Empowered Eating

When it comes to emotional eating, most of us experience some degree of it, whether conscious of it or not.  Emotional eating is defined as “eating when feeing stressed, angry, frustrated, lonely, anxious, bored or depressed.”  Some experts estimate that 75 percent of overeating is a response to our emotions.  Like a drug, eating certain foods act like a vice or a temporary fix when experiencing challenging situations or emotions.

Emotional eating is closely related to cravings.  When it comes to your body’s cravings, you may tend to judge yourself in a negative light, feeling like you have failed each time you indulge in chocolate chip cookies or a bag of chips.  In order to redefine and transform your relationship with food, it can be helpful to look closely at how you are relating to your cravings. 

There is a strong belief that food cravings are something to fight and giving into them reflects a lack of willpower. However common this belief is, it’s completely false.  To shift how you are relating to food and your cravings, first let go of your inner critic and exercise self-compassion.  View food with a fresh perspective; see yourself as an experiment and simple observe. Doing so helps release any negative mind chatter and self-judgement which tend to perpetuate self-punishing repetitive cycles and food drama.

Are you ready to let go of the food drama?  The first step to shifting to empowered eating is to change your perspective.  See that your cravings are actually valuable messages, signals from your body pointing to what you are needing in the moment.  Due to the overwhelming amount of information about health and nutrition out there, you may have learned not to trust these signals and feel confused about what to eat.  You may be following a particular diet plan and therefore fighting or ignoring your body’s signals in order to stick with the plan. Although well intentioned and temporarily workable, the majority of outside prescriptions around food are not sustainable or helpful in the long run because of their fixed nature.  They do not address your changing individual needs or teach you how to listen to what your body is calling for each day, week or season. 

Once you clearly recognize what your body is calling for rather than following what you “should” or “shouldn’t” be eating, you will begin to trust and know what you truly need to nourish yourself in each moment – and it’s not always food. Sometimes it’s a physical need and often times, it’s as simple as getting some fresh air, taking a nap, mental break or self-care day.

It is possible to shift from emotional to empowered eating. 

[Adapted from Molly’s book, Energizing Nutrition: A New Food Paradigm]

*To continue the conversation and discuss your health and wellness goals, CONTACT US 

 

Published June 30, 2016

Start your day with an Attitude of Gratitude!

 

Yellow FlowerWhat does Gratitude have to do with healthy eating and nutrition?  The answer is: “everything!”

Just like when we consciously choose more nutritious foods to eat and experience such benefits as improved energy and lightness; when we choose to feed our minds with nourishing thoughts and gratitudes, we experience similar effects.

From my experience working with clients and observing my own mind, I’ve noticed that largely due to cultural and societal conditioning, we can tend to go towards thinking about what’s missing, what we aren’t doing “right”, feeling guilty and beating ourselves up.  It’s for this reason, that I begin all my health and nutrition sessions with the question, “What are 3 things that are going well?” and have recently began asking: “What are 3 things you are grateful for today?”

This gently directs our minds to a more positive stream of thinking, re-directing the critical or self-judging inner voice to what IS going well and all that we have to be grateful for.  This doesn’t mean stuffing or ignoring feelings such as anger, grief or sadness.  Even within the most difficult life experiences, there is always a light…if you choose to see it.  Simply having food to eat, a bed to sleep in, and having good health ~ these are just 3 incredible things to be grateful for.

There is also a science behind the practice of expressing daily gratitudes.  Scientists from the University of California have begun researching and studying practicing gratitude and so far are finding a number of benefits including:

  • Stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure;
  • Higher levels of positive emotions;
  • More joy, optimism, and happiness;
  • Acting with more generosity and compassion;
  • Feeling less lonely and isolated.

(referenced from Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude, University of California, Berkeley)

Just like beginning your day with a solid, nourishing breakfast, start your day by feeding your mind with positive affirmations in the form of gratitudes.  Keep it simple and make it fun.  For some it could be journalling, creating a gratitude jar, or mentally reflecting on 2 or 3 gratitudes as you wake up in the morning.

lotus flower risingTest it out and see how the rest of your day goes… starting your day with gratitudes will no doubt have a positive and uplifting effect on yourself and those around you!

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