My third week into my detox, and it is time for my third recommendation. So far I have stuck to my all vegan, non-processed, no toxic food as I recommended in earlier blogs. This indirectly helps me eat in ‘the right way’ and of course it’s easier when I don’t travel. By this recommendation I basically mean that if you think about what you put in your mouth you will expand your consciousness of how you eat it too, and this helps. Only eat when you are hungry; only eat if you can concentrate on eating and are not disturbed; care about how it’s produced.
Only eat when you are hungry. Stop eating when you are full. Easy, right? Not really. I would say that this is the most difficult for us in a stressed society. We think we are stressed. More and more people are diagnosed with all kinds of stress disorders (specially kids) but I think it’s the society that has all these new disorders. We only adjust to the environment as well as we can. One thing we do is to eat stressed too.
We did a study asking people why they eat. Hunger comes in third place as a reason for eating. Boredom and anxiety comes before as reasons to eat. Both of them are typical reactions to stress. If you have been to an Olive Retreat you know how often we repeat that health is a lot about feeling at peace, in both mind and body. Relived and relaxed. That’s why regular yoga or meditation can actually make you eat healthier. That is how in the long run you loose weight if that is what your body wants to become balanced and if you respect it. I see so many clients struggling with their weight, knowing exactly what healthy food is, counting calories and doing all kinds of diets, but in the long run they just don’t loose weight.
So start seeing hunger as your friend. It’s a clear signal from your body, that it gives you for about 40 minutes, when it is ready to digest and it will do so in the most excellent way for you. If you neglect that signal, over time the body will think there is a shortage of food, and goes into a lower metabolism like if you were to starve. That is not going to benefit your weight loss nor your health. If you then stuff yourself when you come home late at night after a few drinks, you are definitely going to put weight on.
If you nibble in between meals, or you don’t stop after one portion, or if you eat when the clock tells you to instead of your tummy, you basically eat when you are not hungry, and you won’t have that perfect digestion either. You will probably be lacking nutrients, even if you eat a larger quantity, feeling the need for more food (sugar) after a short while. Let digestion rest after a meal, around 3 hours depending on your metabolism. If you eat healthy food and still get hungry before, you probably didn’t get enough protein in the last meal. Feel it, get to know your needs.
Also, if you eat when you are stressed, even if you are clearly hungry, you will have undigested food entering your intestines probably causing harm to your bowl system. When we have high stress hormones, we tell our digestive system to stop digestion, and other functions also goes into an idle mode. If you can offer yourself a still moment, without TV, laptops, phones, loud music, and even people around you, you can eat mindfully and concentrated on your food and drink. The health benefits are huge. Try mindful eating!
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