My journey of discovering food as fuel: Why do I Eat What I Eat?

 (pictured above: Bean Burger on a bed of fresh spinach and tomatoes and topped with fat free salad dressing and mustard) 

Why do I eat what I eat? 

It's a question I asked myself a lot.  Emotions are so much a part of what and why we eat that we can not discount their place in our journey to health.  I shared these ideas with a friend this week about food and wanted to share them with all of you.

I started to think of HOW and WHAT  and WHY I was serving my family food or feeding myself.   Do I cook dinner so they'll oh and ah to make my effort worth while (or whatever it is we get from making dinner), or do I feed my family to nourish their bodies?
Once I figured out why, I made an active effort to form habits that would replace the unhealthy ones.

I learned these three things about food:

*Serving size DOES matter - a portion for my body is not the same as my three year old or my husband, so the nibbling on kids leftovers did count and why did I do it?  Mindless eating!  I started to teach my family how to take the amount of food and kinds of food that were best for them.  Serving each person's plate, like a restaurant and putting just the plate on the table is great. Also, leaving the food in the kitchen and letting the family dish up and then sit at the table, the food is not right in front of your face to just have more of.  You have to make a conscious effort to get up and get more. Put your leftovers in serving size containers.  They have great divided containers and you can just pull one out when you need to eat and heat it up, no waste, proportions under control and great for on the go.  Do if after you've eaten, because when we are hungry we tend to grab more than we need. 

*WHY am I Eating? Same as above, am I eating to nourish my body and give myself energy, or am I just eating to feel better emotionally. HALT - post it on your fridge! When you go to put something in your mouth are you HUNGRY, ANGRY, LONELY, or TIRED?  If you are hungry, feed that body good fuel that won't weigh it down.  You know that feeling when you've eaten too much, and feel heavy?  Eating to feed emotions is never ending eating. You never feel quite satisfied and keep eating to feel better and it never comes. Try to drink an 8 oz glass of water first and HALT to see where you are at.  Replacement Habit: Drink  8 oz. water and do some activity...my sister has her children run to the end of the block when they have challenging emotional responses.  This does two things: 1) Distracts you from your thoughts and changes your mood from the adrenaline 2)Gets you away from whatever is emotional for you for a moment - physical distance.

Since we can't just run out of the house, try walking in place when tired, jumping jacks when excited, punching the air when frustrated (give yourself room), or laying on the floor with your feet on the wall when you want to change your attitude. (Great one with kids too!- you can join them and have a few minutes of laughing while you try to get your feet up on the wall ;)



















*Social Events (Church Meetings, family functions, and eating out) aren't about the food- Once we see the food as a nutrient and the people we are with as company, we enjoy the event, and it's not about the food.  This is a hard one in our society, because we even make the movies about sitting in a dark theater and consuming large amounts of buttery popcorn and mindlessly eating.  I bring food I know is good for me to functions and have something in my purse or bag to eat at all times. I know it's not going to ruin any progress I made that day, but also that it's fuel for my body when I need it. You will seriously think about whether you are really hungry when all you have are carrots and broccoli or nuts in your bag when you crave a chocolate bar when your stressed with kids from running errands or grocery shopping. You'll love it more when the sugar is out of your system.  They learn to know when they are hungry or just bored when they are with you as well.

Give yourself time to build these habits. You didn't get here over night. You've worked on it all your life.  Be kind to yourself when you revert back to an old habit, but be aware of it. Resolve that it doesn't ruin your whole day or week, but that your will try harder the next meal, or nourishing time for your body.  This is all about one meal and one snack at a time, making better choices, and creating new habits for a lifetime. 

 Keep flowing like a river and molding your body, one rock (habit) at a time!