The flu and you! It trashes your health. We all, or most of us have that relationship with flu every year, every two or three years? Yes?
YES CHEF!
Well, I am just coming off a bout with the flu myself, still coughing.
I was reading an article on MindBodyGreen about trusting your own body to tell you what to eat for good health, and it rings 100% true for me.
“We often stick to regimented diets because we don’t trust our body to make the decision”.
I think you really have to read and re-read that again. I know the first knee jerk reaction is: “If I eat what I want, I’ll be as fat as a house”. But here’s what it says: Trust your body (not your cravings) to make that decision.
I was recently on a 2 day fast then a 3 month regimented program. And one of the things I did not consider is that in doing that program I am leaving things up to the scientists, to tell me exactly what my body needs. Sounds good. But is it really possible?
I am happiest when I am authentic: my words, my thoughts and my actions are all in alignment. With food? It’s not just about chemistry. It’s about how I feel. If I feel a particular plan is crazy, guess what? It’s crazy. Now, my schedule is I do not eat until around 11am, and sometimes skip breakfast all together (bad idea) and just drink water all morning and follow that up with lunch. And I feel good. I’m regular. I don’t feel over fed. But if I eat every 5 hours, as the latest plan suggested, I eat at 11am, at 4pm (when I’m running around in the car), and then 9 or 10 pm, when I am coming home, (again in the car) if I’m out. Are those good habits? To eat on the run at odd hours so that you can never have a meal with anyone and still stay on plan? I think not. And you can vary, but guess what? It’s going to take longer to loose the weight. Why would I want to be on a regimented plan longer? The answer is: I don’t.
I have felt for years that if you go on a diet you go off a diet. If you instead make baby step changes to your lifestyle, then your weight does change… permanently. Now, if you are extremely overweight, I agree. Go on a regimented plan to take the weight off. But then adjust your lifestyle, so that you now have a permanent change.
What I have noticed as the years go by, I need less food, not more. (I will say that’s where the plan got it right). I am no longer using a bicycle as a form of transportation, no longer playing stick ball in front of the house, no longer playing hide and seek. I’m just not moving as much as I did when I was a kid. Makes sense?
YES CHEF!
And I really have to listen to my body. So, for example …. if I go to a bar for happy hour, I notice these days I can consume one, two or three of anything that’s alcohol and rarely, I mean rarely do I even get get a buzz. But when I was younger? A bottle of cheap wine shared with one or two people did the trick.
So then the question comes: “If you’re not catching a buzz why are you drinking hard liquor? Why consume empty calories that are mostly sugar or covert to sugar”? Ever have that thought?
YES CHEF!
I thought so. Now this is just for my life, but if it rings true for you, I will tell you what I do. First, I save all my alcohol consumption for the weekend. During the week? I eat clean and green. And knowing hard alcohol is just empty calories for me, I do what I have been trained to do: I pair food and wine. Sometimes I do tastings, sometimes I will mix it up and have a glass of Prosecco to start, and perhaps a glass of Pinot Noir with my meal (depending on the meal).
By the way, know what my favorite combo for Pinto Noir is? Pizza! Yeah. It’s excellent!
Anyway, I am way over my usual word count, but I did want to convey this: Thoughts are things. We can listen to our thoughts and create our lives, our bodies. Or maybe take a break from listening and instead, see how you feel. Eat cake. See if it satisfies your stomach (not your taste buds). Eat Kale with garlic. See how you feel after that. Eat less. See what your body says. And then go with what you know to be true.
Happy Eating,
Chef Marian