I particularly love Mondays because it feels like a fresh start. A new beginning in terms of the way we want to THINK, ACT and FEEL!. I love to start my Mondays with a beautiful walk. A gentle active meditation that allows me to let go of the previous week and set new intentions for the week ahead! I take this time to think about what I want to write in this week’s blog post and I’m excited to share with you what came up for me!
For those of you who know me, understand that I’ve been very passionate about living a healthy lifestyle, Mind & Body! Having said that, sometimes these things come at a cost. Meaning, throughout the years, I’ve learned so much. Between all the courses, youtube videos, audiobooks, etc…it’s hard to go against the narrative sometimes. Meaning it’s hard to unlearn what you learn which makes it easy to feel anxious around food.
I remember years ago, when I took my first health coaching course through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, how obsessed I became with clean eating. One would argue I was flirting with the term “orthorexia”, an eating disorder of being too strict with clean eating.
Over time I realized that even if I was eating healthy, the added stress I was putting on myself was making me unhealthy. Since then my approach has been to learn to live a more balanced life, especially when it comes to food. I also realize that this has been a working progress because the knowledge tends to pull me back into the rabbit hole sometimes.
One of the most important reasons why I want to strive towards a balanced diet is because I want to be a good role model for my daughter. I realize she’s entering a new phase in her life where she’s most impressionable and the last thing I want is for her to have a negative relationship with food. That’s why I’ll often say to her, and I hope this resonates with you, is that “the body can handle 20% of pure indulgence when you eat 80% healthy!” Plus food does so much more than providing us with nourishment. FOOD UNITES!
I remember when we ate a plant-based diet and how isolating it felt at times because we were eating different foods than the company we were with. This made me realize that the power of union and connection is far greater than eating clean. So I decided that “when in Rome, do like the Romans!” and focus on nourishing my soul instead!
This is why extreme diets often don’t work because they feel so restrictive and at times, isolating and I don’t want that for you! In my experience, it’s more important to develop a healthy relationship with food than to go on any diets. Because the stress and/or the shame/guilt is detrimental to Your overall health and sense of wellbeing. And that’s no way to live this precious life!
I hope this blog post serves you well. If you wish to find out more about my health coaching services and my approach around eating a balanced diet, feel free to check out my website or simply reply to this blog post.
