Blog Archives

Eat Away, Just Savor It

11/20/2015

One of the hardest things to learn, or rather unlearn, is that food is not meant to be pleasurable, that if we enjoy food we must be an “addict” or have another issue resulting in finding solace in food. Food is supposed to be fuel only. Loving food is bad, loving the taste of food is even worse.
News flash--You are meant to enjoy your food. You should be able to savor every bite. That is the way I truly believe each of us is supposed to experience food. That's why were we given taste buds. What was the purpose of the taste buds and the sensation of pleasure when we eat if we were not meant to enjoy the food we eat? A funny thing happens when we savor our food—we slow down. When we take the time to eat for enjoyment we don't scarf down our food, we slow down and savor it and chew and get fuller faster and are more satisfied with less food. When we make eating the enjoyable experience it was intended to be, we naturally control our portion sizes and find ourselves feeling more in control.
Another benefit is that we crave less. When we are able to find the nutrition we need in the foods we eat we crave less because our body has what it needs. We also crave less because we are relaxed when savoring our food, we're not in a hurry or stressed and the body can get what it needs. Our bodies can either process stress or food but it can't process both at the same time. Also, when we take the time to make and savor a beautiful meal we feed our hearts. We feel proud of our beautiful meal, we feel the love that went into the making of the meal and we feel truly cared for and nourished through out our mind, body and spirit.
I often hear people saying they can't eat this and they can't eat that. I always tell them to go ahead and eat what you want (please limit the sugar though) but when you do, savor it. Don't rush the experience. Set the table beautifully, light a candle, put on some wonderful quiet music and take a bite and revel in the smell, feel and taste of each morsel. I promise you will feel more fulfilled with less food and will feel better about your food and yourself.

FINDING YOUR PASSION

11/16/2015

In a day and age where people are encouraged to be themselves I see so many people being sheeple. They follow the crowd and do what they think they’re supposed to do the whole time feeling empty, unaccepted for who they are and unfulfilled in the life they’re living.

So let me speak truth to you. We were uniquely and wonderfully made. Each of us were made to be somebody different. We have different passions and different dreams and different likes and that’s the way we should want it. Life would be really boring if we were all the same. But beyond that, life would be really incomplete if we were all the same. Think about it. I love to cook and even to garden. My spouse likes sci-fi stuff and to tinker with things. When I need a specialty item for my garden he can make it, I can’t. If he only liked to garden we wouldn’t have the garden we do because there would be no innovation, no answer to the need for a specialty item to assist with the garden or make it better. Or conversely, if I loved to tinker with things but didn’t cook and he didn’t cook, how would we eat? I’ve learned that we are all who we are for a reason. We all have a unique purpose and need to fulfill that purpose. It’s what gives our lives meaning and value. Not everyone can cook well, not everyone can garden, not everyone loves sci-fi or tinkering with things or health coaching or any other thing that comes to mind; but for me, I need to health coach, I need to cook, I need to garden. They are my calling. This is how I fulfill my purpose on this planet-by helping people heal themselves and their bodies by embracing them. By learning how to hear what your body is saying and asking for and needing or not needing.

I have learned that by being me, fulfilling my purpose in life, my calling in this world, by embracing my uniqueness and wonderment, I bring a new level of pleasure to myself and those around me. It reduces my stress and make my whole person happy and makes me feel more secure in who I am than chasing the “I’m supposed to” does.

If you need help hearing your body, understanding it or finding your calling or learning to “fit out”, please contact me for a free 50 minute health consultation or sign up for the New Year, New You group program which is beginning January 2016.

Love Revolution

11/8/2015

Recently I was reminded of how critical I am of myself. How much I doubt myself. How much I expect others are judging me and seeing every flaw I have. Why do we do that? Why do we think that way of ourselves and others? Why in the world would I feel that people around me are just waiting to find a way to break me down? Honestly I don't know, but we do. It was laid on my heart when I was speaking with a young man who'd had an accident, he wasn't at fault for the accident but there was an issue with the insurance so his vehicle hadn't yet been repaired. He was upset and frustrated because he thought that people were staring at him and judging him because his front bumper was torn off. It reminded me of how often I go in front of people or talk to people and wonder what they're thinking of me.
I won't lie, I do worry about what people think of me. Everybody wants to feel accepted and loved and treasured. But mediation on this helped me realize I am accepted and loved and treasured—just not by myself first. And therein lies the problem. If I don't guard myself and my thoughts I can tear myself down so much thinking “that must be what that person is thinking when they look at me” that “they” never have a chance to express what is on their mind. When given the chance to express themselves, I've found that most of the time “they” aren't thinking about me at all. The “stare” was just that person looking into space and thinking something completely unrelated to me. So this begs the questions, how do I stop the negative thoughts? Accepting myself.
Committing myself to telling me that I am loved by me, that I am enough, that I am loveable, smart, beautiful, perfectly me. Now this doesn't mean I can't improve myself, but I need to learn to accept who I am, where I am. There are lessons here. There are victories here. There is beauty right where I am at. I am enough. There is no shortage of people who can and will be negative. I don't have to be that person. And I definitely don't want to be that person towards myself. I'm making a commitment to tell myself daily how much I love me-even through my growing process. I challenge you to make that same commitment to yourself too. Let's start a revolution-to no longer perpetuate self-victimization but to keep self-celebration.