Our final discussion related to simplicity will be about Health at Every Size. This is a campaign that encourages individuals to ditch their diets and eat intentionally. Using this strategy enables you to get the nutrients you need by carefully listening to what your body is telling you. Subtle signs point to exactly what your body needs and are there for you to recognize if you are looking for them. With mindful eating your body gets what it needs and finds it’s own individualized balance. All you have to do is listen. That’s the simplicity of it.
When you feel hungry, you eat. When you feel full, you stop eating. When you’re craving a specific food, you let yourself have it. The key here is to listen to what your body is telling you. Over time we have lost the ability to slow down and listen to what our bodies are saying. We spend time eating while checking off our extensive to-do list, watching TV or scrolling through social media, which makes it difficult for our brains to keep tabs on everything else going on in the body. For example, similar hormones signal the brain that we are hungry or thirsty and are misinterpreted by over eating. The end result: increase calorie consumption when you could have simply misunderstood what your body was telling you.
Ultimately, unhealthy habits can be avoided if we are mindful about what we put in our bodies. And as usual, this theory can be applied in other areas of our lives to find balance. Similarly, if we’re feeling stiff and stagnant, it’s time to take a break from what we’re doing to take a walk and stretch. Or, if we’re tired we rest our bodies and/or our minds.
This should be starting to sound a bit repetitive from lesson to lesson. This is because all these simple concepts including portion control, variety and intentional eating are all ways in which our bodies search for balance. Your body is begging for it if you listen closely to it.
Some strategies to practice mindful eating and living include:
· Eating at the dinner table without distractions such as TV or social media
· Keep a hungry/satiety journal to identify patterns that worked and didn’t work for you
· Practice meditation
· Remember, you do not have to finish everything on your plate if you are feeling full
· Schedule times throughout the day to check in with your body
Try a couple of these and comment below any additional strategies you have tried to practice mindful behavior.
Keep pedaling,
Cara
