Food for thought
I started studying nutrition because I learnt my lesson about the value of nutrition the hard way.
In 2009 I was overweight, 6 months later I wasn’t.
In a short period of time I had managed to cause damage to my digestive system, and created an unhealthy relationship to food.
When you lose weight, people want to know ‘how’, especially when you have lost it quickly. Everyone wants a quick fix but in truth it takes most of us some time to gain the weight and the habits that took us there and so it will take some time to learn new habits and behaviours and create a new lifestyle that will take us to where we want to be.
I took some time undoing the damage. Not all of it can be undone, just managed. What is important to me is that I help others on a healthy journey, one that is sustainable, one that focuses on nutrition.
What I love is when clients tell me that they have found a ‘new normal’.
Lifestyle changes take some time to embed, but you know when they are embed when they have a couple of days eating differently and tell me that they are looking forward to ‘getting back to normal’.
This week we have been looking at food, how we see food, how we think about food.
Each day I have posted a quote and asked followers to ask themselves a question. Some have been very open in sharing their answers and it is interesting to see the diversity in answers and how people see food so differently. This is why coaching cannot be a one size fits all, we all have different thoughts and experiences as well as different visions and goals as to what we want to achieve.
The journeys may look the same but the route and destination will be different.
Here is a summary of some of the questions:
1. Food be thy medicine, medicine be thy food.
While the quote that was posted relates to eating well resulting in a healthy body and mind it was interesting that comments on this post related to self-medicating with food but not in the positive sense. We can self-medicate with the foods our body needs to physically function well but often we choose to self-medicate with foods that satisfy us mentally or emotionally.
2. Cake — Guilt or celebration?
Do you associate emotions or feelings to certain foods? Are they positive or negative? Does this influence what choices you make and when?
3. Mamas cooking
What memories do you associate to certain foods? Are these positive or negative? Does it stop you from eating them now or does it mean you turn to certain foods at certain times?
4. What demand are you feeding?
Food, security and love are all basic human needs. It is not uncommon for the three to be mixed up or joined together. Food is a nutrition source but is often used to ‘feed’ security or love demands rather than a fuel demand.
The right obsession?
How often do you think about food? Is this because you need to because of the job you have, the industry you work in. This is a positive obsession. Thinking about food and flavour combinations and presentations etc. It may be that you are a sports athlete and you have to make sure that you have the right amount and type of fuel for training. It may however be a more negative obsession. I remember a time where I would think about food all the time. What I was eating, what I could eat, what I should eat, what others were eating, what food was around me. It is incredible the amount of stress this can cause and something that can be quite complex to understand.
5. Feeders
Many followers have commented this week on how much they see food as a social and enjoyable element of our lives. Often linked with happy memories, family members and social occasions.
Preparing and providing food is often perceived as a way to show love and give comfort.
If you are a recipient of this it can often feel that if we decline the offer of food we are refusing the offer of love and comfort not the actual food item. This can be very challenging for some people but learning to manage these conversations in an assertive way can help.
These are just 5 of the themes that have come up within the posts and discussions this week.
If you were to keep a food diary for a week and captured food choices how many would be on the grounds of:
· Satisfying physical hunger, food being fuel
· Satisfying mental or emotional hunger
· Force of habit
Keeping a diary may help you become more conscious of some of the decisions you are making.
Remember when making changes keep it small — small and consistent is the key!
Change is not easy but it is worth it. I took the more complicated path. My quick fix actually was far from a quick fix at all! I learnt the lessons and I learnt about nutrition so that I can motivate, educate and support others on their journey.
Don’t worry about what other people are doing, or what is working for them, focus on you and what works for you.
Got a question? Join me this evening on Facebook live and I will be talking this through and taking your questions.
If you need support the following Phoenix services may be of interest to you:
Webinars, Managing your mindset, Managing change.
If in doubt then why not book in a clarity call and we can talk through what you want to achieve and how you can best be supported.
