Part 1 - Be Curious
The first step to Real Life Healthy Eating (RLHE) is curiosity. By being curious, you can learn what your body is looking for. It’s where you can find out exactly how your body wants to be fed.
What it’s not –
It’s not judgment, guilt, or denying yourself.
For example, if you crave some chocolate cake…have some. But do it with pure enjoyment and curiosity. Watch for feelings of guilt or words like “I shouldn’t have this”, or “I’m being bad”.
Your body asked for this food, and your only job right now is to be open to why your body asked for it.
So, as you enjoy that food, how does it feel? I bet it feels really good in the first bite. How does the 2nd, 3rd, or 10thbite feel? Does it still feel good?
How do you feel afterward? How’s your energy? Do you feel satisfied?
Being curious helps for more than just those cravings, it can help you learn what meals your body loves and which ones trigger cravings. It can help you learn the underlying cause of many of your cravings, including evening cravings.
Timeline – 1 – 2 weeks
For about a week or so (longer if you’d like), be really curious about how food makes you feel. This can take a bit of extra effort if you have a history of dieting, so be kind to yourself and just keep reminding yourself “how does this FEEL?”
Keep track (in your head or write it down) how you feel before, during, and after meals. How your energy is throughout the day, and how are your cravings?
Questions to ask yourself –
Before eating – am I excited to eat this?
During eating – how does this food taste? How does it feel?
After eating – do I feel satisfied? How’s my energy?
Between meals – did that keep me full? How’s my appetite today? How’s my stress level today?
Connecting your meals –
By connecting what you ate throughout the day with your energy, cravings, and how you feel, you can get to know your body a lot better.
You might find that a certain breakfast you eat increases your appetite all day. Verses a different breakfast that may lower your cravings.
Or, you might find that during a stressful day you might forget to eat lunch (or just quickly eat something small), and that makes you ravenous at night.
By learning how food makes you begin to unravel any guilt or judgement with the food you’re craving. Real Life Healthy Eating for the win!
What did you discover when you were curious? Do you have any questions? If so, jump onto our private Facebook group or send them to me privately and I’d be happy to help you learn your body’s language :)