Hi there beautiful people! It’s March already, so Happy Spring time! What a glorious time for renewal and reawakening our senses! Let’s tune in with nature and bring our bodies back to life from winter. That may be through exercise, a cleaner plate or more time in nature. This will help those binge cravings settle down after a season of hibernation.
Whether you’re going for one or another, the most important part is to start listening to your body and find out what it really needs. If it’s an hour extra in bed, at least on the weekend, allow yourself to rest. If it’s skipping that extra pizza slice when you feel tired already, same goes, allow yourself that gift. Your body will be thankful.
Last night I’ve spoken at the London Personal Growth&Entrepreneur Talks on emotional eating and it was such an eye opener for everyone. If you were there, I’d love to hear in the comments below what you took out of it.
I want to share with you some of the strategies given as a solution for this ever growing issue. Companies train us and hook us into buying their products over and over again, our brain is triggered by externals queues unconsciously and we need to take control over it and rewire it ourselves with good choices and get out of this vicious binge eating circle once and for all. The underlying question is what can you do?
Firstly, you have to identify if there’s an issue – be it overeating, cravings or emotional-stress related binge eating. Then address it.
Here are 6 ways you can do it.
1. Make it a non-negotiable policy to look after your well being for the long term. Where do you want to be in 10, 20, 30, 50 years? Will carrying on with the same habits get you there? If the answer is no, you need to rethink your strategy. Take a piece of paper and identify your soft spots, as well as strong ones and work it out from there.
This is my newest inspiration – 100 year old Eileen Kramer! May we all be as coherent and active when we hit 100.
2. Catch your bad habits. Most emotional eating occurs after work, 5pm to bedtime. Because you’re tired. Because you want a quick dopamine release and food provides that. Junk food especially. You just want some instant satisfaction and gratification. You want to feel free. Even if it’s just for a moment, until guilt creeps in. Keep processed foods away from your house and fuel up with healthier options such as hummus and veg sticks.
4. Make it fun and socially integrated. Be part of a community. Share your progress, your recipes, your questions or experiences with other people. We need social acceptance, especially when embracing something that’s not a mainstream norm. I still get the looks when I pull out a green smoothie jar from my bag – mostly when I travel – but I make it a fun conversation and get them to try and join the party. Here you can join the Facebook group for the Second Nature to Health tribe and share your story.
5. Make your own food. Know your sources. Read the labels. I think this one is self-explanatory. If it doesn’t grow in a tree or on land, comes from a plant – not been made in a plant – don’t eat it.
6. Be mindful, present and enjoy the moment. Take a longer breath when starting to eat. Give thanks for the food. Chew each bite at least 20-30 times and be aware of what you’re eating. You’ll feel fuller quicker and satiated which not only will expend less energy on digestion but also keep you from overeating and filling the plate a second or third time.
The best way to learn though is experiential, so hop on and join a live class in London or take the adventure one step ahead and come to Transylvania at the Raw Retreat.
