Happy New Year! It’s that time of year when many of us begin to think about making changes to our diet as we head into the New Year. New Year often begins for many of us by taking a look at our lives and making self-contracts to improve our lifestyles. This can be particularly true for those of us who are in the “baby boomer” bunch! We may have noticed that we put on weight a little quicker than we used to and taking it off is not so easy. Also, we may have noticed our energy levels slipping over the last few years. Well, we can get it all back with some effort and energy!
Many of us overindulged over the holidays and have decided we want to change some of our eating patterns, lose a little weight, gain a little more energy and overall improve our diet. The word “diet” as I use it is not about weight reduction but is a word to describe the sum of the food and drink (nutrition) consumed by an individual or group. I would like to help you take steps to recognize how your dietary lifestyle and how it may be changed to promote a better sense of health and wellness.
We know that everything that we put into our bodies has a direct impact on how we feel physically. After all, we often hear “we are what we eat”. If we are hungry and we eat something we feel physically “better”” for a while. The physical sensation of hunger dissipates. The same happens when we are thirsty; we take a drink of something and the thirst is gone and we feel “better” for a while. The physical sensation of feeling thirsty is alleviated for a while. However what you may not have considered or even realized is that everything we eat and drink also has an impact on how we feel mentally and emotionally. It is therefore important for us all to be aware of what we eat and drink and the effects these substances may have on us. Those under stress may be extra sensitive to what they ingest and some stress and even anxiety symptoms are actually aggravated or caused by:
- The foods and drinks we consume daily
- The foods and drinks we are not getting enough of daily
- The times we are choosing to eat and drink.
Your body may be deficient in some vitamins and minerals and therefore your feelings of stress are increased. The physical sensations that accompany stress or anxiety may be using up the reserves of vitamins and minerals in your body. Vitamins and minerals are important to our overall health and wellness.
This in turn becomes a vicious cycle, as you feel worse because your body does not have enough energy and you then eat foods that do not contain the fuel your body needs. You start to feel worse. You may be ingesting stimulants and additives in your foods that aggravate feelings of anxiousness. You may be letting your blood sugar level drop between meals and therefore feeling more irritable. In addition you may have allergies or sensitivities to some foods/additives that may result in your feeling more distress.
You may need to see a professional in the field of nutrition or naturopathy, however there are many changes you can make to your diet and self awareness tests that can help you make changes on your own. I’ll share some with you over the next few months. Once you see progress, you may well be encouraged to further develop your skills in developing a personal diet plan that works for you. Next month we will look at how blood sugar levels can be stabilized helping your emotional stability, your creativity and mental alertness.
Here’s a tip to get started:
Commit to a Healthier Life
You are not going on a “diet”, you are committing to a new lifestyle. Unfortunately, dieting is not a solution. If you diet to lose weight as soon as you stop you return to old eating patterns. When you stop, the pounds start to creep back on again, and before your know it you are back up to your old weight. Or, worse still, have crept even higher! The first step in Feeling Absolutely Fabulous is making that commitment to yourself to make healthy choices and change your life.
In the meantime, if you are ready to start living the life you have always wanted I will help you get started on a personalized wellnessProgram. Consultations available in person or by phone. Begin the New Year as you mean to carry on and start taking care of yourself now!
