Food… the love hate relationship is real.

So real that most of us struggle with it on a daily basis.

“I really want a piece of chocolate.”

“No, you can’t. You’re on a low carb diet, remember”

“Yah, but I’ll just have one. Just ONE, I promise.”

“No, you know if you have one, you’ll end up…”

“Fak, why did I have that? Fak fak fak fak! Why am I so weak willed?”

“I told you…”

You’ve probably experienced this conversation at least once in your head. The cycle of cravings, cavings, and the blamings.

Why do we do that to ourselves?

What can we do to stop the self- sabotage?

It’s no news that we crave sugary foods, foods that are high in sugar and fat, no matter how much we know about their damaging effects.

This all began as an evolutionary survival tactic. Our ancestors, the hunters and gatherers, never knew when they were going to get food. So every chance they got, they took the opportunity to eat and store energy to secure their chances of survival. The higher the calorie count, the better chance of survival. Carbohydrates is our source of energy and fat well, our ultimate energy reservoir. This is no news to anyone, but the interesting thing is that our body’s “need” for survival never changed.

The modern day SAD diet (Standard American Diet), makes us truly sad.

Every single cell in our body needs nutrients to survive. Micronutrients like vitamins & minerals and macronutrients like protein, carbohydrates, and fats are used as energy, enzymes, neurotransmitters, and other important components for the body to run properly and efficiently.

When we chronically ingest processed, refined, high sugar, high fat, high salt foods, the body naturally responds with a few different reactions, amongst which is the inflammatory cascade. We’ve all heard of inflammation, it’s when something gets red, swollen and filled with pus. Can you imagine that happening internally?

Well, it doesn’t actually look exactly like that on the inside, but rather manifest as subtle systemic symptoms. Things like migraines, brain fog, joint pain, sluggishness, bloating, muscle aches can occur. Some may be acute, others are chronic.

A lot of these signs are so subtle that we fail to recognize them. Many tend to write off the joint pains as exercising too much, migraines as a result of stress at work, and bloating as an one off event. But how often do those symptoms come knocking at your door?

Do you know what foods your body likes and what it rather not have?

Each of our body is so unique that no two people have the same reactions to the same foods. We may share very general intolerances to different foods, but subtle flare ups tend to give away the specifics.

“Listening to the body, like listening to your thoughts during a meditation, should be regular practice”

Give attention to each bite of your food, how it feels in your mouth, from the faintest texture to the most prominent. Savour all the flavours, from the subtle to the overpowering. Taste each piece of food, from the small to the unbroken. Take your time with it, as you chew and swallow, mix in good energy and love, then deliver it down to the stomach to breakdown further and extract the nutrients.

As the body digests, it will give off signals to what is going on inside the body. You may experience something subtle, like mild bloating or a little bit of gas. Or it might send a strong protest, letting you know that it’s battling a beast inside. Pain, cramping, diarrhea, and foul gas are a few obvious symptoms you might experience.

Other signs may be more delayed, such as muscle ache, joint pain, sleepiness, and brain fog. These tend to be more systemic symptoms that involve areas other than your digestive tract. Sometimes we misinterpret these symptoms, take them as from other causes. That’s why mindfulness is so important in understanding the messages our body is constantly sending us.

When you experience symptoms, write down the time, intensity, and frequency of your symptoms. Also record what you ate that day and your emotional state. If similar symptoms continue, look for patterns in the types of foods and emotions that accompany those symptoms. You will most likely find patterns and discover sensitivities you never noticed before.

“Our bodies are intelligent and complex systems that are always looking out for our best interest. It’s always looking for the best fuel, the best energy source, and the best strategies to survive and thrive”.

Treat your body like it belongs to someone you love.