On Day 12 in my 14 Days of Wellness, I shared the intention that the food we eat becomes who we are. I wanted to share with you, too, as I know the new year is often a time where we resolve to take our health more seriously, eat better, lose unwanted fat and generally, prioritize feeling better.
But what we all know is that while we can start off motivated and energized by the prospects of living in a healthier body, we are not always prepared for the work that goes into living well.
I often tell my clients that “healthy food won’t just appear. I have to make it happen.”
So today, while we are all enjoying some time off from our normal routines, I wanted to gently remind you that your body doesn’t know what day it is…it still needs all the same love and care it always does.
Even while your schedule is a little looser, I encourage you to remember to nourish your body with food that is food as much as possible (while still enjoying one of Auntie Rose’s famous shortbread cookies…or two) so that you can hit the ground running as you get back into a more regular routine.
I hope this post serves you.
Because I want you to love your life one bite at a time.
DAY 12: You ARE what you EAT
We talked a bit about this on Day 2 when we committed to eating REAL food and we touched on it again on Day 8 when we determined that not all calories are created equal. But today, on Day 12, I wanted to drive the point home by sharing a little science around what happens to our bodies when we eat food. Because when we blindly eat without thinking about what’s happening inside our bodies, we can create a disconnect between our inner and our outer worlds.
The food industry has done an impeccable job at confusing us with labels like “high fiber” and “low fat” and we think we are doing all the right things but can’t understand why our clothes don’t fit properly, or we are uncomfortable in our bodies or we wake up feeling groggy or we can’t ever seem to pass up the junk food. For me, bridging that gap—the one between my inner and outer world—by educating myself on what happens when I eat, has been the single most powerful tool I’ve found that has allowed me to develop greater self-trust, self-respect and self-love…while improving my health in myriad ways and allowing me to enjoy greater freedom around food.
Doing so has also helped me to make the connection around my health and free myself from cravings and binges while increasing my desire to stay on this path; not just turn it into a “diet” that sees me going on and going off, but rather creating a lifestyle I love; one that I get to build upon every single day…with every single meal.
Because the truth is, we ARE what we EAT.
It seems so silly to say. I mean, my mother used to say it to me when I was a kid and I thought it seemed ridiculous. But as I have become more educated about food, and increased my awareness around my body and what’s going on in the food industry, this statement has never ringed more true.
Because it’s the truth.
We ARE what we EAT.
The cells in our bodies are literally created by the nutrients derived from the food we eat, and they either thrive or decline based on the quality of nutrition they receive. Want to feel amazing? Eat real, whole foods that are loaded with vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats and healthy carbohydrates that deliver sustained energy. Want to feel like a big bag of dog poo? Eat refined carbs, sugar and junk food that come from boxes and packages and drive-thru windows.
As Cameron Diaz so eloquently puts it in her amazing The Body Book, “The food we consume over the course of the day creates the experiences we have in that day. Because what we eat carries the stuff of life—our lives.”
We can tend to forget this crucial piece of wisdom, opting instead to succumb to our cravings because our old brains are fighting to have us seek out and consume foods that are calorie-dense.
But in today’s world, where we find food on every corner, we aren’t at risk for starvation; we are now at risk for malnutrition. For the first time in history, we are a population that is obese and malnourished at the same time.
By eating to nourish our bodies, we show them that we want them to keep living, thriving, working and surviving. When we feed our bodies nutrients—not just calories—we fend off illnesses (like common colds and flus), diseases (like heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, several forms of cancer, dementia and myriad other diseases), and mental illnesses (like depression and anxiety). We reduce the risk of injury and we enjoy waking up feeling good! Feeling alive! Feeling happy! And feeling healthy.
And health is the goal. It is always, always the goal. And although we can’t GUARANTEE good health just by eating well, it is—without a doubt—our greatest chance at achieving it.
So remember: Every time you eat, you are making a DECISION about your health. You are CHOOSING whether or not you are going to nurture your body.
As I’ve said before, this is not to say that you will never, ever eat another slice of pizza or basket of French fries. I can’t imagine this for my life, either. But when we develop a more intimate relationship with our bodies by caring for these precious gifts, and when we develop a trajectory of feeling GOOD so much of the time, we become more inclined to WANT to make more choices that see us feeling our best. And when we DO eat some junk food, we don’t feel any guilt around it, because we’ve prepared for it and we accept the consequences.
This entire journey has been about raising our awareness around food and our health so that we can make the decisions the food industry doesn’t want us making but that our bodies are thanking us for.
Let’s keep our eyes wide open.
Because it’s true…we ARE what we EAT.
P.S. I will be launching the entire 14 Days of Wellness again on January 8th (the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive), so comment below if you’d like to be notified about the next round.
P.P.S. Speaking of health, on April 21 & 22, 2018, Roger and I, along with our team, are hosting The Healthy Brain and Body Show for the second year. We are so pumped to bring this show back even bigger and better! We would love to see you there as an attendee, where we will have so much cool stuff to show you. We can't wait to explore, connect, learn and shop at the show WITH you! Please say hello if you come. Roger and I will both be there the entire weekend. It would be a thrill to meet you. 🙂
And if you--or someone you know--might be interested in being an Exhibitor with us, feel free to send them here where they can view/download the Exhibitor/Sponsor Package. Note that we have SOLD OUT of Sponsorship spots and we are over 60% sold out of booths!
We can't WAIT to serve you, so remember to save the date!
P.P.P.S. Let’s be friends! I’d love to connect on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram. Plus, if you haven’t already subscribed to my blog, you should! That way, you won’t miss anything. For joining, you get my personal meal plan, shopping list, and a week’s worth of easy, tasty recipes. https://sarahtalksfood.com/
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