First Phase – Intuitive Eating

Where are you on your journey to health and wholeness?  Have you freed yourself from diet mentality?  Are you learning to listen to your body’s cues for what to eat and how much? 

If you are still struggling with these concepts, I would suggest you continue to work on them.  Learning to ignore diet messages in our culture and mastering intuitive eating can take awhile.  You can try this article on intuitive eating to get started.

Second Phase – Gentle Nutrition

When you are ready for the next step, you may want to explore some gentle nutrition tips – learning to eat well, for the right reasons.  I call this “gentle nutrition” in contrast to nutrition advice, which is sometimes designed or even just perceived as meant to scare or shame you into eating differently. 

So what are the right reasons? 

I feel it is the right reason to begin gentle nutrition when the inspiration to eat differently comes from within oneself – that is, the path towards said nutrition is aligned with one’s needs and values.

I can tell when my clients are eating for the right reasons when they say:  “I have more energy when I eat this way,” or “I feel better, less emotionally reactive, when I eat well.” 

The great thing is, the more in tune you become with your body, the more likely it is that you will want to eat well.  It just feels good and can help you live your life with more optimistic energy.

What is Eating Well?

Eating well to me means eating a variety of foods, in ‘as close to their natural state as possible.’  Many call these “whole foods.” 

For example, instead of having a glass of orange juice, you may choose to have a glass of water and an orange.  Or, in your quest for more whole foods, you may choose to eat more whole grains instead of refined ones (check the package to see what it says - note: anything with the word “enriched” is not whole). 

Whole foods are a great way to start boosting your health and energy.  But be careful – don’t let the idea of ‘whole foods’ push you back into a diet mentality (that you are good when you eat them and bad when you don’t).  Start slowly with these gentle nutrition ideas!  Perhaps you could add a few more whole foods into your menu this week and monitor your reactions – physically and emotionally.

Good luck!  Please let me know your thoughts and experiences with the concept of “gentle nutrition” and what you opt to try.  ‘Til then, be well!

 

Sara Armstrong is the owner of Zoi Wellness Consulting. In addition to wellness coaching, Sara specializes in health education seminars, diabetes prevention and management, Health for EVERY Body, and worksite wellness design. You can email Sara for a free wellness consultation at sara@zoiconsulting.com.