Have you ever said, "Why did I eat that"? - Welcome to Conscious Nutrition by Heather Fleming.

Have you ever wanted to eat all of your favorite things before beginning a new nutrition program, diet or exercise regimen? Then you eat them only to hear yourself saying, why did I eat that? When we approach our health from a place of lack or deprivation, we are setting ourselves up to feel let down, guilty and out of control.

I felt so out of control with my nutrition in my 20’s and even now I still need to reel it in. My stomach issues caused me to have a love/hate relationship with food. I knew quality food would make me feel better but then I would eat emotionally or socially and feel horrible. The logical left part of our brain wants to be perfect, systematic and stick with the facts. The creative right side of our brain desires for us to follow our passions. This conflict denies us from feeling whole. We are constantly searching for another need to fulfill us or another quick fix to help us not feel the pain.

Even as I coach others and design my group programs, I aware not to cause more conflict. We approach each process with curiosity at approach it as a new experiment. When we are holding on to what and how it should work, we are in a state of stress. This state makes it difficult to shift or stress hormones to utilize fat for energy instead of storing fat.

5 tips to help you use your whole brain and release all guilt!

FEEL first before you eat: If you are heading into a meal and you are consumed with thoughts in your head, stressed and haven’t taken a breath all day, you are in trouble. I can not stress this enough. Give your nervous system some oxygen first by taking 5 deep breaths. Allow your body to calm down so your brain can feel supported to make a conscious decision. My favorite question to ask yourself is do you want HOT or COLD and SWEET or SAVORY, this is helping you tune in to create homeostasis in your body.
Observe your thoughts: Have you watched your thoughts ping pong back and forth as you are should-ing on yourself if you should eat this or eat that? Try to make your choice from a place that help you COMMIT fully. If you decide to eat the more comforting choice, own it. If you decide your body needs more nutritional support, perfect. Pay attention if you either choice leaves you feel restricted, guilt, or deprived. JOURNAL about this, this is the sweet spot. There are things in your life that are not fulfilling you or meeting your needs.
Burn fat for fuel: Try to play with your hunger signals so you are not feeding your blood sugar dips. When you eat when you are hungry versus thirsty, tired, stressed or out of habit, you are helping your body utilize your fat stores. Notice the sensations when you are truly hungry versus other cues when you may need a hug, call a friend, scream or lay down and rest for a minute.
Stillness: Whether you meditate or porch sit, stillness helps us receive guidance and clarity. The corpus callosum is the tissue between our left and right brain than can be strengthened when we meditate, visualize and relax. The more we practice stillness we support the two hemispheres to unify in our decision making.

Raise your Vibe: Take a glance at this map of human emotions and vibrations from Divine Openings. Guilt is at the bottom. Try not to jump to joy but work your way up the list and don’t force it. We have got to feel it to heal it and faking it doesn’t get us there. Think of just one thing you are grateful for or your happy place. This can shift your body’s chemistry to receive nutrition and let go of toxins along with helping your wrinkles go away:) If you need help raising your vibe, please join us with the up and coming RESET or become a member of the Conscious Nutrition Channel’s private Facebook group. The vibe there is going to become higher and higher, especially as I head over to Kauai next week and produce videos for you while I live on a farm!