Let’s go in alphabetical order.
A: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Fruit is bad on certain low carb diets.
B: Bananas are bad for you. But eat a banana when your potassium is low.
C: Only eat carbs during the day and definitely not at night.
D: Dairy is bad for you. But where do I get my calcium?
E: Eggs are better with the yolk, only the whites, or only eat 6 eggs a week, or never eat eggs.
F: Fats are bad for you. Put heaps of fat in your coffee every morning.
G. Eat your greens. Be careful to eat too many greens if you have thyroid issues
H. Hot and spicy isn’t good for your digestion. Hot and spicy is good for your immune system.
I. Don’t drink ice with your water. Take ice cold showers.
…
W: Drink 16 oz of water before you eat to help you with hunger. Do not drink water before you eat to support digestion.
I think you are getting my point. These rules may have been initiated by scientific research and guidelines, only to become all or none philosophies and are making you feel if you are doing it right or wrong.
Do you believe medicine is an exact science? Some research is showing medicine, is not an exact science. It can be described as an applied science, and its practice is an art and has evolved through the centuries based on human values and intuition. That is exactly what YOUR nutrition program is for you.
The art of you.
- Expressing yourself by trying new recipes
- Nourishing yourself with curiosity by trying new foods
- Being connected to yourself as you observe your body’s signals
- Discovering more about how to meet your needs in the moment
- Being uber-compassionate with yourself when emotions are being eaten versus felt.
I heard a friend say the other day that she never eats complex carbohydrates for breakfast. Does this rule work for her over 80% of the time? Sure. However, if that rule is controlling her morning, she may be missing out regarding the other 20% of the time when she needed a good ole bowl of oatmeal, my famous almond flour pancakes or a sweet potato with ghee and cinnamon.
When you are over-thinking the rules or trying to put yourself in a box, whose voice do you hear in your head that tends to be more critical? Or who are you trying to please? Or what fear(s) are you trying to control not to feel?
I just spoke with a client and she was feeling peaceful and trusting with her body and food, but then the critic took over and started shoulding on her. The voice she heard was her father’s voice, you are not doing it right or you should be doing it better. The critic and the ego are trying to protect us, but from what? Trusting ourself? Instead of us trying to KNOW the answers, how about we try to look and feel a bit deeper.
So, when a rule comes flooding in your brain, do
Step 1: FEEL . Get back into your body by taking the 5 deep breaths. These rules may have helped you not feel a fear in the past and they also may have disconnected you from what you truly need and desire. Do you know how many clients I have told to eat potatoes this week? What do you need that you are not allowing in?
I spent SO much time obsessing about the rules, food perfection and trying to do it right, I NEVER want to obsess again. Even as I keep studying food science and healing modalities, there is less and less specifics and more about how to eat different daily to balance your body. I loved this
TedTalk about how some food can be medicine and the same food can be poison. The guy at onion rings and his headache went away.
Practicing the art of you is a FULL-time job, and you deserve all of you dreams and desires to come true.
“I was in the mode of only and always thinking about food and that is different now. Yay!”~ Nora after the 3-week RESET.
Let’s be connected and ruleless,
Heather Fleming, C.C.N.
P.S. BONUS:
December 3-day Jump Start. Don’t wait for the NEW year to feel less bloated and think less about food, join us for a 3-day Jump Start to help you reconnect with your body between holiday parties.
P.S.S. What do dolphins and nutrition have in common? EVERYTHING! I am co-leading a dolphin wisdom and nutrition wisdom retreat in Hawaii! Come and let me nourish your body while the dolphins nourish your soul!
