Happy August!
Recently I wrote about going from buying all the meat to all the veggies. But, this week it’s greens and more greens and more greens, and even some green juice. Now, I’m not normally a huge proponent of juices, so I actually love that this “craving” has presented itself, because it gives me an opportunity to talk to you about one of my favorite things!
But note: None of this was done in an effort to follow a “cleanse” or to become vegetarian, or align with any food plan or diet.
There’s so much information out there about what you “should” eat, so many do’s and do nots, yes’s and no’s, so many plans and diets. And most of them will use some sort of scientific research to back them up. Not to mention that there’s certainly lots of anecdotal evidence that these plans work —
People have cured cancer with raw food diets, healed autoimmune disease with some form of Paleo, healed thyroid issues with a vegan diet, begun walking after years in a wheelchair after just a few weeks of Keto (in fact, I know personally people who have done each of these things).
So, how do you know which to do — which plan is the right one? When I tell people I’m a health coach, they assume that I will craft a nutrition plan for them telling them WHAT to eat. While I do take a look at what they are currently eating and offer suggestions that will move the needle on their health, I am waaaay more interested in helping them learn HOW to know for themselves.
It’s the whole “give a woman a fish or teach her how to fish” thing.
And, as should be obvious from the above, there is no one right way!
Different foods work well for different people. They work well at different times in the year and at different times in your life. Your body will tell you what it needs if you learn to listen. As I’ve been looking at recipes, perusing the produce aisles, and foraging in the fridge, I am being literally drawn to all the vegetables right now. It’s interesting that the denser foods of winter are now causing my stomach to do a little flip-flop when I think about them.
As a matter of fact, this week I’m making things to go along with all the veggies using several ingredients that usually aren’t on my plate. But, they seem like perfect food for my body during this seasonal transition (green juice, lentils, yogurt, rice, potatoes with lots of nourishing broth – you can peek at a couple of these recipes here: lentil-bacon soup and chicken asparagus and tomato over brown rice).
Our body is always sending yes/no signals:
When and what to eat.
Opportunities to take or leave.
How and how often to move.
What to wear.
What to say.
Our body is so wise! Our job is to learn to listen.
If we’ve never been taught how to listen, or we ignore the signals, often (especially with food and movement) it will talk more and more loudly in the form of inefficient or even broken-down function — i.e. illness, fatigue, depression, dis-ease.
I encourage you to play with listening to your body this week. The key word being play! Get curious about how your body signals a yes or no in relation to food and movement choices. Talk to your body — indicate your willingness to learn something new, and then ask it to tell you what it needs. Don’t assume it will follow the “rules” you’ve been told. Ask it what it wants when perusing a menu, or making a meal plan, or looking at the produce. Really take your time in the produce section, maybe you’ll be drawn to something new!
I’d love to know how this experiment works for you this week! Please let me know!
And, if you’re interested in getting some deeper guidance into this intuitive way of eating and living, please schedule a call with me and we’ll explore your goals together!
Laura Jarrait, creator of Eat Well, Move Well, Live Well is an intuitive eating and movement coach for women. She is on a mission to help women end stressful thinking about food, eat with confidence and pleasure, and trust and love their bodies now. As a life-long fan of eating and a devoted student and teacher of alignment-based yoga and other somatic and mindfulness practices for over 20 years, she teaches women to end the war with their bodies and come into true respect, appreciation, and yes, even love, for their physicality. Be-friending your body in this way changes the game completely around how you nourish yourself and experience the joy and pleasure of being, which in turn frees you up to make your unique and powerful contributions to this world. You can read more about her story and work at www.LauraJarrait.com
