Struggling With Your Diet? Try this before you kick the food.
Having a stable diet can be tricky, especially when our energy systems are out of whack it can feel almost impossible to stick to eating healthy foods and exercising daily. When our energy systems are out of balance or overtaxed due to long work days, too much electronics, and stress, we crave sugary, fatty, and processed foods for quick fuel. One of the biggest keys to a healthy diet is to first tend to your energetic body, through daily healing practices like yoga, a daily energy routine, and 3 to 5 minutes of deep breathing or meditation or seeking out help from an energy healer.
That's why I invite you to not focus on what you eat but to tend to your energetic body and focus on creating a daily routine. Healthy eating will fall in line once you begin to feel more balanced.
Be sure to start small and celebrate your successes. Falling out of routine happens, just think of these moments as opportunities to get back on track. Be kind to yourself, you are human after all.
Now, let's talk about the digestive system. Your digestive system is a metabolic factory, transforming food into energy. The digestive system is responsible for processing the nutrients from the foods you eat and eliminating waste. The components of your digestive system are:
Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
Small intestine
Large intestine (colon)
Rectum
Healthy digestion is the key to overall health. So it's important to know its function and how you can help to keep it healthy. Let's take for example processed foods or, any food that has been altered in any way, when it reaches your small intestine it will cause damage to your villi (hair-like structures in your intestine to help food move), which will make it harder to absorb nutrients. It's like the saying, "over fed, under nourished".
Also fun fact, your digestion system kicks off at the moment you smell and see food.
Digestion and Your Emotions:
You may not be aware, but our emotions are intricately linked to our emotions. When a person experiences depression, the nervous system operates below normal capacity, which causes the digestive system to move slower. This again, is why you crave sugary or fatty foods as an attempt to increase energy levels in your digestion. As mentioned above, eating sugary, fatty, or processed foods leads to the absorption of fewer nutrients, which can cause a person to feel less ambitious to make a change in their diet. This again, is why it feels next to impossible to stick to eating healthy foods.
The Sway Test:
This is my favorite way to test food. Food tolerance testing has become the newest trend. One that I have first-hand experience with. I paid $2,500 (after insurance) to one of the top university hospitals in Chicago, to have them tell me after, that these tests are not 100% accurate. Not surprisingly, no food showed up, but I still experienced pain and bloating after every meal. My Energy Healer introduced me to the sway test and it changed my life. So now I'm passing this knowledge to you.
The sway test is simple and will help you identify the foods that are optimal for your health and digestion. All you need to do is stand upright, holding the food in question between your two hands, then pull it in just under your chest holding it to your upper abdomen or where the solar plexus would be. Close your eyes and allow your body to naturally sway. Does your body sway forward, backward, or stay in the same position? If your body sways forward it indicates the food is energetically balanced for your body and can be processed by your digestive tract. Swaying backward indicates a food that can cause pain and discomfort and may result in poor digestion. Neutral means your body can take it or leave it, so listen to your gut on this one. Just because food is healthy, doesn't mean it's healthy for you. I, for example, sway backward for pears, even though this is a "healthy" food, my body energetically cannot process it.
The title of this section has a link to a youtube video you can watch.
Also, if you're trying a fruit or vegetable that doesn't energetically work with you, try the organic version if you haven't already.
Eating Environment is Important
The parasympathetic nervous system is optional for healthy digestion, which means it's important to feel relaxed while eating. Studies have shown that people who eat with other people or with families have lower rates of substance abuse and depression. As well as stronger immune systems. On the other hand, studies have also shown that eating with people who create stress through either yelling, screaming, or being cold and silent can lead to poor digestion, leaving your stomach in knots. So it's important to eat with people that make you feel relaxed and calm.
If you do find yourself in a stressful situation while eating, I invite you to take a break and come back to the meal once you're in a calmer state of mind.
Breath Work
Deep breathing causes the diaphragm to expand and contract, which massages your internal organs, aiding in digestion and increasing oxygen content in the bloodstream helping to relax your system. Deep breathing also activates your parasympathetic nervous system. Your parasympathetic nervous system is also known as the rest and digest. When we feel calmer it aids in digestion, which is why a better diet starts with daily breathing techniques.
Try These Mental Activities:
Take a moment to look at the food on your plate. Think about all the things it took to get that food to your plate. The farmer who planted and cared for your vegetables, the animal that sacrificed its life, the workers at the processing plants, the driver who brought the food to the store, and the grocery workers who made it possible to be on your plate today. Give thanks, and be grateful for the awesome food you're about to consume.
Check your mood. Try to eat when you feel calm and relaxed.
Drink plenty of water to support digestion try to avoid cold water and opt for room temperature. Cold water slows down your digestive system, impacting your metabolism. Whereas, room temperature water will stimulate your digestion as it doesn't disrupt your body's natural state.
Add in a 3-5 minutes of daily deep breathing practice (this will help to trigger your parasympathetic nervous system which is critical to digestion).
After your meal, sit in silence and listen to your body. Do you feel good or bad? Pain, bloating, and can indicate that the food you eat is not aligned well to your body.
Try the sway test to see if the foods you're eating are optimal for you.
Try These Physical Activities (1-3 minutes/exercise):
Plank Pose
Triangle Pose
Warrior Pose
Downward Dog
Bridge Pose
Chair Pose
Cobra Pose
Bow Pose
Once your energies begin to balance you'll naturally see yourself eating more whole foods and craving daily movement. Also, please remember this article is not meant to be prescriptive, have fun and see what works well for you. It's not one size fits all, it's one size fits one.
With love,
Jeri
