You Are What You Eat… So I’m a bar of chocolate?
Eat yer veggies🥕
What we eat and how we eat says a lot about us. The impact of convenience foods started post WWII in the States (hello TV dinners) and made its way across the Atlantic to us a few years later. Convenience food implied we were too busy to cook. (And then we became too busy to eat…) The advertising for these foods asked, “Who wants to be chained to the stove?”
Now while I don’t want to be chained to the stove either, there’s far more interesting things to be doing with my life, I do want to make an effort to eat more mindfully.
So what does mindful eating mean then? Mindful eating, simply put, is being AWARE of what you’re eating and not shoving a quick sambo in your mouth as you’re hurtling down the M50. It’s not a diet. It’s a way of eating for healthspan. That is for living longer and healthier.
Let’s break it down….
- WHAT are you eating? Is there a lot of fast food 🍔 being consumed? The ‘convenience food’ we are all pitched may not be as quick as we think. For example, an average family size frozen lasagna takes about an hour and a half to cook in the oven. Sure, chopping onions and frying them with tomatoes and garlic takes some effort. But it’s actually quicker to rustle up a homemade spag bol 🍝 which means no hidden ingredients and will probably cost less too!
- SUGAR 🍭…. Listen, we all love a treat now and then. But it seems that we’re having all the treats ALL the time. Sugar is a known inflammatory ingredient. It is also a cheap way to add ‘flavour’ in low fat baked goods. Sugar gives us that 4pm jolt with our cuppa, but it also gives you a sugar crash. And we know that it’s bad for us. It not only rots our teeth it also ages our cells faster… Some supplements such as chromium which is in the fabÜ SHROOMS MENO & PERI blend may help curb those sugar cravings before you get on the sugar rollercoaster in the first place. Many of you have said you find it’s helping you feel more like yourself…. And it’s actually won an award 🏆 …. My baby! Best Natural Product - Irish Pharmacy News
- Alcohol is just another form of sugar…. It’s also harder for women to process, particularly when going through perimenopause and menopause. Those hangovers…😮💨 Swap the midweek wines that can add up to gorgeous sparkling water. There’s so many varieties to choose from.
- Eat the rainbow 🌈 Whole foods, less carbs and bread, more veggies and protein seems to be the collected wisdom- not sexy, I know, but it’s the truth!
WHY are you eating?
If you don’t know, or find yourself polishing off a row of Kimberleys or a jumbo bag of crisps, ask yourself am I really hungry? Sometimes we eat because we’re bored, or anxious, or feel like we ‘deserve it’ -which may associate food with guilt and needing to be earned. Sometimes it’s a habit of sitting down at the end of the day and having a snack while you watch your favourite show.
How are you eating?
Are you always on the run? Are you eating all the time in small amounts…. Or are you having a sit down meal with your family or even just yourself? How often are you eating and only that? I know I often have my phone in my hand as I am eating…. Put down the phone, sit quietly or in good company, and really relish the time with what’s on your plate.
Weight Gain in Midlife….(and health changes…)
I know. This is a big one. You’ve done all the things, worked out, kept the wine to a minimum (although I can say that I’ve had to take a look at throwing out those midweek glasses for a while…) and yet your body is putting on weight, particularly in the middle! Add to that some health news about your blood work- such as my recent cholesterol levels…
Do Not Despair! It’s not you- it’s your hormones! Although it’s mostly your oestrogen. As our oestrogen levels decline, our brain 🧠 ,because it’s such a smart organ, knows to make oestrogen elsewhere - namely estrone- in your fatty tissue….which gets laid down around your mid-section, or hips and thighs…..
WAIT! WHAT???? YOU SAID DON’T DESPAIR!
What we know now is that are many ways to rebalance your body composition. And there are a GAZILLION ways to do it… but if we were to distil it down to the basics….
These are my FOUR PILLARS FOR HEALTH
- Sleep It’s where all the good stuff happens.
- Weights & Movement (ladies we have to lift heavier weights!)
- Nutrition - mindful eating of veggies and protein, protein, protein- now is NOT the time to the starvation diets of grapefruit juice and black coffee. Now is the time to PAUSE and really fuel your body well.
- Stress Management Yoga, meditation, & community activities all help with how we mitigate stress. 💩 happens we know but we know we focus on what we can control and what we can’t.
Let me know how you’ve changed your eating habits or are you already a mindful eater?
Laura x
