Society today revolves around fitting as much as possible into the least amount of time. As a result most people propel themselves through life at a dizzying pace that is contrary to a healthy lifestyle.
We eat fast, on the run and often under stress, not only removing most of the pleasure we might derive from our food and creating digestive upset but also wreaking havoc on our body’s metabolism. Most of us come to the end of the day feeling undernourished, uninspired and overweight.
In order to have good nutrition we have to focus on the quality and pleasure of eating to transform and improve our metabolism. We are beings of body, mind and spirit and when and when we attend to all of these elements simultaneously we can shed excess pounds, increase energy and enhance digestion to feel rejuvenated and inspired.
The first element of good nutrition is awareness. Many people believe that they have a willpower problem when it comes to food; they feel they can’t stop eating. According to a study by the Obesity Society 19 out of 20 people who say they have a will power problem around food actually don’t. The problem is that we eat when we eat, we don’t pay attention, we are not there, the mind is wandering, and we are somewhere else. We lack awareness.
When the brain gets what it wants, which is taste, aroma, pleasure you feel satisfaction but when the brain doesn’t get that it only knows how to say one thing, “I’m hungry.”
Next you need the metabolic power of pleasure. If you don’t have pleasure, then you don’t really have a meal and you cannot optimize the metabolism of that meal. In other words your brain is programmed at the most primitive level to seek pleasure and avoid pain. When you eat you are seeking the pleasure of food and you are avoiding the pain of hunger. If you don’t get the please you’re seeking from food, once again the brain only knows how to say one thing, “I’m hungry.”
For example, if you ate a piece of chocolate cake and didn’t like yourself when you ate it, if you didn’t pay attention, if you didn’t get the pleasure that you wanted from that delicious desert the brain registers hunger. The brain still registers a deficit on pleasure.
Digestion actually begins in the mind. Have you ever looked at a favorite food and your mouth starts to water? That’s digestion beginning with saliva, with salivary enzymes in the mouth. Have you ever smelled your favorite food and your stomach starts to churn? That’s digestion beginning in the gut, simply by seeing, noticing and paying attention to food.
So the thoughts that we think dramatically influence the digestive process and continue it through. For example, suppose you think about a lemon, simply by thinking about the lemon, not actually eating it, you can experience a sour taste in your mouth. You can experience a contraction in your gut and you can feel your facial muscles contort. You literally begin acid production in the stomach simply by thinking about a food. You can use your thoughts to optimize the metabolism of your meal.
Quality is perhaps the most important element to good nutrition. For example, if you’re going to have a hamburger it should be made with the highest quality of lean meat; if you’re going to have a slice of pizza it should be made with the highest quality natural sauce and cheese. Whatever you eat it should be fresh, real, organic and natural to ensure you are getting more nutrient density and more energetic power from that food. It will change your body.
I often hear people say things like, “It’s my body, I can eat whatever I want. I’m going to die from something anyway so I’ll eat whatever I want.” These things are true, but isn’t your life worth more than that? Aren’t you here for a more powerful reason?
When we start to access the more powerful reasons that we’re here for, then your diet can serve those reasons. A good diet is not just for making you look good physically, it’s to help you be healthy for a reason. So you can live your life to the fullest and get more out of life every day.
