Learning which foods suit you can have dramatic effects on your energy levels, the way you look…for a thorough assessment a choice of therapists are at available and as with various kinds of blood tests and food test protocols.
Most health coaches will advise to cut out dairy and wheat. Gluten is found in most grain based produce apart from Quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, rice (various types), millet, quinoa, sorghum and teff. Oats confuse most people. Oats these days are milled where wheat also has been handled therefore cross contamination is likely to occur and affect the oats. So unless it reads gluten free and it is guaranteed, it is best avoided. Oats also digest better after it has been soaked all night as with rice, especially brown and mixed grain rice.
Foods you take in
Think about the food you consume for the next week. Notice what you are eating and when. Is it mostly fresh or refined? Do you eat under stressful conditions, grabbing food on the go? Just think about how you eat in general and jot down some notes during this week. Notice things like how you felt before you ate and after. Were you actually hungry or was it simply time to eat?
Do not judge yourself or be extra cautious because this task has been set upon you. Simply observe. As you become more aware of your food intake you may notice a change, or make conscious changes… awareness itself is transformative.
Become aware of the relationship between your body and food you eat. Your body is dependent on the fuel it is given. It doesn’t only satisfy your stomach but nourishes the muscles, organs, blood and nervous system, your brain power. Do you find yourself with an afternoon slump or suddenly feel wiped out or bloated? NO it is NOT normal and I would say NOT how you are supposed to feel after a meal, contrary to what you may have been experiencing. This is a sure sign of your body system to be out whack.
Be thoughtful of the person who cooked the food, the farmers, people involved in the production, of the earth, the sun, the rain and all the elements which encourages its growth. This brings us to realise how we are interconnected to all life. Never eat angry or foods that have been contaminated with upset energy or served up by an angry cook!
Listen to your Body
It will tell you when you want to eat and what it needs. Let go of thoughtless control. Just pay attention and give yourself the right foods and give it ‘life energy’. Take note of how you feel after certain foods. Simply feel and note. Then make the appropriate changes. Everyone is unique. What works for you may not work for your partner. Stop eating to suit your partner! The amount of people who change their way of eating because their ‘husbands can’t eat something’, is quite shocking to me. Why deprive yourself because someone else has a dietary issue. I met and worked with countless women who forgo what they want to eat in order to keep their men happy. Hello, where are you in this? To yourself?
Don’t Overload
Take your time eating and chew the food, deliberately and slowly. Avoid eating mindlessly in front of the box, aka TV and if you do, be mindful between mouthfuls and pay attention before you help yourself to seconds or thirds. Ask your body ‘do you really want some food?’ and wait to feel the truth of that inner reply. Most of all, do not shovel the food down. I can’t stand it when I am with people who shove it down and hardly chew the food..it also feels so rushed and very unpleasant to be sharing foods with such people. I do not hesitate to inform whoever to slow down and enjoy the food properly! What’s more it feels like a race. Not the way to eat.
Sit Well
Avoid eating on the go. Give your body and yourself the deserved time to sit and refuel. How you sit and carry yourself also contributes to healthy eating. Stay sitting, if you can, before you leave the table, immediately after eating, or even worse while you are chewing the last mouthful. I would consciously sit for at least five minutes to savour the experience and not only that your body will thank you for treating with regard and gentleness.
Relax After Eating
Lying down on your left side after a meal for a few minutes also aids digestion. The mediterraneans often take a siesta (afternoon nap) after their lunch, this is partly to do with the heat of the day as well as the medical benefits of reducing stress, improving on cardiac function and mental alertness.
Take Responsibility
Educate yourself in what is good to eat and not. Read up, ask people in the know and take responsibility. The amount of clients I have worked with over the years who actually know what they need to do, what changes they need to make never ceases to amaze me. What they need is someone to make them accountable for the changes. If you are in need of support for any food lifestyle changes you can book or enquire through here.
Eating At The Table
Eating together with friends, kids and or as a family is crucial for psychological health and our well-being. Yes arguments may erupt at the table but this is part of the course of family life, we are first and foremost social animals and from the beginning of time, people gathered to eat as a community. This is one thing that has reduced significantly in most homes, where family life is split causing the cessation of these very important daily rituals as well as mobile phones and or tablets getting the way of real communion. If your family is struggling with this, please instil some strong boundaries of what is allowed and not at the table, making sure sitting at the table is technology free.
Finally…Make Conscious Choices
This point is one needs to be considered seriously. We have a moral responseanlity to the welfare of animals and people as part of the food production process. What ever foods we choose, we can make it from an informed choice rather than ignorance or being lazy.
What to I mean by this?
Buy fair trade bananas, coffee, chocolate or any product flown in from other lesser wealthy farms by supporting their trade and craft. No need to support the big supermarket brands in anyway.
Do not make cost an issue. Rather than bulk buy or get hijacked by the deal, support and invest in those who put passion over greed, moral values over strategies cutting and by those who believe in their product that enhances ones village, community, health and wealth.
As consumers WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAKING AND CHANGE of things. There are more and more vlogs and films on the exposure of animal farming, cruelty to animals in slaighter houses and basically inhumane and barbaric treatment of animals. This should not be the case nor the meat you consume.
Why?
- Because it holds negative energy – animals in distress have emotions just like humans and any ill treatment will remain in their tissues long after they are dead.
- Industrial farmed animals are unhappy and tortured for milk and flesh production. DO NOT BUY ANY MEAT OR MILK that is not organic, sold in the supermarkets, or have a stampmark of standards of welfare as a given. Even organic or free range animals can been known to be exposed of terrible and ill treatment of animals. There is much hidden and unless you personally can trace the source with your eyes, such as real meat or dairy producers from a farmers market, and or your local deli or butchers, I would seriously give it a miss.
- Stand for this and make sure your butchers can prove its sources. If not, you can bet your bottom dollar that they are capitalising on the trends and selling you meats or meat products that do not match their values system or mission.
Dairy is F***king Scary on youtube will make you see and wake up to what you are buying and how truly repulsive the dairy industry can be. Be warned. Not for the faint hearted.
Eating well is about considering all and many factors. Not just avoiding certain foods, or following trends. It’s about making conscious choices moment to moment, listening out and in, trusting your instincts, monitoring your body, skin and overall health. There are no excuses. We know a lot more and we have more resources.
Sign up to Netflix and watch their abundant selection of documentaries such as ‘Cowpsiracy’ that will put you off your ignorance and eating certain foods. Yes they are made with purpose and intention to do so. It does not have to be all or nothing, but making wise choices that serve the WHOLE which starts with YOU.
© Rafah Sabbagh 2017
Footnote.
If you are having any issues around this article in your life do contact me for a private session or sessions. I offer bespoke sessions according to your needs and issues.
Copyright (c) 2017 by Rafah Sabbagh. All rights reserved. You may quote, copy, translate and link to this article, in its entirety, on free, non-donation based websites only, as long as you include the author name and a working link back to this website. All other uses are strictly prohibited.
