I heard a client in my Pilates class share that she needs help with her eating habits, “My eating habits are out of control. I eat like crap.” After asking more about it, I shared things from my personal experience that help me to reset my palette so that I actually desire more healthy foods. I want to share the strategies for resetting our palettes in another post because before we get into HOW to change our eating habits, it serves us to know WHY our eating habits are terrible and can become worse over time. The concept of what is “good,” “bad,” “better,” or “worse,” is relative because each of our bodies are different, therefore, these terms will mean different things. At the same time, it’s important that we understand what could be our own personal challenge along the path to a healthier lifestyle to better support ourselves in making small changes that are proactive.
When we find ourselves in a funk of terrible eating habits, it’s SO easy to beat ourselves up because we, “know better.” Although we might know better, it’s challenging to do better when emotional, mental and physical stimuli are all involved with our decision making. Our eating choices can be triggered by emotions and physical stimuli that we interpret one way or another. Our mental state is important with responding properly. In my experience, I have found that learning more about the science of nutrition helps me to make objective choices to benefit my health immediately and long term. Also, understanding my emotional triggers and how to interpret physical sensations helps with the process of making changes for the better. Even when one’s mind is focused on a set intention and strategy, it’s important that when we make changes, it is an act of self love, rather than as a punishment to ourselves. I will discuss more on this topic in another post.
I will take it further using an esoteric perspective and it sounds like instead of just thinking with the brain, the heart and head need to work together to harness an attitude and strategy that will fulfill a person’s needs during the process of change. The head helps with objective decision-making by using logic while the heart can interpret subjectively to take into account emotional content. This type of dialogue, however familiar or strange it might seem, can help one develop habits that are integral in providing a lifestyle of wellness. By intentionally reasoning with the heart and head speaking to one another, one can create a habit of honoring one’s truth in the moment. While this may be hard to grasp because the head and heart do not literally “talk,” it’s more of an illustration of the ways in which we humans have accessible to negotiate within ourselves. Though we have one body, we have many parts of ourselves, seen and unseen, that interact to create our experience. Symbolically engaging in a new way with how we negotiate may support in the process of personal development.
The fact is, if you are regularly eating food that you consider to be “crap” then you have established a vicious cycle of consumption that is unsustainable for your body. I have heard people in this place call themselves, “a fat-*ss.” Instead of recognizing WHY they are choosing these foods, they place judgement on themselves and claim their behaviors as a display of their character and identity. Of course, our actions impact our character but instead of using self-depreciating and judgmental language, we must use reason and compassion to understand WHY our behaviors are the way they are. It’s very easy to fall into a lifestyle of eating convenience food products and become disconnected from what your body truly needs. Often, you may not realize the way that the food you are eating is impacting your body, mindset and emotions until you change it up. In order to change it up, I like to recognize why I am in the current position to better develop a strategy for doing things differently.
This is for people who are currently eating “food” that they would consider to be “crap.”
Why do we continue to eat like crap, when we really just want to Be Green? Why is it that, even though we KNOW better we may not always DO better?
I have answers to these questions that can help to bring awareness to the problems brought on by eating crap food. Awareness is the first step towards creating change. Understanding the 4 C’s can help to have compassion towards yourself in those moments of self-destructive behavior around food.
The crap food, may not be food at all.
1. Chemicals in Food Can Be Addictive
Through mechanism of chemistry, food products are made to have attractive colors and flavors with a long shelf life to insure value and the projected profit. Also, many packaged foods are made with genetically modified organism such as corn, soy beans, wheat, and tomatoes the United States. Many packaged junk foods and fast food restaurants use an ingredient called MSG. MSG is a flavor enhancer but it also turns off your hunger receptors so that you will continue to eat without feeling satisfied. Also, sweeteners come in many forms and can be addictive. Sugar itself activates the production of dopamine and the various forms of sugars are exponentially stimulating to our system. With an increased effect, it’s more likely that we may become addicted to the feeling we get from it. Even with a sugar crash, we may reach for another sugar pick-me-up instead of stopping the cycle. When consuming food that has been chemically altered, we are overstimulated and desensitized from making the proper choices in the future. By reading labels, doing research on ingredients in your food and learning about your body’s physiology, we can be more conscious of the choices we are making.
2. Convenience
In the United States, our culture is all about quick and easy solutions to life’s problems. Therefore, the fast food culture emphasizes this by offering products at low prices and convenient locations. Another aspect of our culture is characterized by the phrase, “bigger is better.”The value meals are packaged to remind us how hungry we are so that we’ll order double and increase our consumption. If you make poor choices for your health when you are pinching pennies or on the go, look at those behaviors to consider how you can prepare quick and easy solutions to your need for food, satiation and nutrition during your daily activities. It will require a little effort in the beginning, but eventually you may be able to develop habits that are not foreign to you but feel comfortable. This brings us to the next point.
3. Comfort Foods
Comfort foods manifest based on our culture and lifestyle habits. Depending on our cultural upbringing and environment, we develop an emotional connection to certain flavors, dishes and sensations. For example, sweets are often used to celebrate life’s milestones with cakes, cookies and other indulgent treats. Some activities also revolve around certain types of foods such as sports events, social outings or special holidays. Depending on our lifestyle habits, we can become accustomed to certain types of flavors, dishes and sensations too. By living a certain lifestyle, even if it’s not GOOD for us, can make us feel GOOD, simply because we are comfortable. Some people can switch their lifestyle dramatically all at once, but for many, it’s helpful to consider our body’s natural patterns that have existed and supported us coming to our current state. When we make changes, even small one’s for the seemingly better outcome, it can cause stress on our bodies and minds. When thinking about comfort, it’s not only a mental aspect but a emotional and physical one too. Simply changing your mind to do things differently, won’t insure that your emotional state and physical body are ready for the shift. It’s important to look at one’s deep rooted beliefs and values around foods. Also observing your habits that have contributed to where you are today. Do a little research about healthy lifestyle activities and consider what you want to adjust to make a change. Simply changing one thing can go a long way. Even if that one thing is simply your attitude with how you look at what you are doing. Finding comfort in looking at things in a new way can trigger more powerful changes to happen more easily as you progress.
4. Cravings
Outside of an emotional response, cravings can be caused by two physiological responses. Cravings can be caused by nutritional deficiencies or detoxing taking place in the system. When our bodies lack specific nutrients, we are susceptible to crave things that are high fat, high carb or high sodium. More often than not, it’s not a vitamin that our body is craving, but it’s minerals that our bodies need which can be obtained from whole grains, beans and plants because they receive minerals from the soil. Of course, if the soil lacks these vital minerals, then our food will lack it also. Understanding the nature of our cravings can help us be proactive to address what our body is truly asking for through experiencing a craving. If you are experiencing a craving for something sweet, salty, etc… wait about 15 to 20 minutes to see if the craving passes. Of course, no one wants to hear this, but drink water in the meantime. Usually our body is detoxing and moving through our system the waste that was stored in other body tissues or fat. When the waste (sugars, salts, fats) leave our system, they enter the blood stream and our body receives this presence as a craving. The idea is that you can only crave what is already in your body. Therefore, if you are craving something, it’s because you are experiencing a cleansing of it. This phenomenon is particularly likely if you have been eating healthy consistently for a while and all of a sudden you experience a craving.
Also, there is the carb-trap. Breads, pastries, potato chips, crackers, cookies etc. are easy snacks to have on the go or compliment our meal perfectly. However, it’s far from perfect. Consuming refined carbs can cultivate a dependence on them. Because the body is used to the increased glucose levels, when the body’s glucose level drops, the body will become ferociously hungry and because of the 3 C’s above (chemicals, convenient, comfort), we are likely to grab another refined carb to bring our energy levels back to normal. This can be the ultimate craving to shift and it starts by replacing refined carbs with real food as much as possible.
Overall, replacing processed foods with real foods will help to reset the palate and offer more possibilities with your preferences. Once we become mentally aware of all that plays into our eating choices, we can develop a stronger strategy for making changes.
In what ways do you find yourself eating like crap?
What is your approach to deal with it?
More in the next post about how to reset your palette.