Food Choices and the Wisdom of the Body

I have come to realise after many experimentations, that how I feel when I wake up and rise each morning is very much a result of the food choices made the previous day. If having eaten foods that do not agree with my body, I can be feeling one of many things which includes – sluggishness, tiredness, wanting more sleep, a pulsing headache, feeling nauseous, having negative thoughts, itchy ears, sore eyes, bloated stomach along with digestive unsettlement and the occasional stiff, achy joint.

I have also noticed that when eating certain foods, it also takes more effort to focus, leaving me feeling unsettled, along with a dulling down of my awareness and ability to read situations in my life accurately. Feeling discombobulated describes it well. My mind and body communications are disrupted a bit like a poor crackling radio connection.

Could it be as simple as refining my food choices as part of a process to enable the physical body and mind to work together as one, to then be able to face the world with a completely different attitude, one of more surrender, settlement, and appreciation along with an alertness and awareness as to what life really has to offer?

Feelings and Food

Having experienced eating foods that nourish and replenish my body leave me feeling ready for the day ahead and lighter in my physical body, I have noticed that my movements become more gentle and free-flowing when I have made these choices.

After adjusting my food choices, it has become the norm and a natural impulse to exercise, along with a willingness to truly feel the whole of my amazing body. This helps me to take full advantage of the many opportunities that each day presents.

My focus has been on the inner sensation of wellbeing at the start of each day – up and ready with the lark. The true beauty of waking each day with that sense of purpose, whilst understanding that the fitness of my physical body is paramount to my mental fitness. Refining the many food choices that are made constantly leads to the ‘what’s next’ and to how I either react or respond to life’s choices. Consistently choosing foods based on what my body is communicating to me (either in a positive or negative manner of bodily response or reaction) has been key to feeling amazing on the inside, which then shows on the outside!

So, my food choices absolutely do make a huge difference.

I know instantly when I digest any food morsel put into my mouth that my body will send out a clear signal if it feels at ease with those consumed foods or not. It completely makes sense that heavier stodgy foods make my body feel heavy, often lethargic and tired with a dulling down of all of my senses. In fact, I’d go so far as to say ‘numbed out’ in sensation where my brain wants to switch off and daydream. This can often lead to negative thoughts and allows those manipulative age-old ideals/beliefs to step in and become a part of the act of ‘trying’ to live life openly and upbeat, which eventually just wears me out. It’s as if I am smiling on the outside but not shining from within.

When I was going through extremes of mood swings previously, it was not only the lows where I turned to food but also those highs, which gave me a false sense of security with the attitude of ‘what the heck, just eat it’. That ‘just once’ of consuming satisfying foods turned into a repeat performance. Those manipulating thoughts felt like a green light to ignore this body’s amazing honesty. Yet??… I chose to allow that to take place by burying responsibility under the multi-layered carpet of life.

The choice to eat at certain times in the day is now not only dependent upon looking at my watch, but also to actually feel if it’s true hunger or not. When my stomach is rumbling loudly, it can offer a stop moment to check in if it’s simply requiring hydration and not actually a food craving. A drop in my energy levels is quite a different reason to reach out for food to replenish spent energy during physical assertion. What I have observed is that my patterns of eating at set times goes way back into my childhood: breakfast always at 7.30am, lunch at 12.30pm and the evening meal at 5pm. Coming from a farming background the times had to fit in with the animals being fed and dad’s long working hours. Interestingly, whilst on this journey with my food observations, that ‘wanting to eat’ sensation was often to fill a need or for comfort, that led to the ‘go to’s’ for taking my mind off other things or to relieve stress.

Goodness, how fast that fridge or larder door can be flung open, its contents viewed in a flash. Before looking inside, I know that something can be saying “Eat me, you know you want to!” This provides that STOP moment to truly assess if it is real hunger to nourish or if it is a liquid replenishment that’s needed. That single track focus on eating something can be all consuming in that moment!

Over the past few years, it has become very obvious that eating lighter brings me a sense of mental clarity, especially if this becomes a daily routine. I’ve been more aware how my mind can trail off to think about food (a big distraction), particularly when tantalising food aromas are wafting in the air such as my husband’s freshly cooked bacon sandwich or crunchy toast, and have been catching myself mid-flight going for those quick fix, salty, sweet or crispy, dulling foods. During those moments of caving in, it’s at that point I ask myself, “Will these foods truly support my amazing body to work at full capacity?” or “Is it another ploy to stop me feeling something going on at a deeper level?”

Even though at times a food choice can be an unhealthy one for my body, it really does not pay to give myself a ‘hard time’ over that unwise decision, as this can cause much more mental dialogue and emotional guilt than eating the food in the first place. It is so easy to let the mind and convincing invasive thoughts work on my body that is looking for relief and is now stimulated and revved up to go to the fridge or cupboard. Weighing up the pros and cons and giving in anyway can leave me feeling deflated, especially after using justification to tip the scales of that wavering resistance.

On the flip side of the coin, when I eat to nourish my body in a way that truly supports and replenishes it, there is no vacillation and the large ‘sign’ on the fridge door or nut butter jar screaming “Eat me no matter what”, seems out of the equation. How amazing is that to actually read where the impulse comes from and be very aware of what truly nourishes the body and to eat only when there is a true need to consume food to energise and replenish.

The outcome is one of consistency in my behaviours, a body that feels amazing and a lightness and sense of connection to all my body parts. This enables me to then be more aware and respectful of moving in a way that is still self-nurturing and gentle whilst being able to carry out physical or mental activities that are instantly required. Taking responsibility for my own food choices feels so settling in my body, and I can definitely feel more of a flow and rhythm to my day. This flow continues because those food choices have a knock-on effect with my preparations for bedtime and those all-important nightly hours of replenishing sleep, as the whole cycle begins all over again.

Having observed how children behave after eating highly sugared foods, and the change in their physical movements and behaviours after doing so, I have noticed that adults are no exception to this rule as this affects our bodies in the same way and leaves us craving for more. Whether it’s an alcoholic fix or a sugary one, it affects all the systems in the body. For example, when I used to eat chocolate this would give me short bursts of heightened energy levels, then within minutes, a mega-migraine followed by a drop in energy. My body provides honest feedback all the time and in the case of migraines I had to STOP, listen and feel, and my body said NO…

If asked how my body feels now that I’m eating much healthier, I’d have to say: absolutely amazing and there is no holding back how I feel inside! This very much shows in the way that I dress for each day, with a grand dose of joy and fun that naturally exudes from within and just bubbles out into life. There is a natural flow of energy that does not peter out after each meal with no highs or lows experienced. This is very noticeable even if the physical workload is a full on one. The practical approach to life just kicks in as my awareness and observation skills are finely tuned and my ability to read situations by sensing what is truly needed at the time becomes more accessible and instant.

Am I on a Diet?

If I’m asked, “What diet are you on?” or “You look and feel amazing”, the response is, this is not a diet, more of a refining of foods. I eat in a way that suits my body (with no perfection here) using no scales, and there is no right or wrong, but I’m choosing to eat a variety of foods that leave me feeling lighter and brighter than ever before. Each day my food choices vary and frequently foods I gave up often drop right back in again if that’s what my body needs. For instance, I may add extra green vegetables, replace fish or red meat with lentils or eat more varieties of seeds instead of nuts. Each returning day has become a new day of taking responsibility for all my choices in life and that includes the foods that are consumed.

By continuously checking in with how my body feels and understanding that no two bodies are the same, I avoid copying anyone else’s approach and confirm my own food choices. There is no quick fix; it is a gradual process of eliminating foods that dull, aggravate, or over-stimulate and keeping foods that work alongside my body’s natural rhythms.

Again, no perfection here, as I’m constantly relearning and revisiting my food choices. After eating foods that disturb the flow in my body, the consequences are known very clearly, and in some cases very quickly. Most importantly I’ve learnt it’s not a ‘diet’ to lose weight – as that was never my focus – but instead any weight loss is an added bonus.

Even though at times I’ve fallen back into old habits with my food choices, particularly in the amount of food that seems to make its way back onto my plate, it has become very evident after those slip-ups, in that my now sensitive body/digestive system provides me with the truth of what is taking place. Without beating myself up, I just take a step back to observe without being judgemental or critical of my choices and then take the necessary action required. This allows me to get back into a flow and rhythm in life again.

Inspired Food

Having had some persistent health situations along with intense confidence issues is what inspired me to finally make changes to my food choices over a decade ago – it was not just the physical discomfort. This is where the search for ‘help’ and ‘support’ began and was when Universal Medicine came into my life. Attending presentations by Serge Benhayon was so inspiring and felt very true in my body. What I heard made so much sense and it was totally needed for me to be inspired and confident enough to re-visit old patterns and behaviours of how I was living my life. It was very clear that food was my go-to for comfort and stimulation whilst I was often eating because of boredom and needing relief from everyday pressures.

Re-visiting how food played out in my life amounted to a gentle weight loss, changing the style of clothing from big and baggy to not hiding my natural shape – a newly found figure and confidence to go with it. This significant change cannot be bought, it felt very much like a process of discarding, re-visiting and letting go of old ingrained beliefs/conditions which led me to use food as a substitute for self-love. Food was such a big issue in my life, yet I’d resisted going there as previous dieting to set menus and calorie counting was really old hat. I’d learnt to manipulate my food choices as it became more of a game to beat the system and nothing to do with working on a deeper level of discovering the deep root cause of my eating habits. Now there is no calorie counting, it is all about listening to the wisdom of the body and being guided by the body’s responses to foods.

I now have a zest for life as my super-wise amazing body constantly shows me what I am indulging in and that is always very honest if I’m prepared to listen. When self-love and self-nurturing are in residence, there is no reason or need to be extreme with my eating habits. The joy of selecting and cooking foods that nourish and replenish this body is where I’m at right now. From these lived experiences, I’ve realised that if I continue to make changes in all aspects of my life, with this wisdom I can also share my experiences with others on their journey with food.

Observing how I eat reflects how I’m choosing to live life to have a much healthier, vital body. The evidence is there for all to see and feel. To have a body that is nurtured and cared for to the best of my ability brings about a healthy mind as well. To have the combination of the two working together cannot but inspire others to ask the question “What did you have for breakfast?” when they notice how I’m beaming from the inside out into the world.

By Marion, amazingly joyful, playful wiser woman who loves and appreciates all her family whilst sharing around the table of life together, UK

Further reading:
Why Diets don’t Work – and Neither does Tidying Up
The love diet
What we get told about food