A couple of years ago I came across some ideas about food choices that challenged everything I thought I knew about my body and the effects of what I put into it.
The idea of not drinking alcohol or caffeine and giving up gluten and dairy sounded ultra-healthy, but the thought of no cake or mojitos ever again? What a boring way to live, I thought.
Back then I judged making different food choices as an obsessive eating habit – a disorder even – where some foods were deemed ‘bad’ and others ‘good’.
The people I met who lived like this didn’t see it or describe it like that, but neither could they explain to me exactly how it made them feel in a way that I could understand. It goes without saying that it’s pretty challenging to experience what it’s like to be in someone else’s body.
If I really wanted to know and understand why anybody would eat that way out of choice, rather than necessity, I realised I would have to give it a go for myself.
I also noticed that people who’d made what I would have called ‘unconventional’ food choices, based on how different foods made their body feel, didn’t seem to be wallowing in a world of deprivation and self-pity.
In fact, they seemed more alive and fulfilled than most, and just getting on with their lives. It was me who was making a big deal about what they chose to eat, not them.
After suspiciously keeping my distance, eventually my curiosity got the better of me and I caved in. Giving up cake, champagne and ice cream had to have some benefits other than the obvious health ones, otherwise why bother with the effort? It was time to investigate.
I gently put to one side the cake, champagne and ice cream, in an experiment that I imagined would last a few weeks or months. Often I had a beer or glass of wine, bread, cheese or something else that I was attempting to temporarily abstain from in the name of my not very scientific experiment. But it didn’t seem to matter.
The less I ate of foods containing things like gluten, dairy and sugar, the lighter, cleaner and clearer my body and my mind felt.
It still amazes me that food can affect my body so much, because until recently I had never really considered the link between what I eat and how I feel, and even the quality of my thoughts.
But as I started making different choices about what to eat, I noticed that things began to change; the way I responded to situations was changing. Difficult conversations, although still difficult, became less intense. The internal emotional whirlwinds that I’d created (and blamed on others) took less time to dissipate. It felt like a fog I’d been living in – one that I couldn’t see even existed before – had started to lift.
The links between my body and my emotional and mental state have become much more obvious. When I eat lots of heavy food or too much food, I feel heavy, weighed down and foggy – like I’m operating on battery-saving mode.
It makes it easy for my mind to slip into a quicksand of circuitous and dull negative thinking and I start to feel lethargic and bored. Instead of focusing on what I can contribute to a situation and bring to others around me, I make it all about me and my life. My self-obsessed thoughts turn into a distraction and I forget about my responsibility to live fully and truly.
I still have ideas that pop into my head about my choices around food and how I ‘should’ be living. How come nearly the entire world eats gluten and dairy and drinks alcohol – surely it can’t be that ‘bad,’ if everyone does it? Isn’t it fussy and ungrateful to be choosy about what I’m eating?
But I’ve come to realise:
- It’s not about demonising food groups nor judging myself nor anybody else for what we choose to eat, but so much more simple: stop, feel, and choose from there – is this food really supporting and nourishing my body, and how do I feel after eating it?
- It’s not about shouting from the rooftops about how great I feel, but to just accept and allow what feels good by listening to my body
- There are no rules
Now what I choose to eat isn’t about rules, perfection or deprivation, but about learning to listen to my body and feeling the effects of what I put into it.
Every time I choose something – a food, drink, thought or emotion that doesn’t make me feel so good, I get to feel it – and I can choose differently next time, if I feel like it.
What has been amazing is that I rarely crave any of the stuff I used to. I’ve had a sweet tooth since I was a small child and used to love cakes and biscuits. But now I’d rather choose the stillness and solidness I can feel most of the time, over a sugary treat which makes me feel hyperactive and like I’m on drugs.
When I listen to my body like this, it totally removes the arduous ‘giving up’ of unhealthy foods, the battle against cravings, or strict regimes. Eating in a way that truly nourishes me becomes easy because my body just isn’t interested in foods that don’t make me feel good.
Eating to nourish my body, and how it feels afterwards, instead of just for the short-lived taste sensation, is a constant unfolding, with increasing clarity and an amazing revelation: I can choose the level of awareness that I want to feel in my body by choosing what I put into it, and it gets reflected back to me in all areas of my life.
The more I listen deeply to my body, the more it shares with me, and the steadier I feel. It’s amazing to feel how this has affected all areas of my life, far beyond how my body feels: from knowing what needs to be said in any given situation, to feeling clearer, having more trust in myself and knowing of what to do next, with far less need from anything outside of me.
The effects of what we choose to put into our bodies is profound.
By Bryony, UK
Further Reading:
My Body’s Reaction to Gluten, Dairy and Sugar
The Body Knows
When it comes to food – let your body speak
862 Comments
Becoming aware of the effect of different foods and drink in our body is a fascinating learning process.
It’s interesting that you use this phrase Bryony
‘It felt like a fog I’d been living in – one that I couldn’t see even existed before – had started to lift.’
because it’s not until the fog starts to lift that we realise that we were living in a fog to start with. It’s a really bizarre situation and so I wonder how many of us go around in our own fogginess without realising it. It’s not until we are shown a different reflection of life that we can understand there can be different choices on offer.
Putting foods aside, is a great start to understanding the energetic reason why we are doing a food-y thing and letting go of other impositions in our life, because there is The far greater energetic reason behind why we are involved in a non evolutionary behaviour, and this understanding (inner awareness) is paramount in our true healing.
The most addictive substance is possibly sugar and there is only way to eliminate it and that is slowly? After giving up white sugar or white death some 30 plus years ago it then became what is next! Surly not my favourite fruits or maple syrup, honey etc. but eventually they all were felt for there addictive nature as they ended up being to much sweetness for my body and made me feel racy.
Eating to expand who we are and bring vitality is the choice I’ve made. I never want to return to the days when I felt dull and stagnant in my body.
Making the link between our emotional states and type of food we eat is a much needed conversation. A lot of media coverage of mental ill-health confirms its affect on every age group, but little is said about causes and how eating certain foods can improve the way we feel about ourselves.
The way we eat reflects the nature of our relationship with self. Do we treat the body as a garbage can, eat without discernment or care, pay little attention to what it needs? Or do we relate to the body as a precious vessel, close confidante and loving it dearly shop, prepare and eat food to nourish and sustain and heal?
“Now what I choose to eat isn’t about rules, perfection or deprivation, but about learning to listen to my body and feeling the effects of what I put into it.” Love this Bryony it takes all the perfection and stress out of it, just a natural unfolding.
I love the honesty and wisdom our bodies are always sharing and communicating with us if we are open to listening, ‘The more I listen deeply to my body, the more it shares with me, and the steadier I feel.’
Choosing food that nourishes us makes sense, but also listening to our body and what it is communicating to us about our food choices is equally important.
Food is a fuel we all need in order to nourish our bodies and so we can function. There are foods that you would categorize as low-grade: all the comfort, dairy and sugar laden products and we all know the foods that are more refined and lighter on our digestion system – we know exactly which foods to eat to sweeten life and, or take the edge of life.
I love to read this blog today- there is so much to digest- pun intended! Recently I got to observe how strict I have been with foods coming from knowledge rather than feeling what is true for me at this time. That said, I have now thrown away the rule book, and being more honest and I find I am so much more relaxed around food. And being more honest is a good foundation to move forward from.
I no longer consume alcohol simply because of how much better, clearer, and fresher I feel in not consuming it.
It is always worth remembering that the choice of the quality of the food you end up eating happens well before you choose what to eat. Your every quality of movement is already governing whether you will overeat or not in you next meal.
Thank-you Joshua, for that reminder and so true that the quality of food we end of eating comes from the quality or the energy that you have been moving in or aligning too.
I love this, it is so simple; ‘is this food really supporting and nourishing my body, and how do I feel after eating it?’
Its interesting to notice the stillness I can feel inside, and how that is affected by food choices. Sure I can wind myself up with some sugar.. and whoa caffeine would have a field day and its gone (or hard to feel). But when I’m settled I don’t get those cravings and my food supports the incredibly strong connection I have inside… and I value that.
Great bullet points Bryony, that offer the reader a clear understanding and support to enjoy new food choices by listening to the body, without feeling something has to be being given up-then with the realisation that there is so much more to enjoy.
* “It’s not about demonising food groups nor judging myself nor anybody else for what we choose to eat, but so much more simple: stop, feel, and choose from there – is this food really supporting and nourishing my body, and how do I feel after eating it?
* It’s not about shouting from the rooftops about how great I feel, but to just accept and allow what feels good by listening to my body
* There are no rules”.
The body has much wisdom and continues to communicate exactly what works for it and what does not. I love that you have found that Stillness and Solidness from within are the antidotes to the sugar addictions.
“But now I’d rather choose the stillness and solidness I can feel most of the time, over a sugary treat which makes me feel hyperactive and like I’m on drugs”.
And that the foods we choose to ingest affects our levels of awareness, ‘I can choose the level of awareness that I want to feel in my body by choosing what I put into it, and it gets reflected back to me in all areas of my life.’
“It was me who was making a big deal about what they chose to eat, not them” This is a great observation of the disturbance that judgement of others causes in our body.