I woke up this morning 3lbs (1.3kg) heavier than I was 2 days ago. Time to start freaking out? Not just yet!
Roll on this afternoon and I started to feel sluggish, so I decided to take a walk around the park for 30 minutes. Nothing aggressive, just a walk in the fresh air to get some more movement in!
As I was walking, I realised that my stomach felt heavy, and the sluggish feeling wasn’t shifting. It wasn’t that I was feeling down in my mood, it was actually physical heaviness. My system felt heavy with food that hadn’t digested.
So, while I continued to walk, I contemplated what could have thrown my digestive system off and caused this shift over the past couple of days. I have a pretty regular diet approach, where I eat the same things across about a 14 day rotation (most people do, to be honest) so what was the issue?
So, I think on and realise that I usually have 2-3 cups of vegetables throughout any day, but this week, because of how I had planned our evening meals, I had only had 1 cup for each of the past 2 days. No big deal you may say?
My body thinks differently. And the key thing here is, it's giving me feedback to tell me so.
Our bodies are incredible living organisms that respond to both our external environment and then that which we bring internally (food for example!) If you take the time to actually get curious about your body, you will realise that your body is telling you everything you need to know. But you have to pause, stop the distractions, stop the noise and really listen.
Sometimes we are so focused on finding a quick fix solution - trying a new fad diet, trying a new supplement, trying to remove carbs/ add carbs, self-diagnosis of a medical issue - that we don’t actually stop to listen or think about the whole bigger picture.
What I try to do is:
Stop - find some space (even 5-10mins) to stop everything else
Think - about what you have been doing or have not been doing recently
Acknowledge - is everything aligned to your goals? What is your body telling you it needs or does not need?
Digest - process how and why you are here, what actions did you or did you not take
Adjust - make a small adjustment to realign to what your body needs (in my case, get back to eating higher volume veggies!)
The aim is to do more of the stuff that makes us feel good, and stack the odds in our favour for our healthiest future.
Listen to your body and it will give you all the feedback you need to help you get there.
I am here to support, so if you feel you need to make some adjustments or to chat, let me know! 😊💕
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