“You Are What You Eat”
You Are What You Eat… This may be an all too familiar saying, though eating quality food that fuels you is not the entire story. Choices you make in each area of life, like Career, Relationships and Home Environment, impact your overall health and well-being.
There are many different factors that affect our FOOD CHOICES. They determine what, when, why and how we choose to eat. Some are in our control, others are not. With a compassionate, inquisitive mind we are better able to check in and choose with awareness, and without judgement, creating sustainable and realistic paths towards whole body nourishment and health.
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What affects our FOOD CHOICES?
OUR HEALTH: Illness and disease can influence our food choices!
Whether you are living with high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease or have food sensitivities, allergies or are fighting a cold, dietary requirements vary greatly.
OUR LIFESTYLE: We often make food choices based on habit, convenience and activity level!
Life’s demands can steer you in many different directions. Stress has the ability to spike cravings for (ahem) “nutritionally challenged” foods that are usually loaded with unhealthy fats and added sugar. A busy day can make you gravitate toward the nearest pre-packaged, processed meal. It can also impact your level of hunger, the size of the portion and the type of food you choose.
OUR ENVIRONMENT: Our geographic location and physical environment have a lot to do with our food choices!
Think country, state, city, suburb, house, apartment, kitchen, dining area… What is in season and available varies area to area — commercial grocery stores, local/seasonal/organic farmers’ markets, delis, bodegas — ALL have an impact on food choices.
OUR PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS: Physical and emotional elements impact our food choices!
Your body gives hunger cues when it is in need of nourishment. The smell, look, feel and taste of food can be inviting or repelling to you. Food also has the ability to evoke positive emotions that you connect with or it can be used as a method to block out and avoid your emotions.
OUR SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS: What and how we eat can be shaped by experiences and background!
We often connect what and how we eat with what was learned during our upbringing. Income impacts where you shop, what you buy and how you choose your purchases. How you eat and who you eat with has an impact on food choices as well.
OUR PERSONAL BELIEF SYSTEM, FOOD RELATIONSHIP AND KNOWLEDGE OF FOOD: Personal cooking, nutrition and ingredient knowledge can affect our food choices!
Spiritual, religious, and ethical beliefs influence what is included on your plate (and even the plates one eats from). What have you learned over time? What were you taught? How open and inquisitive are you around the current food system? What do you choose to ingest… When do you choose to ingest it… and why?
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It may help to ask yourself:
How does this current way of living impact my health?
How are my my food choices being influenced?
Looking at your food choices with a holistic approach will help you see the whole picture and better understand how it is all connected to your health! Without judgement, and with patience and practice, you will experience more balance, happiness and JOY in each area of your life!
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As always, I am here if you need me. Please reach out with any comments, questions, suggestions or concerns!
I look forward to hearing from you…
⚡️ Live Consciously! ⚡️
Related Resources:
https://www.integrativenutrition.com/blog/how-nutrition-affects-health
https://www.integrativenutrition.com/blog/foods-to-boost-your-mental-health
Related @theRADhealthcoach IG posts:
