Life Update: Food Freedom and Internal Peace

I've always struggled with bloating, like, bad. We all bloat, it's normal, I get it. Maybe bloating isn't the right word. Ah, I know. Inflammation. That's encompasses what I mean better. I've always, since I was young, felt constantly puffy after meals and sometimes just the entire day. Today's science is revealing more insight into what causes inflammation and how to remedy and avoid it. I've found myself consumed with the new literature on this field, as it's pretty personal to me. Inflammation sucks, it's outright uncomfortable and distracting and annoying and UGH.

I find health science and diet/fitness./wellness research extremely fascinating, and conduct loads of it in my free time. This newfound information has encouraged me to make some lifestyle changes that have worked wonders for me. Yes, I still get bloated (every day, it's normal!), and once in a while I still suffer from inflammation (because let's be real, I refuse to eliminate EVERY food that science has proven to be a culprit- that would mentally destroy me). But lately I've just been feeling so much better, so much less inflamed overall, and so much more at peace about where I'm at and where I'm going. I figured I'd share some shifts I've made!

The most important practice I've put into play in the past month or so is simply going with the flow. I eat intuitively, and have been for months now. However, I would always have a general idea of what my intake would look like for the day. Not in a restrictive/disordered way, like in the past where I would plan my meals out in my head to ensure a specific ratio of macros, but I would think about what I’d like to eat for the day and usually stick to that. More recently, I’ve just been eating what I want when I want it. In the prior situation, because I usually had an idea of what I was going to eat before going into the meal or snack, I had a decent idea of my intake for the day in terms of numbers. Recently that hasn’t been the case. I go into the kitchen, think about what I want, eat as much of it as it takes to satisfy me mentally and physically, and move on. I couldn’t even tell you numerically what my intake is because now I have literally no idea.

I’ve also really taken an active role in dismissing numbers altogether. This has been a practice that I’ve been participating in for a while, but now I’m taking it a step further. The past month or so I’ve been having so much fun in the kitchen baking and cooking up delicious and wholesome recipes. Ingredients are the number one priority for me, always. I see what goes into the mixing bowl, am satisfied with the taste and the nutrient profile, and that’s that. I’ve been making my own cashew milk, grain free crackers, avocado brownies, pestos, hummuses, etc. Do I know the macros for a serving? Nope. Has this stopped me from enjoying them? Noooooo way.

It doesn’t sound like much, but this is new territory for me. While I don’t measure my food or live by labels anymore, I must admit that having a label there to glance at was totally refreshing and comforting. I can’t explain why, but knowing that I had a general idea of what the numbers were made me feel more secure in my eating.

There’s a thrilling fear in making your own homemade foods that you don’t measure the ingredients for and therefore have no way of knowing any concrete numbers. All I know are how healthy and delicious my recipes are, and that has been enough for me. At first a terrifying venture, I now LOVE not knowing. It has brought me so much damn peace.

And it goes beyond this. My BODY is taking the hint and is following the peace pursuit. Because I no longer stress about having even a “idea” or “range” of my daily macro intake, my mind has been eased and less stressed. Less stress that my mind is under means less stress for my body too. I’ve been feeling so good digestively and significantly less inflamed, and I’m convinced this is all due to my loosened grip. My body isn’t stressed out trying to track numbers and keep myself aligned. It’s free to live and be itself, and this lifted pressure has lessened my inflammation greatly.

It’s so important to continuously challenge and push yourself, to expand your potential. There’s always more you can do to improve your wellness, and you should always be willing to do so. The initial fear and anxiety that comes with facing change is temporary. You have no idea what lies on the other side until you endure it. I’m at a point of peace right now, knowing that my body trusts me and that I trust it right back.

Sending all the love, always!!