How Does Your Food Make You Feel?

When we choose what to eat, most of consider a few things:

1) how hungry am I?
2) what's available?
3) is this convenient and relatively easy to pull together?
4) who else is eating with me?

What might your choices look like if you considered how well the food nourished your body (and mind) and how well the food satisfied your hunger pangs and how well the food worked in your body?  That's a lot to ask of a turkey sandwich and carrot sticks and dip with a fruit salad and a few walnuts, but it might tick a lot of boxes.

So many of us on the health and wellness journey already know what we're "supposed" to be eating.  Healthier fare more often.  Duh.  But, what is it about our human nature that sometimes says I just want an ice cream salted caramel fudge bar?  First of all, we are not robots.  We can't be expected to perform when it comes to food choices.  So many of them are emotional.  What do I feel like eating?  What sounds good to me right now?  What textures or temperatures do I want?   

Because food is primarily fuel to keep the body alive, and because food is partly pleasure--we want yummy things, we are always balancing competing impulses which gets tiresome.  This week--and maybe even longer--what could happen if you considered how well the food you choose will nourish you--and keep your body healthy and happy?  Lower sat fat means lower cholesterol.  Goodbye fries and hello baked potato.  Higher lean proteins means more satisfaction and less hunger.  Goodbye pizza slices and hello chicken on a green salad.  Higher fiber means more fullness and regularity.  Oh poop.  (Sorry I had to.)  Goodbye white wonder bread and hello whole grain as a first ingredient bread.  You get it.  So try it.  See if the healthier choice feels like the obvious choice more often.  Practice and progress--not perfection and falls from grace.  Let this journey feel easier. 

Reduce Stress Through Meditation

Stress is a killer.  It robs you of living in the present moment.  It keeps your digestion from working correctly.  It helps you crave sweets and saturated fats and gain weight around the abdomen.  It can also ruin a good night's sleep because of ruminating over the past and worrying about the future.  The hormones (adrenalin and cortisol) that are released through the adrenal glands when the body perceives stress can suppress your immune system.  Can it get any worse?

Stress has its positive side.  If we never had a deadline, we might not get anything done. The urgency to follow through keeps us motivated.  That's a good thing.  The problem is that when stress takes over your life and keeps you from living in the present.

The antidote to stress is not eliminating it entirely, because that's not possible.  It's in managing it through activities that keep you grounded in the present moment.  Maybe this is through reading or making art or gardening.  These activities have a way of focusing the mind on one thing that is happening right now.  For centuries, meditation with mindful breathing has been practiced for this very reason.  When you are singularly focused on your breath, coming in and going out, you open yourself up to new possibilities because you are not fixated on the past or tormented by the future.  You unclutter the mind which in turn calms the body.

Even if you don't think you can sit still for very long, you can develop a mindful meditative practice.  I know this to be true, because I have been teaching meditation to hundreds of people for six years. You can improve with practice, and it does feel easier over time.  In fact, you can actually prevent the stress response from occurring in the first place if you practice meditation and mindful breathing on a regular basis, i.e. daily.  This is why I started the "three breaths" meditation on instagram during the covid19 pandemic.  It was a simple way to practice three intentional breaths to calm the mind and body during a stressful time in history.

Life is tough.  Don't we all know it.  Some times are tougher than others, and I would call this time in our history challenging at the very least.  For this reason alone, it pays to look at healthy ways to manage stress so that we can maintain a healthy lifestyle.  If something as simple as breathing with intention can do just that, I encourage you to follow me on Instagram and practice along. 

Instagram.com/karenastromsky

...And I Took the Road Less Traveled...

When I was applying to colleges--back when I was sixteen years old...I was asked to submit a piece of writing to Georgetown University.  I chose to write about the Robert Frost poem, The Road Less Traveled.  It resonated with me in my adolescent years, and it speaks to me now.  A few years ago I was taking a writing class, and we were asked to memorize a poem and recite it to the group.  I chose this very poem thirty seven years later.  Maya Angelou would say that is the power of poetry.

How many times do we come to a "fork in the road" and choose the well worn path?  It seems obvious that we should.  It seems like it would make sense and be easier.  Others have stood in the very same spot and chose that path.  And yet, by choosing the other path, we open ourselves up to possibilities that we never imagined possible.  It takes more effort to blaze a new trail.  It requires more of your brain and body.  But then it does more for your brain and body.  It actually fires up the brain and creates new connections, i.e. neural pathways.  The brain has a neuroplasticity just as the physical body has a flexibility. 

This is part of what it takes to be a healthy person in body and mind.  The body and mind work together.  They reinforce each other in an anti-aging, protective way.  This is why my gym boasts that they never offer the same workout twice.  They want the body (and mind) to be surprised.  They want to recruit new muscle fibers and challenge the body to be more efficient.  

No matter where you are in your health and wellness journey, looking at life with fresh eyes, building new habits and thereby weakening old unhelpful habits is a challenge right before our very eyes.  Which path do you choose?  Let the path you choose make all the difference.

Cook Well, Eat Well at Home

This pandemic has been tough in many ways, however one of the benefits is that more people are eating home-cooked meals at their own table.  There are multiple advantages to preparing your own food that include knowing what's in it, how many calories, how much seasoning, what's the portion size you will set out.  This all goes a long way in making sure you are in charge of exactly what you are getting.  This enables us to train our eyes to get satisfied with "right size" servings.  I forgot to mention that eating home cooked meals is cheaper than restaurant eating or take out.  Usually it is three times cheaper. 

I am no party pooper.  I like going out to restaurants just like everyone else.  But at this point in history, it is SAFETY FIRST, so going out has lost a lot of its appeal for me. That means I have to get more creative at home.  I am tired of my own cooking at this point, and I really enjoy cooking.  This is silly.  It's time to spice things up with fresh or dried herbs and spices.  It's time to look through cookbooks for something more interesting besides what I can think of in the moment.  When I see friends' pictures of meals they are making, it makes me realize I better get on it too.

Summer grilling is a fun way to make dinner.  Everything from proteins to vegetables and fruits can go on that grill.  You get to be outside which doesn't feel like cooking.  You get to enjoy the fresh air which doesn't feel like work.  There is less clean up which does feel like a bonus.

This week, mix things up with your food preparation, your spices and herbs or your menu and see if it breathes new life into your health and wellness plan for living a long, healthy, fit and active life while still fitting into your clothes!