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.