Having a Filipino background means that food has always been a big part of my family growing up. Having a birthday…? Put on a banquet! Having friends over for a cuppa…? Put on a banquet! Need to make spring rolls for an event…? Put on a banquet! Most of my childhood memories involve an elaborate spread of Asian cuisine. Every social occasion involved eating. Eating alone is out of the ordinary and if somebody really liked you, you got offered dish after dish until you needed to unbutton your jeans!
Now in my mid 30’s I’m having a different relationship with food. There’s now an awareness that comes with the way that I eat and with that awareness brought me to realise that our food choices are actually secondary choices. The food I was eating was not chosen because that’s what I felt like eating at the time, but because of how I was feeling at the time. When we feel overwhelmed and emotional we may choose heavy foods, when we’re exhausted we may choose foods that are high in sugar or caffeine, when we want to take the emotional pain away or want a numbing we may choose alcohol and the examples can go on and on…
There is an abundance of diets, healthy eating programs and recommendations on what is and isn’t healthy but what feels true for me is to reconnect and develop a deeper relationship with my body and what it’s communicating to me. For example, if I’m feeling quite heavy, bogged down or loaded in my body I will opt for a lighter meal option. Redefining my relationship with food has not been easy. When I made the decision to no longer consume alcohol and caffeine, the hardest part was the realisation of how exhausted I was! I quickly discovered other ways to lovingly care for myself and my overall wellbeing and I haven’t looked back. Of course, there’s imperfections. I catch myself trying to curb a craving and sometimes it’s mid chew! But what I’ve learnt is to always discern – gain an understanding on what ignited that thought or food choice.
Were any of those choices beneficial for the body? All the books in the world would have those answers, however your body speaks to you in ways that communicates what it requires. The body is an accurate barometer that will always communicate the part of us that is a bit wayward, the part that wants us to numb or cover up that waywardness via artificial boosts (such as sugar or caffeine). Are we using food to cover up all the mis-use? The body is a very delicate and precious instrument – rich in purity. Any mis-use and it gets sick… it knows. There is a harmony within the body, even if you dismiss it, it’s always there. Anything that is not aligned to that harmony, the body will clear it, and this is the dis-ease we experience.
Ask yourself, what is your body truly calling for?
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