What are you eating? Part 1

Everyone eats, some people only have one big meal a day, while others may have 4-5 small meals throughout the day. Food is something we all need for our survival, but because we live fast paced consumer world with a wide range of food options I ask, are you bringing daily awareness to what you are eating?

In 2006 when I was in college, I was working two jobs while attending 9-10 credit hours a semester. Being on the run all the time I would eat out almost daily. Perhaps preparing a breakfast at home around 7:00am and then getting lunch around 12:00pm at the cafe below my office, having a snack before heading to classes, then getting Burger King or Taco Bell after class around 9:00pm at night. 

Once I decided to go to cosmetology school in 2008 I would have breakfast at home, bring a frozen dinner for lunch to have at school, and then would usually have McDonalds, Subway, or Panda Express for dinner when I arrived at the mall for my night job at Bath & Body Works,

To make a long story short, I wasn't being aware of what I was eating, I was simply feeding myself with whatever I could grasp when I became hungry so I could make it through a 16 hour day.

I get it! It can be really challenging to eat healthy and bring awareness around our food when we are hustling to build a career, to graduate from school, or juggle multiple jobs while raising a family. It can be hard work! 

When I have the conversation with people around creating healthy patterns and boundaries around food and eating I begin by asking, "How do you feel your relationship with food is?" Some of the common answers are,

"I don't have the time to cook all my meals, I'm to busy for that so I eat out a lot." 
"I want to eat healthier, but don't know where to begin."
"I eat for comfort. After a long day I like to binge eat."
"I don't enjoy the act of eating."

Often times we want to change our eating patterns because we don't feel good about our physical body, we may have mental constraints around body image and food. This can stem from comparing our-self to others. Childhood trauma. We may see friends, family members, or people on social media or TV eat a certain way or look a certain way and we compare our experience with food and our body with theirs. Saying harmful things like,

"I need to eat better."
"I eat to much."
"I don't eat enough."
"I'm too fat/thin and need to change the way I eat."
"I don't like my body"

All this chatter and negative thinking does nothing but make us feel unworthy in our bodies and relationship with food. Before signing up for the next dieting fade or joining a subscription based meal plan (that we may or may not cancel after a month), let's explore where we currently are at with food.

Begin to journal about what you are eating.

Week 1:

Carry your journal around with you, if you feel uncomfortable by this, start a NOTE in your smart phone and track what you are eating and drinking, when you are eating, and how much you are eating. Write as much information as you can after each meal, the sky is the limit here. Write about what you eat, how long it took to eat, where you got it from, how much it cost, and how you felt afterwards. If you would like you can track calories, you can us a Food Calorie Calculator or download My Fitness Pal App

Here is an example to help get you started:

8:30am Breakfast- Two pieces of rye bread toasted with two fried eggs. Two cups of black coffee. 340-400 calories.
Cooked breakfast at home. It took me about 15 minutes to eat, I was not terribly hungry when I ate, I felt full after eating but not heavy or sick.

1:20pm Lunch- Stir Fried Rice with Tofu and Green Beans. Cup of Tulsi Tea. 550-650 calories.
Made at home and took it to work for lunch. I ate it in about 15 minutes. I felt full after eating, perhaps it was a bit salty. The meal left me thirsty.

3:00pm Snack- Banana Nut Bread. 100 calories.
Delicious homemade bread, felt like I needed a snack.

7:00pm Dinner- Take out Pizza. 750ish calories. $8.00
Ordered a tasty take and bake cheese pizza. Had three slices and the third slice made me feel sick and heavy afterwards. Took about an hour to feel normal and not heavy. Even though I was full I was still craving something sweet like ice cream, however I made the choice not to eat ice cream.

Daily water consumption- ​80 ounces.

For this week we are not changing our eating habits, we are only tracking what we are eating and understanding the physical, mental, and emotional experiences we have around food. After a week reflect back on what you ate. Read your notes and see what made your body feel nourished and balanced and notice what made your stomach feel upset or left your body feeling not at it's best.

With this information you can start to make very small shifts for the next week. Eliminating the foods that did not serve you, while eating more foods that left your body feeling nourished and healthy. The goal is to slowly change our eating habits by first understanding our current relationship with the foods we gravitate towards. Like a car, we need to understand what goes into car maintenance before we can add upgrades to the car. We need to understand our current relationship with food before we can improve our relationship with it.

Week 2:

For the next week begin to make subtle changes in your eating patterns with the information you collected. Continue to track your food and journal about what you're eating and your experiences. Notice how your body feels during week two. You may notice small changes like physically feeling better, having more energy, sleeping better, skin clearing up, or perhaps subtle weight lose. 

Continue to bring awareness with everything you consume and stay tuned for part 2 of "What are you eating?"