The Lion In Your Food/Body Mindset
Please read and review these guidelines PRIOR to January 2, 2023.
Welcome one and all to your very first day of the Food, Body, Love 21-Day Challenge !
Woosh! First days, hey? So much excitement in the air, so much wondering…maybe a few nerves. All good things, I assure you, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that you’ve decided to jump right in, and join me for these next three weeks of exploration and discovery. Go ahead and give yourself a hearty “thank you” for showing up today, and devoting a little extra loving care to YOU this month. Nothing makes my heart happier, so without further ado, let’s dig right in!
First thing’s first– and it also happens to be the base layer foundation for everything else we’ll be working towards together:
Having a better relationship to food is a mindset, and if we want to cultivate the right mindset, we have to dive deep into the constructs that shape our opinions and feelings around food.
This 21-day challenge is intended to bring conscious awareness to the inner workings of your brain and experiences, so you can begin to work towards a more nourishing relationship and experience with food, your body and therefore, your health. Hear me now when I say it loud and proud:
If you improve your mindset around your food and body relationship, you can and will greatly improve the state of your overall health.
But in order to improve your mindset, we have to start by taking a good hard look at the mindset you already have. [cue funny “doom is coming” sound effect]
The state of our mind and emotions can affect how well - or poorly - we digest our food. What’s that you say? My emotions have a say in what my stomach and intestines are doing right at this very minute? That’s right, folks– it’s aaalllllll connected (but more on that later). Let me put it this way: when we’re feeling stressed or shameful about eating (or anything else, for that matter), our mind releases stress hormones that put every system of the body on high alert. Our body then gets a message that we’re under threat, and that we need to run away as fast as possible if we want to survive! As a result, digestion goes on the back-burner of priorities, and sugar and glucose cravings set in to make us feel like we’ll have enough quick-burn energy to “run from the lion.” As you can imagine, too much of this mis-managed stress can take a real toll on our gut and digestion in the long-run, leading to things like acid-reflux, IBS, bloating and other gastric upset.
Believe it or not, the same is true when we feel sad, anxious, or angry too. Depending on how and where you grew up, you may have been taught that these less comfortable emotions are to be avoided, ignored, or shut down at all costs, and for many of us, that can lead to stress and unhealthy food cravings. Those quick-fix sugars might make us feel a little happier and more energized for a while, but it won’t last; in fact, it was never meant to last! It was only meant to help us run from the lion our brain has mistakenly told us is hot on our trail!
Think of your body like a village, and each system within the village is a separate hut. Don’t you think if a lion comes stalking through, he’s going to look at ALL of your huts as fair game? Of course he is. A lion’s gotta eat too! The same is true about stress’s effect on the body’s whole system.
So before we can deal with the damage to our huts, how bout we start with that lion?
Today’s Activity
Let’s get honest about your relationship to food and your body.
Journal prompts and reflection questions: [~25 – 35 minutes] Reference the Descriptive Word Bank below to help you be more specific about your experience.
When I think about food, I typically feel…
When I sit down to eat, I feel…
After I eat food, I most often feel…
What do I want my relationship to food to be like?
How would I like to feel and act around food? Be specific.
What do I feel is my biggest block right now preventing me from having a good relationship to food?
Tomorrow, we’ll go a little deeper into our food mindset. Until then, rest well, dear bodies and souls. You’re right where you belong, and we’re off to a wonderful start!
“Every cell in our body responds to the food we consume. If we feed ourselves nourishing food, our physical body will thrive, our brain and thoughts will be positive, our attitude towards life will be that of abundance, and we will feel more connected to all life around us.
— Murphy's Wellness Law (#3)
