Eating as a Form of Self-love đź’š
You are what you eat… I’m sure everyone has heard this before, so its surprising how little we think about this. From my own experience I can tell you that the benefits of switching to a healthy and clean diet far surpass having a fit body and that is not even in my top reasons why I decide to eat clean.
I actually initially started my clean eating journey because I was having issues with adult acne. Once of my friends (shout out to Lia) mentioned they had something similar and cut out sugar for a few months and their skin cleared up. I was so self-conscious about my skin that this was the motivation I needed to give up sugar. This also lead me to develop an interest in gut heath and what foods were good for my body (we are all different) so I decided to try Zoe.
If you are interested in learning more about your body and gut health you can sign up for Zoe with 10% off here. Essentially my main take away was that we need to introduce more fruits and vegetables to our diets and different ones so we can expand our good bacteria. If you’d like to try one of their challenges try to have 6 different fruits and vegetables per day (you can start with just one day).
It might seem obvious but what you put in your body affects how your body runs. If you think of your body as your engine and the food you eat as your fuel, raw foods would be the ultra premium fuel while ultra processed would be the cheap fuel that you wouldn’t dare put in a luxury car. So it’s shocking why so many people are fuelling their body with something that doesn’t allow it to run properly. If you feel depressed, or anxious try changing your diet as gut health is linked to mental health and getting your gut health in check should be your first step towards living a happy healthy life.
I use eating for my body as a self-love practice. Start to think of your body as your home, and not the first flat you moved into on your own that maybe had a smashed window, mould growing somewhere, the sink always filled with dishes… it is your dream home. How would you treat your dream home? I’m sure you would want to keep it clean and functioning well, so why not keep your body in the same condition. Oh and btw my skin has never been clearer!
Once you start eating for your body self-love is effortless , try to quiet the voice in your head that tells you you need refined sugars, and ultra processed snacks - that is the same voice that you hear telling you that you aren’t good enough or whatever negative thought track that comes into your head and this is the food that fuels it! Take that food away and the voice will get quiet too.
(This is also why I’ve stopped drinking alcohol but I won’t get into that now but if you are looking to cut back on alcohol you can get 15% off my favourite functional alcohol replacement here).
So where should you start?
Try introducing more fruit into your diet - raw food has so many benefits as the nutrients aren’t cooked out of them. Did you know that most of your digesion is meant to happen in your mouth? Our stomaches aren’t made to handle the amount of digestion that we give them as we are used to chewing and eating too quickly since our food is softened through the cooking process. Try chewing slower to help your stomach digest - raw foods automatically make you chew slower.
Switch out healthy versions of your favourite snacks. Some of my favourite go to fixes are:
Cookie dough bowl: Blend oats into an oat flour, add mashed banana, some form of milk, and dark chocolate chips
Dark Chocolate: on its own or melted to make nut butter cups, or chocolate covered fruit
Apple crumble: apples cooked in a pan with cinnamon and honey until soft, topped with healthy granola (not one filled with sugar) and yogurt
Join a meal plan? or a farmers market subscription?
For me my transition to clean eating was very easy. I joined Fresh Fitness Food (get £60 off here) which delivers all my meals fresh Monday-Friday and they are catered to my dietary needs. On weekends I would still indulge in my favourite not so good for me foods but as my awareness of eating clean grew now I am very particular and only choose the very best “bad” food.
Hello Fresh is also a great option if you live with others. I used to use that back in Denmark but it was a lot of food to get through for one person in a week.
I’ve also started ordering from Riverford Organic farmers (get £15 off here) which is a sustainable farming online farmers market. They offer a zero food waste surprise bag which is a great way to try new foods and get creative in the kitchen!
