How Do I Know What To Eat?

Every day we’re faced with the question “What should I eat?”   Should I eat meat, or maybe go vegan? Are fats good for me, a few years ago they were supposed to be bad? What about gluten, dairy, carbohydrates, eggs, butter, beans, grains or nuts?  Should I eat them or not? There are even people who say kale, spinach and broccoli are not good for you.

With the incredible amount of conflicting information telling us which foods are going to make us healthy and happy, how are we supposed to decide?

While there are a few basic healthy eating guidelines that most professionals agree on, (you can find them here) we need a new approach for choosing what to eat.

The way I find balance for myself and what I’m passionate to share with my clients is deciding what to eat by listening to our Inner Guidance. By that I mean eating intuitively rather than mindlessly following a plan or just eating what we think we ‘should’ because it’s supposed to be ‘healthy’.

Sure, you say, that sounds great, but how do I do it?  Let me explain.

What Is Inner Guidance?

Inner Guidance is a loving energy within us and around us guiding and supporting us in our life.  Some people call it our Divine Self, Source, Universe or God.

Feeling joy, peace, satisfaction and love connects us to our Inner guidance, Abraham Hicks calls that being in alignment.  It’s like tuning our self to the frequency of joy so we can hear the Inner Guidance. Imagine it like this, our inner being is broadcasting on 101 FM, when we tune to that frequency we can hear it.

But if we’re on a different frequency such as stress or worry we’re tuned to 88 am and we can’t hear the guidance from the higher frequency, (101 FM).  We’re out of alignment.

Inner guidance will usually feel peaceful or joyful.  It’s often a gut feeling that you know is right.

When we’re connected to our Inner Guidance, we are inspired to eat the food that enhances our wellbeing and makes us feel good.

What We Think and Feel About What We Eat
Affects Our Health

Do you know that what you think and feel about the food you’re eating matters? One of the most important principles that will help you listen to your Inner Guidance when deciding what to eat is understanding that how you feel about what you eat is even more important than what you eat.  Knowing this will help you let go of all the rules you think you need to follow to be healthy.

Feeling good about what you’re eating improves your digestion and metabolism.

For example, if you’re thinking how delicious and satisfying this piece of cake tastes and how much your loving it, your body processes it more efficiently than if you’re saying I shouldn’t be eating cake, it’s not good for me, or it’s going to make me fat.  If you’re eating a salad and saying, why do I have to eat this rabbit food, why can’t I eat something good, your body isn’t going to be able to get the full benefits from it.

Let me tell you about a study. Alia Crum, a psychologist at Yale University did a Milk Shake study showing our beliefs actually change how our bodies metabolize food. What we think and feel about the food we’re eating affects how our hormones respond.  Watch her Ted talk here.

In the study, Groups A and B were both given a milkshake which contained 320 calories. The Group A milkshake was given in a carton that said it contained 640 calories.  It said it was a creamy indulgent milk shake.  The carton for Group B said the drink had only 120 calories, it was a diet shake.

Even though both were actually eating the SAME number of calories, one group thought they were having an indulgent treat and the other group thought they were having a diet shake.

The study measured the ghrelin level of the participants before and after drinking their milk shakes.  Ghrelin is a hormone in the body closely related to hunger. Ghrelin goes up when you are hungry, it slows down metabolism and goes down when you have eaten and increases metabolism.

In this experiment, the ghrelin levels went down in Group A, the people who though they were having an indulgent shake.  It indicated that the person had ingested sufficient calories, they were actively metabolizing the shake and no longer hungry.

In Group B, where they thought they were having a diet shake the ghrelin level stayed the same level – it hardly changed. They were just as hungry as before they had the shake and they were not metabolizing the shake. They were storing it.

Even though both groups ingested the exact same shake, the belief that they had ingested something rich and satisfying caused Group A to reduce their hunger hormone levels and rev up their metabolism.  On the other hand, the belief that they had only had a diet shake caused Group B to maintain the same hunger hormone level as if they had not ingested anything and kept metabolism slow.  Isn’t that interesting?

Their beliefs had completely determined how their BODY reacted to the same amount of food.  What they thought and felt affected their hormones and metabolism.

How do we use this information to help us figure out what to eat?

Using Our Inner Guidance to Decide What To Eat

Now that you know what you think and feel about eating affects your hormones, digestion and metabolism, let’s talk about choosing the best feeling thoughts.

Instead of thinking you should eat less, or eat healthier food or a better diet, think about enjoying whatever you’re eating more. When you’re feeling joy and satisfaction you are on the frequency to receive Inner Guidance.

Instead of mindlessly following diet plans and getting overwhelmed by the epic quantity of nutritional research and advice, that’s, more often than not, contradictory anyway, go within and connect with yourself.

Here are a few ways to connect with your inner guidance.

Meditation to Use Your Inner Guidance to Eat the Foods That
Make you Feel Happy and Healthy

This is process I learned from my friend Debra Poneman to help you discover…
What is the best thing for me to eat right now to align with my natural state of well being?

Here is the meditation:

Take a moment and sit with a piece of paper.Close your eyes and take 3 deep breaths

Thank you Universe for guiding me to divinely inspired eating

I let go of my doubts fears and mind chatter and put circle of light around me so that only Infinite Grace can come through.

Thank you Universe for the wisdom and guidance I am about to receive.

Take one more deep breath and open your eyes

Write a few sentences of whatever comes to mind. It may be about food or something else.

Then let your guidance lead you to choose foods that give you joy, comfort and satisfaction.

Notice What You’re Thinking and Feeling Before, During and After Eating.

Before Eating

When deciding what to eat ask ‘what am I really hungry for right now?’ ‘What would give me and my body satisfaction, nourishment and comfort?’ ‘What would feel good to eat now and would this still feel good afterwards?’

Here you’re looking for the feeling of contentment or satisfaction, that is alignment.

You’re looking for a feeling of clarity. My favorite word is SATISFACTION.  I always ask ‘what will satisfy me?’

If you think about eating something and you feel guilty that’s out of alignment. On the other hand, if you tell yourself you can’t eat what you want and feel deprived that is also out of alignment.  The first step is awareness of how you feel, because how can you know what to eat to create balance and alignment if you have no idea how you feel.

When deciding what to eat ask ‘what am I really hungry for right now?’ ‘What would give me and my body satisfaction, nourishment and comfort?’ ‘What would feel good to eat now and would this still feel good afterwards?’

Here you’re looking for the feeling of contentment or satisfaction, that is alignment.

You’re looking for a feeling of clarity. My favorite word is SATISFACTION.  I always ask ‘what will satisfy me?’

If you think about eating something and you feel guilty that’s out of alignment. On the other hand, if you tell yourself you can’t eat what you want and feel deprived that is also out of alignment.  The first step is awareness of how you feel, because how can you know what to eat to create balance and alignment if you have no idea how you feel.

Once you decide what to eat, as you prepare your food or if you’re in a restaurant waiting for your meal, think about how delightful eating this is going to be. Think about the food adding to your wellbeing.  And look forward to the satisfaction you’ll get from this delicious meal.

While Eating

You may have heard about eating mindfully, this means noticing the delicious tastes, textures, color and aroma of your food while eating it.  I like to talk to my dinner companions about the delicious food. It’s also fun to appreciate all the people involved in getting this food to your table; farmers, packers, truckers, grocery workers.

Noticing what you’re eating registers satisfaction and pleasure in your brain. As  you experience joy, satisfaction and appreciation, you build positive neuropathways in your brain.

After Eating

Noticing how you feel is important information. After your meal you want to feel peaceful and satisfied.

But that’s not always the case sometimes you feel bloated or uncomfortable. You may even feel anxious or guilty about what you ate.

Be kind, gentle and loving to yourself no matter what. Don’t beat yourself up for what you ate. You made a choice, now honor your decision.

Continue to feel the satisfaction and comfort that food has brought you. Stay in alignment with yourself by being kind and loving to yourself.  Look for ways to soothe yourself:

Tapping to Soothe Yourself
Tapping to End the Battle With Your Body
Ho’oponopono (ho-o-pono-pono)

Thank your body for the guidance.

If you’re saying “I shouldn’t have eaten that pizza or cake,” STOP and tell your body “I know that you have the ability to deal with whatever it is I’ve fed you and utilize the energy from it to add to my well-being.”

Say “It’s okay honey however you feel, I love honor and cherish you completely.”

Being kind to yourself is the best thing you can do. Remember… you get to choose how you feel about yourself as much as choosing what you eat.

Noticing how you feel and if you don’t feel good, soothing yourself with love and kindness will connect you to your Inner Guidance and over time you’ll choose the foods that make you feel your best each day. Also you’ll metabolize whatever you eat more completely.

Here’s an example from my life: I like to a have a few glasses of wine once a week. It sometimes makes my joints hurt. When that happens, I think I shouldn’t drink wine anymore, but the truth is I really like it. If I don’t let myself have it, I feel deprived, I’m out of alignment. It makes me feel more peaceful and satisfied to have it, I’m in alignment. I also know my body can process the wine. I know my body is my most trusted friend and ally and wants me to enjoy my life.

It’s my belief that ‘this is bad for me or I’m not supposed to have it’ that is contributing to the achiness. So instead of beating myself up I’ll honor my choice. It’s an opportunity to love and accept myself unconditionally. I may do some tapping or a process like Ho’oponopono. What has happened to me over months of doing this is, first I don’t want to drink wine as often, second when I do drink it, I enjoy it more and I hardly ever get aches in my joints.

In conclusion: How you feel about what you eat is more important than the food you’re eating. As you spend more time feeling joy, peace and satisfaction around food, you hear your Inner Guidance and choose the foods that enhance your wellbeing.  You’ll eat the foods you love and love the foods that make you feel good.

A good day of eating is with everything you ate today, you felt joyful anticipation before eating, appreciation while eating and satisfaction after.

This process is unique to each of us. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to eating, so we have to find ways to appreciate what we like and treat ourselves with the level of love and kindness we deserve.

Try this for the next month and see what you find out.  Trust your body and let your Inner Guidance be your guide!

Just so you know my Inner Guidance inspires me to eat a mostly paleo diet, gluten-free, with lots of vegetables, a few naturally sweetened desserts and wine.  I love the way I eat. This where I am right now, it may change in the future as I follow my inner guidance.