One of the most important things you can ever do to stay slim and healthy is to learn how to listen to your body when eating.
Why is this so important? Because your body always knows best.
If you listen carefully, your body will tell you:
- What food is right for you at this time.
- How much to eat to maintain your energy, a healthy weight and to avoid digestive distress.
As a medical intuitive, I can’t help but use my intuitive gifts all the time, everywhere, including when I am eating.
To me, being intuitive is quite simple.
You can’t really be intuitive until and unless you are quite literally in tune. If you want to be intuitive, you have to be in tune with yourself, in tune with your body, in tune with your own energy and in tune with your emotions.
How could you possibly read anything or anybody else if you are unable to read yourself first? It seems quite obvious to me. You must know what is going on with yourself to a very great degree before you can be objective in understanding or explaining other people.
Therefore, the process of every day life gives you fabulous opportunities to mediate on the energies at hand and to focus on what does and does not work for you in any given moment.
Here is how you can listen to your body when you are eating:
- If you are at home preparing your own food, open your refrigerator or pantry and ask yourself, “What foods will make me feel best at this time?” You can simply look at the food, visualize yourself eating it and get an immediate hit. If you are unsure what I am talking about, visualize yourself eating a donut. Then tune in to your stomach and feel how your stomach would feel. Then feel the rest of your body. If you don’t believe that you can get immediate sensuous information anytime anywhere, imagine yourself biting into a lemon! Notice how just thinking of this act your mouth turns sour. Then – as if this wasn’t enough information already – project about four hours ahead and notice how your mood, your energy and your digestion would feel if you ate what you are considering. About a year ago, my partner made dinner by preparing a steak from a grocery he frequented very often. Even though it was typical fare for us, I took one look at the steak on my plate and instantly knew it would make me sick to my stomach. I did not make a big deal about it as my partner had worked very hard to shop for the steak and prepare it. I just simply let him know I wasn’t that hungry that evening and ate mostly vegetables instead. My partner on the other hand started eating the steak and noticed it did not taste the same as usual. Even if you have to wait and taste the food, you can still tune in and tell whether or not it is good for you.
- If you are a feeler, you can also place your hands over food and feel the chi. If you actually do this you will be shocked at how little energy you will feel in processed foods such as a box of cookies. Oh, I like sugar and chocolate as much as any woman. But try walking around the produce section or a farmer’s market and feel the difference instead. Healthy food has an energy field similar to the field of a healthy person. It actually feels vibrant and alive, so you know if you eat a leaf of spinach or the fresh kale or parsley out of my garden that you will more likely also experience greater energy yourself.
- If you are at a restaurant, simply ask inside yourself which option would make you feel the best. I did this Saturday night when I went out for a meal with my friends to a restaurant I had never visited before. I looked over the various options and ranked the top choices on a scale of 0 to 10. It was a very healthy restaurant to begin with – all organic – but I still took the time to tune in to see which entree would make me feel great during and after my meal.
- When you sit down to eat, rank your hunger level on a scale of 0 to 5. If your hunger is at a 0, your stomach would probably be growling. If you are at 5, you would feel stuffed. Notice where you are when you begin to eat. About midway through your meal, pause from eating and tune in again. What number are you at? Please stop eating when you are at a 4. When I am working with overweight clients, I typically find they stop eating at a 5 or a 6. They have a habit of eating until they are all the way stuffed.
- You can easily break the habit of overeating by tuning in throughout the day to notice how hungry you actually are. There is a difference between mouth hunger and stomach hunger. This is one of the most mind-body connections you can ever make! When you are eating your meals and stop at 3 or 4, you can tell yourself that you give yourself permission to eat again in 2 or 3 hours if and when you get hungry again. In our Western society, we frankly live in an environment where food is available virtually everywhere all the time. If and when you are truly hungry again, more than likely you will be able to find more food! If you like, when you stop eating at 3 or 4, you can take part of your meal home with you in a doggie bag or to go box so that you can have it for a snack later on. Stop eating before you are completely full and notice how your body weight normalizes and your digestion improves.
Most people have to rely on external signals to know what food or how much is right for them. It is truly useful to study nutrition and understand nutrient values. Many people make a habit of counting calories or even measuring their portions.
However, none of this is actually necessary if you simply tune in and listen to your body.
What is healing? Healing happens when we make the mind-body connection and feed ourselves with what our body already knows is best for us.
