Today I want to talk about something that, well I don’t think is talked about enough: nutrition. Its a word we hear all the time, but we don’t really understand it that well, depending on who you listen to, nutrition is all about being skinny, or being ripped, or being this or that and nutrition is not at all any of those things.
Having proper nutrition is so important and so overlooked in todays society because people are so busy and overwhelmed and not getting the sleep or nutrition they need. Somehow this aspect of self-care, the physical component that encompasses nutrition, is left by the wayside because we de-value the importance of taking care of our minds bodies and souls because we are just too busy to do it.
Well, today in our discussion of nutrition, I want to define nutrition. According to oxford dictionary, nutrition is the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth or food or nourishment. It is also the branch of science that deals with nutrients and nutrition particularly in humans. So thats a pretty broad term, but if you notice food or nourishment, that its a process providing food necessary for health and growth.
So the first thing we know for sure is that nutrition is supposed to be good for us, it’s supposed to provide energy and sustainability to do all the things we do. Like working our job, making food, going to the bathroom, exercising to talking, to digesting the food we eat.
Here at Olotita, we are so passionate about wholeness because it creates and helps you maintain total self sufficiency – spiritually, mentally, physically; it helps you create and maintain joy, clarity, accountability, purpose. I have not always had a healthy relationship with food. I spent a lot of years using food as a self-regulation tool for grief after my dad committed suicide, then I spent time using food as a tool of punishment when I became anorexic as a teenager. These things happened to me, and they happen to many people when there is an imbalance of wholeness, or imbalance of mental health, nutrition or physical health, or imbalance of spiritual or religious health. As a result, those things get out of balance and then you have problems like I faced as a young girl. Rachel also experienced a phase of anorexia during her high school years, and she had no clue there was such a thing as a relationship to food. Now looking back and working with a therapist, Rachel tells me she realizes that at that time in her life, she didn’t have a lot of control over her decisions, but food intake was one of the only things she did have control over and it resulted in her starving herself. Now Rachel and I both know better and continuously work to have and maintain healthy relationships with food to help fuel us; body, mind and soul.Rachel and I are both passionate about educating people how to create a healthy relationship with self. This nutrition component is so important because it is so important to maintaining life. We eat to live. You should enjoy the food that you eat, you should find pleasure in it, but its more important that you choose the foods you consume because they are healthy for your body and not because they satisfy a craving you have or taste good to you. Eat to live, don’t live to eat, the difference is profound. By creating a healthy relationship with food, we begin to understand that difference.
How do you create a healthy relationship with food?
Lets start with this idea of nutrition, where we can build a strong model of understanding, then everything changes so naturally for you because it doesn’t feel like you are missing out on or depriving yourself of that chocolate ice cream or french fries; its about opening your mind to the bigger picture of your mental health. Every processed food item that you eat affects your brain chemistry, affects your digestion, affects your lungs and other organs in very specific ways. For example, consuming processed foods taxes your liver because it sorts has to process all the things you consume that are not natural, or processed. Over time this overtaxes your liver and other organs, creating imbalances in the body. This can equate to weight gain, lethargy, mood swings, depression, different types of disease. Doing this one simple thing, taking time to create a healthy relationship with nutrition, can have a cascading affect on every aspect of your life.
We will spend time every month diving a little deeper into various tools for nutrition or skills for gaining a better model of understanding. And in time your relationship to food will change.
When I was a teenager I didn’t feel worthy of enjoying food like most people. Through Yoga, meditation, therapy, mentorship, I have a healthy and loving relationship to self and towards nutrition. I know that many of you reading this blog post struggle like I once did. Whatever your current relationship with nutrition, I invite you to spend a little time with our journal, intentionally thinking and writing about your relationship with nutrition. Why? Well, if you want to have a better relationship to food, this is a great place to start!
Rachel and I are always an email away too! If you want some guidance, feel free to email [email protected] or scroll through our service offerings and purchase a session or package for us to personally help you craft and implement a for connecting, re-connecting or maintaining a loving and healthy relationship with self.
Namaste
Krista Shirley
