First of all being overweight is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a cultural standard of beauty to be thin, not a universal one. Also, some people are just naturally bigger. Ayurvedically these people have the best genes. The only disease they are predisposed to is diabetes, where as other body types are predisposed to everything else from arthritis, heart disease, stroke, and on and on. So I would say that naturally larger people are blessed indeed!
But if you actually are meant to be a bit thinner than you are then here are some tips:
1. Cook your own food
If you do just this you will naturally eat less. Why? Because most of the processed foods we eat are way overprocessed. Overprocessing foods not only removes the life force, but also destroys or removes necessary micronutrients. Without them, your body will be malnourished and constantly want to snack. (Good for sales.) Worst of all, the way some products are processed, using excessive heat and pressure, that the chemical structures change into poison. If you are not cooking your own food from scratch, then make sure you trust who is! Make sure that you could replicate what your eating in your own kitchen and you’d be happy with it! For example can you make donut shaped grain puffs with rainbow colored/shaped marshmallows? No, but you could make muesli. Could you make a McRib? No, but you could make ribs. The people who come up with "healthy" food are not necessarily nutritionists, but too often only businessmen. Best to trust your (ever thinner) gut on this.
2. Eat the whole thing
Whether it’s a whole fruit or a whole animal, nature makes perfectly balanced foods that need little altering. So for example, if you are eating soy, then eat soybeans or fresh tofu. But soy protein isolate is out of balance, and in excess will cause more harm than good. And excess can simply mean a little bit but often. When you eat the whole food, you get all the nutrients in balance from everywhere. Another example is if you eat meat, eat the organs too. The organs have micronutrients that are often lacking in the western diet. Then save the bones and make a broth out of those. Another example is to eat whole wheat bread. White bread takes out the precious bran and germ. Not because it's healthier, but because it's more shelf stable. (Food spoilage is not profitable.) Getting all the nutrition from complete, whole foods will signal to your body that you are fed and you will lose the craving to overeat. This is also a reason to cook your own food.
Now some will argue that this takes too much time or is too expensive. Well, are you not worth it? For the majority of us we have chosen to put a big house, nice car, nice phone, watching television or whatever, as a priority over good food. That’s fine. But don’t say it’s too expensive or there’s no time, as it is only a matter of priorities. Saying something like, “I choose a nice car over eating well” would be more truthful and empowering because then you can choose differently if you wish. Some inexpensive options are to shop at the farmers’ market or grow your own food. When you are eating nourishing food, you will end up eating way less-imagine being satisfied on only a handful of food at each meal! As for time, even just quickly scrambling some eggs or tossing a simple salad is quick and healthy. People think that cooking has to be a long and involved, elaborate meal. Not true. High quality foods cooked the simplest way will impress!
3. Eat lunch at noon and snack less
I see people snacking all day instead of eating a proper meal. They end up eating more than if they just ate a meal. Eating at noon is when your digestion is the strongest so if you don’t eat, you will create a lot of hormonal issues having to do with the circadian rhythm of your body. Then because of excessive hunger, you will likely snack on food that’s not the best-just the most convenient. If you do snack, please try fruit or nuts. We also make a great snack called Ener-GHEE which is satisfyingly sweet as well as nutritious and fulfilling.
4. Walk
Or run or dance or whatever. Even if it’s just on your days off to start. I like to do a quick walk around the block on my lunch break everyday.
5. Love yourself
Instead of dealing with emotional issues, we are taught to buffer them. "There ain’t nothing a beer can’t fix.” Or “did you hurt your knee? Here have some chocolate.” What emotional eating (or excessive drinking or excessive tv watching) does is make an intolerable situation tolerable. Better to change how you think about the world or change the world than to silence yourself. At the same time, we are taught that we’re not good enough (or pretty enough or rich enough) through all the marketing we see daily. If only we knew how infinitely loved and worthy we actually are, we would have no need for a lot of those products. Self love and respect just don’t lend themselves to making good consumers. We are much more than our bodies, but the body is a wonderful and beautiful tool for us to experience life, so let’s start by appreciating our bodies where we can.
At Key to the Mountain, we practice what we preach. All of our food is made from the highest quality ingredients just like you would at home. We believe in a thriving food chain from the earth to you!
Σχόλια