[Article updated on 19/09/2023]
Are you tired of being the spectator of your diet? Waiting for a diet that will tell you what to eat, in what quantity and when?
Before reading on
I’m not an expert in this field, but I am passionate about nutrition and health.
The articles you’ll find on my site are the result of in-depth research that I’d like to share with you. However, I would like to stress that I am not a health professional and that my advice should in no way replace that of a qualified physician. I’m here to guide you, but it’s important that you consult a professional for specific questions or medical concerns. Your well-being is important. So be sure to consult the appropriate experts and take the best possible care of yourself.
Do you feel trapped by your eating behavior? Not knowing how to trust yourself again without the fear of breaking down, of ruining everything!
Through this article I will give you advice, little things to put in place on a daily basis so that you can finally get back on stage and become the main actor in your relationship with your plate.
Freedom, confidence, kindness towards yourself and small steps that will make all the difference.
Curtain up. It’s yours !
I am an actor in my diet – act 1
When you decide to become an actor in your relationship with food, this involves making numerous inner journeys in order to constantly question yourself in order to better understand yourself and finally, act accordingly.
You can ask yourself what you feel in the different areas of your body when you choose the dish you are going to eat, for example.
When cooking and then eating a “dietary” dish that tells you:
- Your mind?
- Your body ?
- Your heart ?
Ask yourself these same questions when you’re trying to deprive yourself of the food(s) you crave. What does it tell you:
- Your mind?
- Your body ?
- Your heart ?
Observe if one of your spheres is put aside, forgotten? Have you noticed that they don’t all agree? This will therefore generate an imbalance in you.
I invite you to align these three spheres (mind, body and heart) so that when you eat, they are in perfect harmony.
You will therefore be fully in front of your plate and you will take greater pleasure in eating.
This first work aims to direct you towards Kindness and Compassion towards yourself. Stop fighting against yourself and instead learn to listen to yourself, understand yourself, respect yourself.
I am an actor in my diet – act 2
What if you decided to trust your eating sensations.
What is this ? These are the sensations indicated by your stomach and your brain that inform you when the body needs to eat and when to stop. The two are connected and work as a pair, but for this you must be attentive, otherwise you will not realize the signals being sent.
- To slow down is the first of the keys. Stop what you’re doing, put down your phone, take the time to do nothing for a few seconds.
- Observe your hunger will thus be possible. What sensations do you feel in your stomach? Does it pull? It’s full ? Is it hollow? Is it pleasant or unpleasant?
Being hungry is not necessarily a pleasant feeling but it is necessary since it indicates that the body needs to eat. This is the only real indicator of a need for energy sent by your stomach. Every time you eat when you’re not hungry, you’re giving your body unnecessary calories (and you can gain weight). Might as well listen to you, right? - Taste and eat slowly will be the second essential keys. Because they will allow you to better adapt your quantities, to eat less, to respect the needs of your body (and again, without a screen it is of course easier!).
All the elements mentioned above will help you to recognize satiety, the one that will tell you when you can stop eating and thus respect the needs of your body, without excess, without being in excess.
Be careful, the feeling of a full, overflowing stomach is not satiety. You have already passed it. Satiety is when you are no longer hungry (hence the benefit of waiting until you are hungry to eat) and you no longer want to eat.
With your set of keys in hand, you can go backstage for a few seconds, while waiting for the last act of this play entitled “I become the actor of my diet”.
I am an actor in my diet – act 3
I invite you to use self-hypnosis as a tool allowing you an inner journey.
Simply taking the time to close our eyes helps us refocus on ourselves.
How to do ?
Experiment 1: I invite you, before starting a meal, to close your eyes then take 3 deep inhales/exhales while concentrating on the path of the air in your body.
Then, ask yourself about the feeling your stomach sends you by imagining it (you can visualize it). Is he hungry? Does he want to eat? What room does he have left to accommodate the coming meal?
Observe the signals your body is sending you and then open your eyes when you are ready.
You can start eating afterwards.
Experiment 2: Close your eyes, take 3 deep inhales/exhales. Imagine going down a staircase with 10 steps (you will count from 10 to 1), then, once you arrive in your interiority, I invite you to visualize your stomach attached to a cable dragging on the ground. Approach this cable and plug it back into the electrical outlet on your body. Once this is done, imagine that your stomach lights up, it is connected to your body, the current is flowing again.
You can return to your stairs and climb them back up (counting from 1 to 10) and open your eyes whenever you are ready.
These few minutes of self-hypnosis will allow you to reconnect with the present, with you, with your feelings and your needs. Essential to regain control over your diet.
You can continue to feast on the applause you give yourself because it is you who have changed, you who have given everything to be at the front of the stage.
Under the spotlight you will dazzle those around you, no longer stay in the shadows. Up to you !