It’s no secret eating donuts, diet drinks and
left over kids dinner every day will contribute to making us fat, and if we are
overloaded in too much sugar over a long period of time, this will also make us
very ill! But lets put diet aside for a moment. Often diet, and our
relationship with food, is the reactive symptom of something else going on in
our lives!
As a mum of busy boys, always time poor and
constantly on the go, I find that even my healthiest intentions and actions
don’t always pay off. { aka I am only human } Like you, I’m busy with
navigating my way through life. My weeks are busy building my ‘empire’ in just
18 hours per week ( it can be done ), whilst also filling my family’s fridge
and plates with food, including trying to remember the 101 things nursery tell
me to do ( costumes, cake bake sales, book swaps uurrggh! ), plus entertain two
little maniacs under the age of 4 AND be an attentive friend and wife to my
darling husband. Something has got to give right? ( yes, usually the cork in a
bottle of wine.. but I digress )
Here are my 4 surprising facts that not only
impact our eating habits, but are changing how our brain and body metabolise
the food we put in it.
1. Sleep: Or lack
of! I think the last time I slept in a truly quiet, undisturbed and dark room
was years ago in a hotel on my own! When was the last time you slept in
complete darkness? Not to mention undisturbed since having kids? The one thing
we can control is the light. Sleeping in a bedroom that has too much light
coming into it can mess with our melatonin levels which in turn screw with
metabolism, in other words slow it right down! Try to black out your bedroom as
much as possible and hide cellphone faces downwards or make the bedroom gadget
free entirely.
2. Stress: Stress
is SO underestimated. We often think it’s just something in our head, but
stress is very physical and can flip a switch in our bodies from alkaline to
acidic in a matter of minutes! Stress can be emotional ( too much going on ),
physical ( strenuous exercise ) and environmental ( external toxins from
chemicals and also relationships! ). When we say we “feel” stressed, it’s also
the cortisol hormone levels increasing, sometimes to an unhealthy level, and
cortisol can make us feel hungry ( it an also have the reverse effect! ).
Breathe deep, count to 10, do some om’s and drink a large glass of water first,
often we are chronically dehydrated, not actually hungry.
3. Indecisiveness: A lack of true desire
can snowball into a state of flux. When we are in flux we feel scattered, out
of sorts, overwhelmed and a bit lost. { Cue: open fridge while we procrastinate
further }. If we want to make a positive change in our eating habits, we have
to make a decision. Could be a small decision or a big one. Just make one! From
this decision comes desire, which fuels belief, and belief drives our focus to
the vision of our healthy strong selves. No one said making a decision would be
easy. But it’s much easier than dealing with all that being indecisive brings.
4. Overweight friends: It’s human nature to mimic when in a relationship and to feel like
we belong. Some of us are easily influenced when surrounded by people who are
in a certain mindset of self sabotage. Don’t go ditching your friends, hell no!
We can be easily influenced, inspired and empowered by someone who breaks the
cycle for something more positive. Embrace your lovely friends, and instead
make a decision together. Hold each other accountable for your health goals. We
are more likely to succeed in our goals when we do it with a friend or partner.
Seek out friends who might rub a little of their positive and supportive
mindset off on you too.
So in summary, sometimes how we feel and our
situational environment can impact what we put in our mouths, in turn impacting
our health. We all deserve great health and with some small adjustments we can
achieve it. C’mon girlfriends! Let’s make a decision to give ourselves
the gift of more quality sleep, de-stress with a little pampering
now and then and embrace our friends to make some healthy changes together.
We all deserve it. You are bloody Superwomen!
Looking for more inspiration on how to create
some balance in your life? Come check out my fresh recipes, quick workouts you
can do with your kids, rants and raves of bypieta.com for busy women and Mum's looking for balance, not perfection.
Written by Pieta from @bypieta
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