Focus on Fuelling Your Body Rather than Restricting it

We are lucky to have access to so much information about health and wellness now and people are becoming more and more aware of the ways you can properly fuel your body and how important it is.

But I think we’ve all become so accustomed to feeling the need to cut things out – gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free…. that we’ve kind of forgotten the reasons why. AND don’t take the time to think about what OUR individual bodies really need.

Because of social media and constantly being surrounded by opinions on this topic, we are SO much more aware of what we are eating throughout the day. For a lot of reasons this is a great thing, but for some it’s not.

After scrolling through countless vegan/gluten-free/dairy-free/sugar-free/organic/so on and so on photos and recipes on instagram, it becomes very easy to feel guilty for eating a piece of toast for breakfast or red meat at dinner.

I’ve watched girls I know become almost obsessed with this. Being so concerned about what they’re eating that they end up doing more harm than good for their bodies. Have you ever heard of Orthorexia? Jordan Younger from The Balanced Blonde shares her story of her struggle with this and it’s something I think is more common that we realize.

Tyler and I have had a week at a time, here and there, where we’ll go dairy, gluten, and alcohol-free. We definitely benefit from it and through this have learned to pay more attention to certain items than we ever did before.

Recently though, we kind of went a different route…

When I was pregnant with Lily, I was 24 and active and never worried about what I ate. All of a sudden I was responsible for nourishing this tiny little human who was entirely dependent on me. I started to focus on just a few things to make sure she was being taken care of:

1. Eating a big breakfast
2. Healthy snacks throughout the day (loved some unsalted cashews and dried mangos)
3. Make sure to get enough servings of fruit and veggies
4. Smaller dinner because that made me feel better
5. Water water water!

I’ve never felt better! Seriously. I was always full of energy, never caught a bug, I was happy, felt well balanced mentally (apparently I was way nicer when I was pregnant), maintained a very healthy weight, and had an easy pregnancy.

I tried to re-channel this mindset recently…

Working in a restaurant, it’s nothing for me to have a glass of wine after work. But when I get home from work at 11pm, I’m then ready and excited to start working on my blog and getting creative. If I have that glass of wine, that kind of goes out the window. I’m sleepy and just kind of over it.

I started to change my mindset when it came to food, alcohol, and even sleep patterns

Instead of worrying about cutting gluten from my breakfast, I thought more about what I was really feeling and how I could best start my day. I think more about getting healthy fats and proteins to keep me full longer and give me more energy.

My go-to breakfast lately:

1 scrambled egg with a side of plain oatmeal, drizzled with almond butter, sprinkle chia seeds, and a splash of almond milk

♥ There was no more glass of wine every night because I knew it would make me less efficient when I get home when I really just wanted to blog. Having this to work on was great motivation.

♥ Then, I noticed how much better I felt in the morning after skipping that glass of wine. I got a better sleep, felt much more hydrated, and more focused.

♥ I’ve become more aware of how tired and, honestly, lazy I am after eating processed foods or a meal heavy in carbs.

♥ Instead of thinking I can’t have THIS and I can’t eat THAT, I think more about how I am going to feel afterwards. And let me tell you… it’s a total GAME CHANGER.

I find myself eating healthier, being more active (simply because I have the energy), being more focused, less anxious, and my skin is so much better!

So, if you’re struggling with your diet or simply just not feeling your best, these are some things to consider before choosing your next meal or ordering that second glass of wine:

Have you been lacking energy?

Are you having any skin problems?

How are you sleeping at night?

Are you anxious and stressed?

How will your stomach feel after consuming that type of food?

Once you start fuelling your body to fix those issues, it becomes a much more positive mind set and you’ll be doing what YOUR body needs…

XOXO

I’d love to hear anyone else’s opinion on this or anything that’s worked for you! Comment below 🙂