Listening to your gut

When is the last time you were really hungry? Or sat down and truly enjoyed a meal? So many people rush around with heaps to do, they eat on the go stuffing whatever is at hand into their mouths...often not even knowing what they are eating let alone actually tasting it.

There is the other side of the coin too; eating on strict time schedules...whether you are hungry or not. Again-are you able to enjoy the process of eating and taste the food. Even if it's super healthy whole food that's full of nutrition and flavour, if you are not hungry-how could you truly enjoy it?

I know, these are not new concepts or topics; many books have been written, many blogs have been read... Some people give names to this "way" of eating...personally I just call it "eating".

I do believe that much of the obesity problem is due not only to a lack of nutrition, but simply bad eating habits. Not paying attention to whether a person is truly hungry or just stuffing their face out of boredom or because the clock states it's feeding time. I know, I know-I myself would stick to a strict eating schedule when prepping for a comp-and if you are getting ready for a comp-you should stick to a strict schedule-it's what the comp prep is all about-simply fueling the body; and of course all that extra training one does for comp prep needs to be fuelled!

However, for normal, everyday life, and attaining a healthy body-which means having a certain amount of body fat (sorry but yes, if you are a woman, having under 10% body fat might look fab in pics-but we all know, that is not healthy for extended periods...even Pauline Nordin knows that!)...eating good, nutritious, REAL food and eating when hungry as opposed to just eating for the sake of eating AND, of course, regular exercise of some sort is how I believe it can be done.

Obviously, one size does not fit all, Kelly O has correctly pointed this out many times. In the end we have to find what works for us. For Kelly it's EAT STOP EAT...which involves some weekly fasting; it's helping her to really learn when her body is telling her she's hungry. Charlotte just recently mentioned that right now, in the winter time, she's just not hungry in the morning and prefers to eat more at night...and that's just what she's doing. She is not hungry until 2pm...of course-she eats really well. She has a handle on what nutritious and real food is; I certainly wouldn't recommend that to someone that is not in tune with there body and would wait until 2 and then scarf on a box of donuts!

Getting to know your body takes time...but if you take the time-you truly can teach your brain to listen to your gut. No matter what your age...you can train your brain-this has been scientifically proven! Give it a go, listen to your gut!

Have a great weekend!