Aligning With Your Body's Needs

This week I want to talk about something a little more near and dear to my heart!  Aligning with your body’s needs (through nutrition).  Our body is our physical vessel for this lifetime and it is so important that we nourish it and take care of it.  When we are out of alignment with it, it can create a state of Dis – Ease and create illness, pain, weight, or other health issues.  So today I will give you a few key tips to help you tune into your body so you can give it what it needs and reach your highest state of wellbeing.

Tuning in to your body:
Your body has infinite wisdom! It communicates with you daily asking for what it needs, and it provides you with symptoms to tell to you when something is out of balance. In the beginning you may receive small signs and messages (occasional headache, stomach ache, butterflies in your stomach, muscle tension, etc) and if they go ignored or unnoticed it is common for the messages (symptoms) to get worst. 

Let’s start by doing a check in!
Sit quietly for a few minutes and check in with yourself.  Here are a few questions you can ask yourself…
* On a scale of 1-10 where is your energy today? (10 being highest)
* Do you feel any pain, tension, or blocks in any areas of your body?
* How are you feeling emotionally?  Do you have any emotional tension in your body?
* How have your sleep patterns been?  Are you having a hard time falling asleep or waking up multiples
  times at night?
* NOW THE BLACK SHEEP QUESTION LOL:  How are your bowels moving?  Are you going at least 1-2x a 
  day?

Each of these questions provides a message to how your body is working and how it is nourished. These are some of the first signs of imbalance and your body asking for HELP (nutrients, detoxification, or stress relief).

Learning to listen!
1.  WATER, WATER, WATER! 
it is SO important to drink water.  Ideally you should drink half of your body’s weight in ounces of pure, filtered water per day. WOW that’s a lot right?  But, it’s so important it helps you to maintain body temperature, metabolize body fat, aids in digestion, lubricates and cushions organs, transports nutrients, and flushes toxins from your body. 

I often get the question: Can I add crystal lite to it? Or what about tea?  When in doubt simply ask yourself... Would I wash my dishes with this?  Most of the time your answer will be NO!  Why?  Because, it will leave them sticky. So think of what these drinks are doing  to our organs.  If you feel like  you might drawn if you increase your water intake that much – start with half of  the amount and then after a few weeks increase it by 20 oz. Once you start  drinking your water you may notice your skin is softer, clearer, or you may feel fuller/ have less cravings.

2.   Food and Nutrition (Keep a diary)
There is so much information out there floating around about nutrition.  My general rule of thumb is “Fresh is best” and “Listen to your body”.  
 
Becoming aware of your relationship with food and how different foods make you feel (is it good for you or do you have a sensitivity) can be a very powerful tool. A great way to do this is by keeping a food diary. 
My idea of a food diary is not counting calories, carbs, or any other nutritional factor.  It is simple to bring awareness.  I suggest recording all meals and snacks, as well as notes of how you feel throughout the day physically and emotionally.  Don’t be afraid to do a little exploring.  

For example: It is 9pm and you are craving a bowl of cereal and milk try being an investigator asking yourself: Am I really hungry? What am I really hungry for?  How am I feeling emotionally?  
 
Write these things down in your food diary.  After a week or two you can look through the diary and look for any patterns. You might find that each time you had ice cream you woke up with a stomach ache the next day or you craved ice cream each time you felt sad.  The purpose of this exercise is not for judgment; it is simple to bring awareness.  
 
Once you become aware of which foods help you feel energized, whole, and focused you can incorporate more of those into your diet and eliminate those that leave you feeling more tired, foggy, bloated, or inflamed.  Learn to appreciate your body and understand what it needs will bring you one step close to living in alignment and achieve total health! 

Your action steps for this week:
1.   Tune into your body by doing a check in (see questions above)
2.   Incorporate more water
3.   Keep a food dairy and explore how different foods make you feel

Work with me:
* If you are tired of feeling tired, unmotivated, and stuck and your are ready to move forward
* If you want to reconnect with your body and your needs so you can reach your highest state of wellbeing
* If you feel overwhelmed with weight or health issues and want guidance or support
* If you have a deep desire to move past emotional or mental blocks that have been holding you back from reaching true wellness