How much does my body REALLY need?
I am tormented by this question all the time…. When to put down the fork, close the box, screw the lid and put that damn jar of almond butter back in the fridge! This push and pull has been causing me to think a lot about how much food we actually NEED. Now, there’s certainly a couple variables to consider: male vs. female as well as your normal daily activity. It’s obvious that a sedentary person’s body would require less calories to function compared to an athlete who runs 40 miles a week. A Olympic male cross country skier eats upwards of 5000 calories a day!!!
Taking it back to the real world and the country that we live in, we’re trained to believe that the portion on our plate is the portion our body needs and subsequently supposed to finish. WRONG! Remember your stomach is approximately the size of your fist… how do you expect to fit a porterhouse in there?! No friggin’ way. I have a fit friend who whenever she dines out, she immediately divides her plate in half, knowing half is going home with her. For tomorrow. Not later tonight after a couple glasses of wine….tomorrow. It might seem a little anal, but she knows her limitations and that she has a hard time stopping. So this takes the guess work out and she still gets to enjoy her evening out without binging out.
This whole portion idea has come full circle now that I am embarking on a pretty rigorous detoxification cleanse. I already eat rather healthy, but when you completely cut out dairy, gluten, soy, caffeine, minimal fruit, and NO ALCOHOL… we’re playing an entirely different game. My limited intake is supplemented by shakes to help promote detoxification and weight loss. Now rounding day 5 of 14, I realize the difference between the amount of food I WAS eating versus eating only NOW what my body REQUIRES. There is a vast difference. The feeling of getting to know your body again in it’s natural state with no caffeine to wake you up to, no sugar to make you less depressed, no alcohol to sooth whatever happened that day… it’s a little surreal. My head actually feels a little blank, or clearer shall I say. I know at the end of this detox stint, I will go back to my daily life much more mindful of what my body truly NEEDS, and more importantly, to try not to mask all the time with a double espresso or a big glass of cabernet.
If a detox isn’t the way to go for you, give yourself a weekly challenge to find your way back to neutral. Rediscover your body in it’s natural state. First week: no coffee. Second week: no dairy. Third week: No Gluten. Feel Juicy? Fourth week: No alcohol. Just try and see how you feel, you might be surprised at the clarity you find.
This what my life looks like right, but it is so worth it & a lot easier than it looks!
