Hi friends! 😀
Glad you all enjoyed my triple breakfast WIAW. I very much enjoyed it and plan on repeating the experience in the not-too-distant future. But not today. Today was just a “normal” day, where breakfast only made one appearance at its “proper” allotted time slot – first thing in the morning…
Blueberry Muffin Breakfast Bake
Mmm. Is there any better way to start a day? No. No there isn’t. And everyone seems to agree – breakfast simply is the best meal of the day. No questions. Which is why it made me a little sad to read that so many of you don’t allow yourselves to enjoy it more than once a day. You wish you could – you crave that bowl of cereal for lunch, or that stack of pancakes for dinner, but when meal time rolls around, you opt for something more “sensible” instead. A sandwich. A stir fry. Something that you “should” be eating. But is that really the sensible thing to do? I mean, does it make sense to deny your body what it’s really craving and go with what your head is saying, instead? To give it carrot sticks when it’s craving cookies?
Coconut Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
We seem to think so. We like to think that our brains are smarter than our bodies, which is probably why we end up taking their side and choosing the carrot sticks over the cookies 9 times out of 10. The problem with that approach (besides being far less tasty) is that our brains make us think too much. We overanalyze. We question. We try to make the “right” choice. There are just too many factors that play into the decisions that our brains make for us, which is why, in many cases, those decisions end up being the wrong ones and screw us over in the long run.
Our bodies, on the other hand, operate in a completely different fashion. Being immune to the “logic” that can sometimes plague our brain, our bodies never talk to us using convoluted sentences that require any sort of in-depth analysis. There are no dilemmas of “should” vs. “should not”, or “good” vs. “bad”; there’s just one simple and easy to understand message – this is what I need right now. And if you’ll excuse me for a moment, what I need right now is something to munch on…
Much better. Now where was I. Simple messages. Right. Our bodies tell it to us straight up – they don’t beat around the bush. I need rest. I need food. I need water. I need chocolate (they really do need it). The problem is that we don’t always [read:usually] listen. And what’s even worse is that, in addition to not listening, we take it one step further and actually tell our bodies what they need instead.
I need rest – No, you need to work/run/party.
I need food – No, you’ve had enough. You need to be happy with what I give you.
I need to heal – No, you need to toughen up.
I need chocolate – No, you need a celery stick. Or nothing at all.
Ouch. We’re just big meanies, aren’t we? But our bodies put up with us anyways; they take the abuse and do their best to keep us going. So we keep going. Keep ignoring. Keep demanding. Keep believing that we know best. And in our defense, we honestly do believe that we’re doing what’s best for us – I don’t think anyone chooses to do something that they know will worsen their lot in life, at least, not without some other positive motivating factor. But that’s a whole other topic that I really don’t want to get into now.
Learning to listen to our bodies and trusting what they say is a hard thing to do, especially because we’re constantly being bombarded and influenced by so many other things. Our own fears. People we know. Blogs. Magazines. “Experts”. Scientists… There’s never a shortage of conflicting information being thrown at us from every direction. So who do we listen to? How do we decide what’s right?
Good question.
How about by listening to the one message that never changes. The one message that’s the same whether a low-carb, low-fat, low-this, or low-that diet is currently in style. The one simple message that our body gives us each and every day. This is what I need right now. Short. Simple. Sweet.
Sunflower Stir Fry – recipe coming soon!
But hearing that message isn’t enough. Nuh uh – we have to act on it. And it’s scary; believe me, I know. How can we be sure that our bodies won’t lead us astray? That allowing ourselves to have that slice of cake or that plate of fries won’t open up the flood gates and turn us into a junk food obsessed beast from beyond? Unfortunately, we can’t be sure – at least not until we try it and see what happens.
The sad thing is that we usually don’t try it, and I think a lot of that comes down to the fact that we expect the worst will happen. Instead of thinking “Okay, I’ll have that piece of cake and satisfy my craving”, we think “If I have that piece of cake today, all my healthy eating habits will go out the window and I’ll lose everything I worked so hard for”. A bit extreme? You betcha.
And I’m not trying to come off as all high and mighty, or to say that I was any better. Oh no. I could write an entire encyclopedia about all the strange diet related thoughts and beliefs I adhered to in the past. But if I opened it up today, I’d be able to rip out a lot of the pages because most of those beliefs no longer apply to me. These days, I do my best to listen to what my body is trying to tell me, which isn’t always the easiest thing to do, especially when it’s telling me to eat breakfast three times a day…
But I did it. Sure, I stopped and wondered for a while, but I ended up doing it anyways. And, as you can see from the pictures littered throughout this post, I didn’t turn into some breakfast eating beast from beyond. I satisfied my cravings yesterday, and it was back to “normal” lunch and dinner foods today.
Naturally – nothing forced.
It takes time and practice, but if your body wants something, just try it out and see what happens. It’s not the end of the world if you make a mistake – after all, we learn from every error – and you might just go on to learn something new. Trust me. Or better yet, trust your body. It won’t screw you over. Promise.
Aaaaaand I just wrote a monster of a post. Sorry. But it’s been a while since my last one, so I was due 😀
. – . – . – .
Do you have a hard time trusting your body?
Wow, girl, okay… sorry for the massive amount of comments from me, but you’re 3-for-3 with awesome posts. Why haven’t I found your blog before?! Everything you say is exactly what I need to hear right now; you keep putting words to all the thoughts I have swirling in my head and then reassuring me that they’re okay. I have such an issue with giving my body what I want, because I think I “shouldn’t”… and one major reason I am terribly afraid to start ED recovery is because I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to stop once the weight gain stage is over. But how will I ever know if I don’t try? Thank you so much. Best. Blog. Ever. <3
Linked to this post in my blog for today…your perspective is GREAT!
Linked to this post in my blog for today…your perspective is GREAT!
You are such an inspiration to me. <3
You are such an inspiration to me. <3
Somethig else I strugglewith. Since I need to gain, and zero exercise (though i’m not as skinny minnie as a lot of low-eating, exercising others I see…don’t understand that at all),
anyway,so many seem afraid, andg gain in natural, controlled way. Im all over the place,…eating too much of stuff I …binging at times.
Like I ate full and real big meals and snacks all day. No exercise. And tonight I want granola, and chocolate, etc…
But I feel like I have to go with”safer” foods instead. Cause I cant exercise + serious bowel issues. I think the bowel ssues get worse as I force food and calories. my friend thiks i am crazy to force and count cals and d that i shuld be kind to body and natural. Maybe forcing is all all wrong.
Somethig else I strugglewith. Since I need to gain, and zero exercise (though i’m not as skinny minnie as a lot of low-eating, exercising others I see…don’t understand that at all),
anyway,so many seem afraid, andg gain in natural, controlled way. Im all over the place,…eating too much of stuff I …binging at times.
Like I ate full and real big meals and snacks all day. No exercise. And tonight I want granola, and chocolate, etc…
But I feel like I have to go with”safer” foods instead. Cause I cant exercise + serious bowel issues. I think the bowel ssues get worse as I force food and calories. my friend thiks i am crazy to force and count cals and d that i shuld be kind to body and natural. Maybe forcing is all all wrong.
I am always astounded at how well our bodies know what we truly need. I remember this study where people ate until satiety, only allowed certain things, each with very different calorie densities, and they all stopped at the same calorie level, without even knowing. Their bodies knew! So cool 🙂
Yet I still struggle with thinking I know better than my body. I know rationally that i don’t but it is still hard. Posts like these push me forward though 🙂
I am always astounded at how well our bodies know what we truly need. I remember this study where people ate until satiety, only allowed certain things, each with very different calorie densities, and they all stopped at the same calorie level, without even knowing. Their bodies knew! So cool 🙂
Yet I still struggle with thinking I know better than my body. I know rationally that i don’t but it is still hard. Posts like these push me forward though 🙂
I forgot to say yesterday, but I LOVE that someone else has 3 breakfasts sometimes! I’ve had 3 x oats many times before (albeit in different forms); I thought I was alone in my bfast habit!
I do have a hard time listening to my body – I used to adhere by things like…well, if I’d decided to do x amount of exercise, no questions asked, that is what I’d do – regardless of tiredness, or injury etc – I’ve got better though! I wanted to do 6miles yesterday but in my 4th I thought ‘..nah, no more than 5. You’ve had enough’. I also used to stick to a set meal, as in if i was hungry after it, or wanted more, I wouldn’t. Again, doing better! If I’ve had a big meal but want some cereal straight after, I’ll have it. If I want chocolate before bed, I’ll have it! The body knows what the body needs 🙂
It’s hard to trust the signals when you aren’t sure where they are coming from – your stomach or the anxious brain. Emotional eating is a pain in the… you know what. But if a healthy relationship with food is rebuilt, listening to our bodies will always be the best thing to do.
You ate three breakfasts for a day. I tried eating junk food from the nearest convenience store. I didn’t think that only two days later I would be fed up with it 😀 . So my body too appears to be smarter than I think it is.
Thank you for the inspiring post and enjoy your weekend!
I just discovered your blog and I LOVE it! Beautiful photos and tasty food…will definitely be back soon!
Happy Friday
twitter.com/lizashleeblog
I just discovered your blog and I LOVE it! Beautiful photos and tasty food…will definitely be back soon!
Happy Friday
twitter.com/lizashleeblog
Like the Buddhists say… don’t believe everything you think! 🙂
What an incredible post Amanda! Seriously, this is such a great message that so many people need to open themselves up to, myself absolutely included. Way to listen to your body girl, lead by example! I totally have a hard time trusting my body — and trouble trusting my mind too!
What an incredible post Amanda! Seriously, this is such a great message that so many people need to open themselves up to, myself absolutely included. Way to listen to your body girl, lead by example! I totally have a hard time trusting my body — and trouble trusting my mind too!
amennnn. This post is exactly what I needed to read. You’re such a great support and an inspiration. I feel that some days I have too many options and I don’t know how to pick just one. I’m still stuck in that “I should have savory foods at lunch and dinner” and I end up tricking myself into eating it. Like last night I really sort of wanted a waffle but I talked myself into an egg and a baked potato. It was good but the waffle would have been excellent.
Ah okay i’m dome rambling. Thanks again 🙂
oh how i jus tlove ur post!! they are so helpful to girls out there who are struggling.. i defs listen to my body! oats for dinner? ALL THE TIME!!! an extra spoonful of pb? BRING IT ON!! chocolate at all meals!? Ive done it!!!
oh how i jus tlove ur post!! they are so helpful to girls out there who are struggling.. i defs listen to my body! oats for dinner? ALL THE TIME!!! an extra spoonful of pb? BRING IT ON!! chocolate at all meals!? Ive done it!!!
This just makes so much sense!! I’m having the most difficult time trusting my body. Which makes even more sense because EDs are all about control. I want to control what happens with my body and my life even though I really just can’t!! If my body is hungry, I should just feed it. It will be better in the long run because then I can move myself about the planet and be present in my space as a human being. Honoring my hunger and my body’s needs is important and I am working to hard on doing this. Like you said once on my blog, it’s okay to have breakfast for dinner- it’s good and if it’s what I want, it’s right! I need to learn to trust that food does not = weight gain instantly. I need to shift my mindset to one that acknowledges that the food I put in will go to use in providing energy for my day and nutrients for my bones, heart, muscles, etc and NOT make me gain weight. Plus, food is delicious and it’s even more delicious when I really savor the tastes and tune into what I crave.
Thanks for yet another insightful post. It’s like a little recovery newsletter 😀
Soooooooooooooooooooo true! Sometimes I crave breakfast for lunch like there’s no tomorrow and other days I just cannot stand the thought of something sweet for lunch and that’s ok! Like you say, it’s about listening to the wants and needs of our bodies! I always feel the best, mentally and physically, when I listen to cravings. For so long I ignored all of my body’s cravings and I mechanically ate the same thing every.single.day. What’s more is that I ate the same amount even though some days I wasn’t hungry for it and other days I was starving. Ick. NEVER want to go back to that!!!!!!!!!!
xxx
Soooooooooooooooooooo true! Sometimes I crave breakfast for lunch like there’s no tomorrow and other days I just cannot stand the thought of something sweet for lunch and that’s ok! Like you say, it’s about listening to the wants and needs of our bodies! I always feel the best, mentally and physically, when I listen to cravings. For so long I ignored all of my body’s cravings and I mechanically ate the same thing every.single.day. What’s more is that I ate the same amount even though some days I wasn’t hungry for it and other days I was starving. Ick. NEVER want to go back to that!!!!!!!!!!
xxx
Very insightful post! I’m with you 100%. I too need to trust my body, especially when it’s telling me that I’m tired. I’m guilty of always trying to run on empty….sooner or later, it always catches up with me…
Very insightful post! I’m with you 100%. I too need to trust my body, especially when it’s telling me that I’m tired. I’m guilty of always trying to run on empty….sooner or later, it always catches up with me…
You. are. amazing. Enough said. 🙂
I am currently learning how to trust my body and listen to it. I guess it’s particularly hard when you’ve gone through years and years of telling it that it can’t have anything, forcing it to go into starvation mode and just barely surviving. It’s like having to re-train my whole body again from a child. The past year I have been working on this but particularly the past couple of months because I was scared to eat too much during the day even if my tummy was growling as I wanted a big dinner. Now I’ve finally learnt that actually the body is one amazing and clever thing. It knows what it wants and if you actually listen to it, you will be happier and healthier and you won’t suddenly balloon up if you eat more than you think you should but your tummy was hungry! The body shows signs for a reason – it’s trying to send you a message in it’s own way. If it could talk and shout ‘OMG I’M HUNGRY HERE!’ we wouldn’t ignore it! But it can’t, so we need to look out for the signs that it can give us 🙂
Amennnn 🙂 I definitely learned the hard way- when you don’t trust your body, boy will she retaliate!
Amennnn 🙂 I definitely learned the hard way- when you don’t trust your body, boy will she retaliate!
Aaaah you are SO amazing Amanda!! I used to NEVER listen to my body!! Before, I planned exactly when my meals and snack would be, and it didn’t matter if I was hingrier earlier or not hungry at the time- I’d have to stick to the plan!
Now I can’t deal with the feeling of hunger so eat whenever my tummy growls haha! 😀 And I am now MUCH healthier since I’ve starte listening to and trusting my body 🙂
Aaaah you are SO amazing Amanda!! I used to NEVER listen to my body!! Before, I planned exactly when my meals and snack would be, and it didn’t matter if I was hingrier earlier or not hungry at the time- I’d have to stick to the plan!
Now I can’t deal with the feeling of hunger so eat whenever my tummy growls haha! 😀 And I am now MUCH healthier since I’ve starte listening to and trusting my body 🙂
Beautiful post, Amanda. The message is so fundamental for recovery – we need to learn to not only listen to our bodies, but to trust it and act upon whatever it is telling us.
Our bodies doesn’t know what Shape says, or what is the newest diet- trend in Hollywood. It’s our mind who is influenced by these impulses, while our body and it’s needs are not affected.
Just because Shape says ” Don’t eat this . . . ” doesn’t mean our body agrees and thinks that is a necessary change to our diet. When we crave something sweet, say milk chocolate, we have to build up enough confidence in ourselves and love for ourselves to take a few pieces of chocolate. Not let us be prevented by a fear of never being able to stop. If we give our bodies what it needs in terms of rest and food, it will not need to go “to the extreme”, it is satisfied with a healthy portion of everything.
I am proud to say that I have come a long way in trusting my body. I know when it is hungry, and with that knowledge follows a responsibility to act = give it food. When it wants something fatty, that is what it recieves. When it says : Please, I’m a bit low in energy, can I have some milk chocolate, please? it’s request is fulfilled. Sometimes this cause my mind to struggle with guilt and anxiety, but I can handle that. My body is not to suffer for my mental battles.
Love you Amanda – know that you help a lot of people.
<3
<3 <3 Love you tonnes, Hedda. You've come so far, and I'm so SO proud of you.
Amanda- you are my hero! Your attitude is the most healthy I have ever heard of- your body is just so lucky! As you know, I have a hard time trusting my body! And cravings scares me out, even though I guess cravings often are our bodys voice! I tend to over-analyse it, and most often I end up with what I think is the right thing to eat!
It is so annoying, cause I see my bad habits/mind set so well- still I feel it is so hard to just let go! I just cant do it.. Im so affraid of eating to much, not be a girl (I have this crazy idea that girls should eat little food.. ), make my body un-clean ect!
Reading blogs like yours helps, but I know I have to make the step myself! For me this is work is process! I have come little way these last few weeks, but it is a long way!
Thanks for being amazing<3 Wish you a great weekend!
Cant wait for your Sunflower stir fri-looks delicious!
Amanda- you are my hero! Your attitude is the most healthy I have ever heard of- your body is just so lucky! As you know, I have a hard time trusting my body! And cravings scares me out, even though I guess cravings often are our bodys voice! I tend to over-analyse it, and most often I end up with what I think is the right thing to eat!
It is so annoying, cause I see my bad habits/mind set so well- still I feel it is so hard to just let go! I just cant do it.. Im so affraid of eating to much, not be a girl (I have this crazy idea that girls should eat little food.. ), make my body un-clean ect!
Reading blogs like yours helps, but I know I have to make the step myself! For me this is work is process! I have come little way these last few weeks, but it is a long way!
Thanks for being amazing<3 Wish you a great weekend!
Cant wait for your Sunflower stir fri-looks delicious!
OH it’s definitely a long process. I didn’t get from Point A to Point B very quickly at all, and sometimes it felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere. But if you just make one small change every once in a while, they all start to add up over time, and it gets a lot easier. Promise 🙂
Amanda, this is so amazing! I know so many people struggle with this; I sure do! I have a hard time trusting my body sometimes in terms of rest. I’m always thinking I can do it all! Thankfully I’m starting to become better at listening to what my body needs and craves. There’s no going back once you learn how to do it right!
You eats all look delicious btw; can’t wait for that stir-fry recipe!
gosh your post is so thought-provoking i have just ONE more thing to add (haha i am just blabbing away aren’t i) – ive also realized that trusting myself means sometimes trusting my DESIRES – because when i get too focused on trusting my body, then i get paranoid about whether my stomach TRULY wants this or TRULY wants that – but what if I just want a cookie, even if I’m not necessarily hungry? well heck, if that’s what I want, then I’m gonna have it! life is a lot more enjoyable that way =)
Haha! Love you girlie. But so true. Food def. isn’t just for the body. And if having a cookie, even when you’re not hungry, is gonna make you feel better, then why the hell not have it?!
gosh your post is so thought-provoking i have just ONE more thing to add (haha i am just blabbing away aren’t i) – ive also realized that trusting myself means sometimes trusting my DESIRES – because when i get too focused on trusting my body, then i get paranoid about whether my stomach TRULY wants this or TRULY wants that – but what if I just want a cookie, even if I’m not necessarily hungry? well heck, if that’s what I want, then I’m gonna have it! life is a lot more enjoyable that way =)
Haha! Love you girlie. But so true. Food def. isn’t just for the body. And if having a cookie, even when you’re not hungry, is gonna make you feel better, then why the hell not have it?!
Hi Amanda:
You’ve done it again. You just have this talent for putting difficult or controversial subjects into the right words. I completely understand everything you are saying, and am happy to say I am on my own journey to trying to trust my own body! I am certainly guilty of doing the mind over matter thing, but I;m working on what the bod wants. In fact, I’ve been lately eating more chocolate than I ever would “let myself have” because, well, I like it (what a foreign concept!) It feels nice to have no guilt associated with it, either 🙂
Hi Amanda:
You’ve done it again. You just have this talent for putting difficult or controversial subjects into the right words. I completely understand everything you are saying, and am happy to say I am on my own journey to trying to trust my own body! I am certainly guilty of doing the mind over matter thing, but I;m working on what the bod wants. In fact, I’ve been lately eating more chocolate than I ever would “let myself have” because, well, I like it (what a foreign concept!) It feels nice to have no guilt associated with it, either 🙂