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How often do you eat what your body really needs? Have you ever \u201ccaught\u201d yourself eating for the sake of eating? Not because you were hungry, but because you felt anxiety, or anguish, or simply because you needed to keep busy doing something and you started eating? Or maybe you eat and eat and eat and the hunger never seems to go away? If you recognize yourself in that (I think most of us have fallen into the trap), I suggest you keep reading and perhaps you will discover some useful tips that will help you understand it (and yourself).<\/p>\n
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Becoming aware of what I eat and why I eat it<\/strong><\/p>\n Maybe you already know that you don\u2019t eat as well as you would like, or you don\u2019t eat as you \u201cshould\u201d. It is very important that, before trying to change your diet, you become aware of what you eat. If I asked you what you had for dinner last night, could you answer me in fewer than 10 seconds? And if I asked you what you ate 2 days ago? In reality, we tend to eat like programmed robots, like machines that gobble up food without paying attention to or being aware of what we are eating. However, we are aware of the television, our mobile phones\u2026 aware of a thousand things, except what is truly important, what we are eating. I propose a very simple exercise so that you can begin to become aware of how you are eating: For the next few days (between 3-7 days, whatever you can commit to doing), write down in a notebook EVERYTHING you eat, from your main meals to the nuts you ate mid-morning, or the little square of chocolate before bedtime, to the piece of cake your child didn\u2019t finish and (rather than throwing it away) you ended up eating\u2026 Simply note it in the notebook. Don\u2019t stop yourself from eating it, don\u2019t change anything, don\u2019t judge yourself\u2026 Just TAKE NOTE. At the end of this period, read EVERYTHING you have eaten.\u00a0 And observe: What do you think? At a glance, does it seem healthy for you? How could you improve it? Surely there are foods that, without me needing to tell you, you already sense (or know) are not healthy for you. And here is where it starts to get really interesting\u2026 if you know they aren\u2019t healthy for you, WHY do you eat them? With what purpose do you eat those unhealthy foods? Here are some clues\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Foods and emotions<\/strong><\/p>\n What we eat and what we feel go completely hand-in-hand. When you were a baby and you were hungry, you cried so your mother would feed you and fill that physical emptiness you felt in your stomach. Thus, food filled a void. Originally, this void was physical (the stomach is empty, I feel hunger, I fill my stomach and the feeling of emptiness disappears), but symbolically, as the years go by, this emptiness becomes an emotional emptiness. Maybe when you were a child you didn\u2019t feel seen or supported by your parents; maybe at school classmates laughed at you and your self-esteem was not very high; maybe you lacked hugs and kisses\u2026 All of these shortcomings create a feeling of emptiness (that we sometimes feel in the stomach) and we feel the need to fill that void. By association, we try to fill it with food (like when our mother fed us as babies), but this emotional void cannot be filled with all the food in the world! In general, when we eat foods compulsively (and not due to a real, physiological need), we usually feel the need to eat junk food (candy, chocolates, chips, the greasier the better\u2026). So, I am asking you the same question as before: WHY do you eat what you eat? See if you can identify some emptiness, something that you want to run away or escape from, and see if there is a feeling of anxiety or anguish before eating. Notice if there is stress in your life. Notice when you binge eat; try to remember if something has happened before, or if you would like something to be different and you cannot or do not know how to change it. Just observe and realize what is going on when you eat\u2026 Generally, our diet tells us a lot about how we feel on an emotional level. There are certain foods that we tend to eat when we feel sad or down, others that we tend to eat when we are tired or anxious (does chocolate sound familiar? It\u2019s a classic\u2026). So, we could say that you choose what you eat according to your mood. Do you agree? Then maybe now you can answer the question of WHY you eat what you eat: to not feel sad; to not feel tired; to not feel anguish or anxiety\u2026 See if that is true for you. Just observe\u2026 What if I told you that, in reality, the foods you eat could be the cause of your moods? That is, certain foods can make you sad or irritable, or make you feel an overwhelming tiredness, or make you anxious\u2026 Have you ever thought about this? I\u2019ll tell you why\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The intestine is our second brain<\/strong><\/p>\n Millions of \u201cbugs\u201d (bacteria) live in our intestine, forming our intestinal flora, or microbiota. This intestinal flora is necessary for our body to function properly, but it must be in balance with the environment. If your intestinal flora is not balanced, there is, among other issues, an alteration of serotonin levels. You are probably familiar with serotonin because it is known as one of the \u201chappiness hormones\u201d (in reality, it is not a hormone, but a neurotransmitter, although it works as a hormone). Relatively recent studies have demonstrated that 90% of the body\u2019s serotonin is formed in the gut, and only 10% in the brain, so good intestinal health is essential for a good state of mental and physical health. That is why we talk about the intestine as our second brain and that is also why our diet influences (much more than you imagine) your emotions and your health in general. There are some foods that can alter your intestinal flora and, as a result, you may have symptoms like feeling sad, apathetic, short-tempered, etc. without any apparent external cause. Quite probably, the cause is in your gut. With time, these emotional symptoms can turn into physical symptoms (muscle aches, headaches, abdominal swelling, etc.) for which you cannot find an explanation beyond that of \u201cstress\u201d.<\/p>\n What foods are healthy for me, and what foods are not?<\/p>\n I am not a fan of \u201cmagic recipes\u201d, since you are unique and, therefore, so are your needs, but I can give you some dietary guidelines to improve your health\u2026 I suggest you try it for two or three weeks and see if you notice any changes:<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reduce (and if you can, eliminate) white sugar from your diet. You can replace it with whole cane sugar or honey, which are much healthier.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reduce gluten (especially wheat flour). You can replace it with spelt flour, which contains less gluten and is usually better digested.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reduce your intake of cow\u2019s milk. There are many people who are lactose intolerant and don\u2019t know it!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Action plan<\/strong><\/p>\n Before you start thinking about everything I have told you and start making drastic changes in your diet, remember that the first step is to BE AWARE and observe how you are feeling. To do this, start with the exercises I suggested today:<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 Write down in a notebook EVERYTHING you eat during the next few days, no need to change anything.<\/p>\n 2. Observe which foods on your list are NOT HEALTHY (you can underline them on your list), when you eat them, where you are when you eat them, etc.<\/p>\n 3. Finally (and just as importantly), ask yourself WHY you eat them (to calm anxiety, to stop feeling sad, to keep yourself busy, to stop thinking, etc.)<\/p>\n When you are more conscious of your eating, perhaps something will change in you, and changes in your eating habits will have a clearer and deeper meaning for you, so you will be much more convinced and motivated to make these changes\u2026 and, as result, it will be easier to improve your diet and your health. If so, this article will have fulfilled its purpose\u2026 Leave me a comment with your opinion or with any questions that come up for you. I would be thrilled to read and respond to your comments! If you want to know more about eating for health, you can click here to discover my Eating for Health plan.Thank you for reading\u2026 Until next time!<\/p>\n \u00a0Judith Benavent<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How often do you eat what your body really needs? Have you ever \u201ccaught\u201d yourself eating for the sake of eating? Not because you were hungry, but because you felt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"Alimentaci\u00f3n saludable para aumentar tu bienestar emocional<\/h3>\r\n\u00bfCu\u00e1ntas veces comes realmente lo que tu cuerpo necesita? \u00bfAlguna vez te has \u201cpillado\u201d comiendo por comer? no porque tengas hambre sino porque sientes ansiedad, o angustia, o, simplemente porque necesitas estar ocupad@ haciendo algo y te pones a comer? \u00bfO quiz\u00e1s comes y comes y comes y el hambre parece no desaparecer nunca?\r\n\r\nSi te reconoces en eso (creo que la mayor\u00eda hemos \u201cca\u00eddo en la tentaci\u00f3n\u201d), te propongo seguir leyendo, quiz\u00e1s descubras cosas \u00fatiles que te ayuden a entender(te)\u2026\r\n
Tomar conciencia de lo que como y para qu\u00e9 lo como<\/h2>\r\nQuiz\u00e1s ya tengas claro que no comes tan bien como te gustar\u00eda o no comes como \u201cdeber\u00edas\u201d. Es de vital importancia, antes de intentar cambiar tu alimentaci\u00f3n, que tomes conciencia de qu\u00e9 comes. Si te pregunto, qu\u00e9 cenaste antes de ayer, \u00bfpodr\u00edas responderme en menos de 10 segundos? Y si te pregunto, \u00bfqu\u00e9 comiste hace 5 d\u00edas? En realidad, solemos comer como robotitos programados, como m\u00e1quinas que engullen sin poner atenci\u00f3n ni conciencia en lo que estamos comiendo. Sin embargo, estamos pendientes de la televisi\u00f3n, del m\u00f3vil\u2026 pendientes de mil cosas, menos de lo verdaderamente importante, lo que estamos comiendo.\r\n\r\nTe propongo un ejercicio muy muy sencillo para que empieces a tomar conciencia de c\u00f3mo es tu alimentaci\u00f3n: Durante los pr\u00f3ximos d\u00edas (entre 3 y 7 d\u00edas, lo que puedas comprometerte a hacer), anota en una libreta TODO lo que comes, desde las principales comidas, hasta los frutos secos de media ma\u00f1ana, o el trocito de chocolate antes de acostarte, pasando por el pastelito \u00a0que tu hijo no se ha terminado y (por no tirarlo) has terminado comi\u00e9ndote t\u00fa\u2026 Simplemente, an\u00f3talo en la libreta\u2026 no dejes de comerlo, no cambies nadan, no te juzgues\u2026 s\u00f3lo TOMA NOTA.\r\n\r\nAl finalizar esos d\u00edas, lee TODO lo que has comido. Y observa\u2026\u00bfQu\u00e9 te parece? As\u00ed, a simple vista, \u00bfte parece saludable para ti? \u00bfC\u00f3mo podr\u00edas mejorarlo? Seguro que hay alimentos que, sin necesidad de que yo te lo diga, ya intuyes (o sabes) que no son saludables para ti. Y aqu\u00ed empieza lo realmente interesante\u2026 Si sabes que no son saludables para ti, \u00bfPARA QU\u00c9 te los comes? Mira bien la pregunta, no me importa tanto el POR QU\u00c9, sino el PARA QU\u00c9. \u00bfCon qu\u00e9 objetivo comes esos alimentos poco saludables? Es una pregunta rara, \u00bfverdad? \u00bfTe descoloca? \u00bfTe cuesta responderla? Te doy algunas pistas\u2026\r\n
ALIMENTOS Y EMOCIONES<\/h2>\r\nLo que comemos y c\u00f3mo nos sentimos van completamente de la mano.\r\n\r\nCuando eras un beb\u00e9 y ten\u00edas hambre, llorabas para que tu mam\u00e1 te alimentara y llenara ese vac\u00edo f\u00edsico que sent\u00edas en tu est\u00f3mago. As\u00ed que, la comida llenaba un vac\u00edo. Originariamente, este vac\u00edo es f\u00edsico (el est\u00f3mago est\u00e1 vac\u00edo, siento hambre, lleno mi est\u00f3mago y la sensaci\u00f3n de vac\u00edo desaparece), pero simb\u00f3licamente, a medida que pasan los a\u00f1os, este vac\u00edo se transforma en vac\u00edo emocional. Quiz\u00e1s, cuando eras un@ ni\u00f1@ no te sentiste vist@ o apoyad@ por tus padres; quiz\u00e1s en el cole se re\u00edan de ti y tu autoestima no andaba muy fina; quiz\u00e1s te faltaron abrazos y besos\u2026 Todas esas carencias crean una sensaci\u00f3n de vac\u00edo (a veces la sentimos en el est\u00f3mago) y, nos surge la necesidad de llenar ese vac\u00edo. Por asociaci\u00f3n, intentamos llenarlo con comida (como cuando de beb\u00e9s nuestra madre nos alimentaba), pero este vac\u00edo emocional no se llena ni con toda la comida del mundo!\r\n\r\nPor lo general, cuando comemos alimentos por compulsi\u00f3n (y no por necesidad fisiol\u00f3gica real) solemos necesitar lo que yo llamo \u201cmarranadas\u201d (golosinas, chocolates, patatas fritas cuanto m\u00e1s grasientas mejor\u2026). As\u00ed que, te voy a volver a hacer la pregunta de antes: \u00bfPARA QU\u00c9 comes lo que comes? Mira si puedes identificar alg\u00fan vac\u00edo, algo de lo que quieras huir o escapar, mira si hay sensaci\u00f3n de ansiedad o angustia antes de comer. Observa si hay estr\u00e9s en tu vida. Observa en qu\u00e9 momentos comes compulsivamente; intenta recordar si ha pasado algo antes o si te gustar\u00eda que algo fuera diferente y no puedes o no sabes c\u00f3mo cambiarlo. S\u00f3lo observa y date cuenta de lo que te pasa cuando comes\u2026\r\n\r\nGeneralmente, nuestra alimentaci\u00f3n dice mucho de c\u00f3mo nos sentimos a nivel emocional. Hay ciertos alimentos que solemos comer cuando nos sentimos tristes o deca\u00eddos, otros que solemos comer cuando estamos cansados, o ansiosos (\u00bfte suena el chocolate? es uno t\u00edpico)\u2026 As\u00ed que podr\u00edamos decir que eliges lo que comes seg\u00fan tu estado de \u00e1nimo. \u00bfEst\u00e1s de acuerdo?\u00a0 Entonces, quiz\u00e1s ya puedas contestar a la pregunta PARA QU\u00c9 comes lo que comes: para no sentirte triste; para no sentirte cansad@; para no sentir angustia o ansiedad\u2026 Observa si eso es verdad para ti\u2026 s\u00f3lo observa\u2026\r\n\r\n\u00bfY si te dijera que, en realidad, los alimentos que comes pueden ser los causantes de tu estado de \u00e1nimo? Es decir que, ciertos alimentos pueden ponerte triste, o irritable, o hacerte sentir un cansancio abrumador, o pueden angustiarte\u2026. \u00bfAlguna vez hab\u00edas pensado en esto?\r\n\r\nTe voy a contar por qu\u00e9\u2026\r\n
El Intestino es Nuestro Segundo Cerebro<\/h2>\r\nEn nuestro intestino viven millones de \u201cbichitos\u201d (bacterias) que forman nuestra flora intestinal o microbiota. La flora intestinal es necesaria para que nuestro organismo funcione correctamente, pero debe estar en equilibrio con el medio. Si tu flora intestinal no est\u00e1 equilibrada, hay, entre otros, \u00a0una alteraci\u00f3n de los niveles de serotonina. Seguramente te suena la serotonina por ser conocida como una de las \u201chormonas de la felicidad\u201d (en realidad no es una hormona sino un neurotransmisor, pero funciona como hormona). \u00a0Estudios relativamente recientes, han demostrado que el 90% de la serotonina se forma en el intestino, y solo un 10% en el cerebro, por lo que una buena salud intestinal es imprescindible para un buen estado mental y emocional. Es por eso que se habla del intestino como nuestro segundo cerebro y es por eso tambi\u00e9n que nuestra alimentaci\u00f3n influye (m\u00e1s de lo que te imaginas) en tus emociones y en tu salud en general.\r\n\r\nHay algunos alimentos que pueden alterar tu flora intestinal, y como consecuencia, puedes tener s\u00edntomas como sentirte triste, ap\u00e1tic@, irascible\u2026 sin que haya una causa externa aparente. Muy probablemente, la causa est\u00e9 en tu intestino. A la larga, estos s\u00edntomas emocionales pueden transformarse en s\u00edntomas f\u00edsicos (dolores musculares, jaquecas, hinchaz\u00f3n abdominal, etc.) a los que no encuentras explicaci\u00f3n m\u00e1s all\u00e1 del \u201cestr\u00e9s\u201d.\r\n
\u00bfQu\u00e9 alimentos son saludables para m\u00ed y qu\u00e9 alimentos no lo son?<\/h2>\r\nYo no soy nada amiga de las \u201crecetas m\u00e1gicas\u201d ya que t\u00fa eres \u00fanic@ y, por lo tanto, tus necesidades tambi\u00e9n lo son, pero s\u00ed puedo darte algunas pautas de alimentaci\u00f3n para mejorar tu salud\u2026 Te propongo que lo pruebes durante una semana y veas si hay alg\u00fan cambio para ti:\r\n
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Plan de Acci\u00f3n<\/h2>\r\nAntes de ponerte a darle vueltas a todo esto que te he contado y te pongas a hacer cambios dr\u00e1sticos en tu dieta, recuerda que el primer paso es PONER CONCIENCIA EN TU ALIMENTACI\u00d3N ACTUAL y observar c\u00f3mo te sientes. Para ello empieza hoy mismo con los ejercicios que te he propuesto:\r\n
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