Eating... My Thoughts

I love eating.

That's a fact. I love, love, love, love, love eating. Eating provides our body with the fuel it needs to sustain itself and do all the extra wonderful things we want it to. Like walking. Talking. Thinking. Studying. Dancing. laughing. Clapping. Exercising.

Food is fuel, nothing more and yet we as a society seem to pin so much more to it. It's a reward. It's a guilty treat. It's a secret binge. It's an off-limits bite. It's an 'allowed' food.

Breakfast should be protein heavy. Minimal fruits. Eaten before a certain time. A portion of this many grams.

Lunch always happens after 12. Lean proteins. Little carbs. Veggies.

Snacks. Only rarely. The right kind. Veg.

Dinner before 6. Light. lightest meal of the day. Not high in fat.

No dessert.

Is this the eating plan we really want to be following for the rest of our lives? I won't lie, it was a similar plan I used to have in my head when I first starting falling into my orthorexia trap and yet it's my eating philosophy now-a-days that I really want to talk about today.

Now-a-days, I eat to my body. Yep, weird sentence. What I mean is, I eat to my bodies desires, it's intentions, it's wants and needs, because who better knows how to feed itself than the thing being fed? And what does that look like?

Breakfast: Whatever time the body hits the hunger mode! Generally large, generally whatever the body feels like. Fruits? Huge fruit smoothie! Protein? Thick, gooey, choc protein oats! Crunchy? Home-made granola! Always full of nutritious, fibrous, body-loving goodness

Lunch: Whatever time the body has finished digesting breakfast and is in need of some more fuel to tackle some more of the day! Maybe that's 12 on the dot. maybe it's more like 11am. perhaps it's not til 1:30pm. And then it's a sandwich. A salad. roast veggies. Soup. Smoothie. Hommus. Beans. You get the drift? Anything!

Sometimes breakfast was so big and filling that all I want for lunch is veg! Roasted potatoes, steamed peas and a stick of celery because I wanted some hydration!

Sometimes it's the simple things that truly hit the spot the best. So why fight it?

Snack: Essential for me to make it through to dinner. Generally fruit because that's what the body craves (natural sugar pick-me-up anyone?) sometimes soy milk and dates, or nuts. Whatever time the hunger hits.

Dinner: Anything. Any time.

I think it's definitely occurred to me a lot more recently that going with what the body wants will leave me feeling so much more satisfied and happy when eating. Even if that means not eating any spinach one day. Or if that means a lunch of steamed potatoes... :)

Sure, the critical, health-conscious, perfectionist part of us look at that and think; that is so unbalanced- waaayyy too many carbs, hardly any protein, no fats- what is this girl thinking! But then the body simply sits back and goes; you know what, this is what I needed right then and there. Nothing more, nothing less.

Dessert:
Happens almost nightly. Not because I have to fit in some certain nutrients, not because I have restricted throughout the day to enjoy that sweet treat after dinner, not because I'm necessarily all that hungry after a beautifully nourishing (both physically and/or mentally & emotionally) dinner, but because it makes me happy to nom on some dark chocolate, or a handful of deliciously creamy cashews, or a mug of sweet ice cold soy milk.

Recently, my eating has been a heck of a lot more focused on simple, minimal ingredients, meals, because that's what the body is telling me it wants. It doesn't follow any rules, time constraints, common held societal ideals. Nope. If I want a big bowl of brown rice, warm chickpeas, avocado and salsa for dinner... than that's what dinner will be:

There will be no questioning the carb content, the limited veggies, the size of the bowl or the time in which it is eaten.

Eating is simple. My body wanted this. My body felt good after eating this. Food that nourishes and feeds the food is not always the same as the 'accepted' meal plans deemed by society.

In conclusion?

Eat for you.

Not for some meal plan guaranteeing the 'perfect body'. Because there is no such thing.

Your turn:
What's your method of eating? Structured? No structure? 
Do you ever fall into the meal time trap? I still struggle with this on the daily; I won't lie, but I have definitely become a lot better at telling myself if I'm hungry the body needs to eat, no matter if lunch was merely an hour ago!
Favourite simple meal? At the moment mine is that rice and bean, avocado, salsa mix, but I'm also a big fan of baked sweet potatoes, or toast with vegemite and avo.

Ahhh. That felt good to get off my chest! Alrighty, have yourself a great day, eat for YOU and only for you, fill your belly with fresh, wholesome, nourishing foods (for the body and the mind!) and tell a loved one that you love them, because I feel that's something we forget do far too often and it's far too important to forget! Bye for now beautiful people!! :D