Whenever someone decides to embark on a healthy journey, generally they have to make some changes. The extent to which these changes need to be made may depend on the individual's eating habits and lifestyle prior to their decision of moving towards a healthier way of life. A few changes that people tend to make include: decreasing sugar intake, decreasing sodium intake, or they may begin to restrict calories and prescribe their own list of "forbidden foods". All of these changes may have some positive effects, however, without careful attention, individuals may go to extremes, making the process unenjoyable and constraining. They may start to get angry with themselves when they aren't reaching their intended goals. They may start to focus too much on shedding the pounds (if that's the goal, which often times it is). This then leads to relapse because individuals might find these changes unrealistic and hard to adhere to. One advice that I tend to give (as an aspiring health professional) to anyone who asks, is to focus on having a healthy relationship with their body.
In this age of intense media sharing, people are constantly being bombarded with unrealistic images and unrealistic pictures of beauty. Too much emphasis is being placed on being skinny. When in reality the emphasis should be placed on being healthy. Before you start your journey, understand that your body is a temple that it should be respected and loved. Part of respecting and loving your temple involves listening to it. If you are hungry, eat. If your body is telling you that it is full, save the rest for later. Our bodies are very intelligent and specifically programmed to keep itself healthy. It is when we do not listen to it that we meet complications. To add to this, ensure that you are giving yourself grace because things may not be as simple as eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full.
In addition to listening to our bodies, don't be so strict with calorie counting. Restricting calories to the point where you are starving is unhealthy. Moreover, obsessing over calories will eventually cause you to give up because you are not putting enough fuel into your body and your body is crying out for more. As a result you will soon go back to old habits. It is also important to note that weight loss doesn't necessarily translate to healthy.
Your health journey should be free of guilt, fear and restriction and more about joy, ease and curiosity.
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