We have come out of another long winter and I welcome March with open arms. The change of the season and a time to wake our bodies up, days are longer, weather is warmer and I am so looking forward to all that comes with Spring.
March is National Nutrition Month, and I'd like to start by saying I am in no way a dietitian or a food specialist. For someone who has a passion for cooking, eating, and trying new foods I may be a specialist for providing cool restaurant recommendations. Despite my love for food, I have often found myself having a not-so-healthy relationship with food. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say “Who hasn't?” at some point in their life. I’ve dabbled in fad diets, cutting foods out, juice cleanses… the list goes on and on. I’d find myself quickly caving into old ways of eating and binging all the cravings I cut out. The specialists in the area of nutrition speak a lot about finding a balanced diet, one that works for your lifestyle. The strict, very rigid diets were never sustainable for me, I stressed more about what I should or should not be eating, and what time I should start eating and stop eating, it felt like a full-time job. I found myself over the years able to find what works for me. If there was anything I learned in this journey of finding a balanced diet it was honestly how much stress impacted my body and my ability to feel healthy in my body. A majority of it had nothing to do with the food I was consuming, my body was inflamed and my nervous system was a wreck when my mind was constantly racing about what I ate yesterday and what I was allowed to eat today. As I got older and life got busier I thought less and less about what I was allowed and not allowed to eat, so balance within my diet came naturally. I told myself that if 80% of the foods that I eat are deemed “healthy”, do what I want with the other 20% and I do… I enjoy that 20% guilt-free with no punishing myself afterward. Often in our work here at LivingWell, we enjoy hosting and connecting with people over home-cooked meals. Loving people through their stomachs has never been more true here at LivingWell. Food is meant to be enjoyed and even better with great company.
