Tip of the Week

By Maureen Wielansky
www.savoryou.com 


Society views weight gain as the enemy yet waging a war on your weight guarantees more weight gain. Your body senses the stress you feel and turns on cortisol to keep you fit for this war. What if your body used weight gain to get your attention? Weight gain clues you to something being out of alignment. Luckily, getting back into alignment can be fast when you follow these 5 steps for eating that nourish your body and soul while satisfying your taste buds.

• Step 1: Visit Diets Past:  Although diets are dishonoring, they also provide insights into what works and does not. Pull out a sheet of paper and make 3 columns. Label the first column "Diet," the second column "What I liked," and the third "What I didn't like." Next, brainstorm all the diets that you have tried and evaluate what worked and didn't. You have just listed powerful data that you can use to create an individualized plan that honors you.

• Step 2: Master Your Hunger and Satisfaction: Eating quickly, not chewing, and multitasking while eating has disconnected you from hunger. This frenzied way of eating gives your taste buds little time to taste the food and tricks your brain into believing that it never ate. Stop this insanity by reuniting with hunger and satisfaction. All you need is to put the phone away, hide the remote, and sit at a table.  Place your hand on your gut and ask: "Am I hungry?" If so, then ask: "What do I want to eat?" Plate that meal, sit down, eat per the 5-4-3 ask. Take 5 mindful bites. After the 5th bite, place you hand on your gut and ask: "Am I still hungry?" If so, repeat the process, with 4 bites. When you are no longer hungry, the meal is over. By chewing, listening, and tasting your body will be satisfied with less food.

• Step 3: Cut Out Gluten, Dairy, and Sugar: These foods are not "bad," however they are powerful. Unless you have an addictive or allergic reaction to these foods, they are ok in moderation. Unfortunately, our food supply is full of these and they are cluttering communication between your gut and your brain. Let them go for a specified amount of time.

• Step 4: Bring Back Gluten, Dairy, and Sugar Methodically while Tracking Symptoms: After 21 days, you will feel great! Your energy will be high and your brain fog will be gone. You may choose not to add these back, however, if you do, you must follow a specific protocol.  For example, during the first week, you will add back a tiny amount of sugar and pay attention to how your body responds. It is important to add one substance at a time because it could take your body up to 72 hours to react. If you are adding back multiple substances, you won't be able to track which is the culprit.

• Step 5: Create New Way of Eating: You now know what works and does not work... Instead of focusing on what you cannot have, let's focus on the foods you CAN eat with a plate! Eating with a plate takes all the guesswork out of portion control because you don't need to weigh and measure your food. You can eat with a plate at your favorite restaurants, while traveling, and at home. The next time you have a meal: fill half of your plate with vegetables, then split the other half into two more sections for your lean protein and grains. 

You can use this plate to create a meal that honors your body and your taste buds. For example, if you are practicing low carb eating, simply double your protein. Practicing eating with the plate allows you to eat anywhere without needing to measure or weigh food. As a busy professional, you can use this technique while traveling and eating out. It is a simple and powerful way to eat what you want without eating too much. 

Creating a diet that honors you requires no heavy equipment, pricey programs or weird potions. You already hold the power to heal you!



Maureen Wielansky is the leader of the Dancing with the Divine Sisterhood where women lock arms as they jump off the Diet bandwagon and rebel against restrictions and rules so they can create their own unique recipe for healing and health. To start your healing journey, Download Dancing with the Divine: How to Co-Create your Divine Plan for Healing your Relationship with Food by going to www.savoryou.com/dancingwiththedivine. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.