Our Relationship with Food

The Icing on the Cake

Health and wellness is a big part of The Human Method®. During engagements with organizations or individual clients, I work with a variety of nutritionists, fitness instructors, and medical practitioners to create customized plans. Health and wellness impacts every part of our lives from our cognitive capabilities and energy levels to our physical wellbeing. Beyond the fact that it is the lynchpin to our quality of life, health and wellness is personal to me because it was the hardest phase of The Human Method® for me to work through and in full disclosure I had to move through this work a handful of times before I reached my goal state. There are many components to our health and wellness work, however, the part that I struggled with was building a better relationship with food. This relationship began when I was very young and became one of control or lack of throughout my life. 

I knew that if I could learn to manage my relationship with food that anyone could, so I took a deep dive into the work…. 

Admittedly, I worked through the phases of the Health & Wellness portion several times and struggled a lot before I found my rhythm. First, I allotted myself one cheat day a week and set the intention to be extremely healthy every other day. I love having something to look forward to and can be very disciplined when I know there is a reward awaiting me. However, it did not take much for a trigger to push me into eating an unhealthy meal mid-week, whether it be that I was tired from a long day or merely bored with the foods I had been eating. So, I tried something else, I decided that I would allow myself whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it, but with moderation and respect for my body. I did eat in moderation but many of the foods were not healthy perse and I ended up consuming significantly more calories during this period. I attempted counting calories, only purchasing healthy foods, and many other trial by fire options, nothing worked. Then, I reconnected to a foundational element of The Human Method®-that nothing is a failure, it is only a learning lesson. Through this I realized that there were pieces of everything that I had tried that did work so I put them together. 

Here is what worked:

-Purchasing colorful foods and preparing them myself

-Sunday meal prep for the week

-Producing a playlist of my favorite songs to listen to while cooking

-A habit to only eat on the first floor of my house 

-Instituting family meals 7 days a week

-Creating special moments & experiences around food

-Reading 1 health related book every 2 months

-Tracking my food throughout the day

-16 or more hours of fasting

-Expensive and extremely delicious chamomile, lavender tea as a nightcap

I made the decision to purchase organic, whole foods that made me feel joy. Grocery shopping turned into an anticipated weekly trip, where I spent quality time picking out my foods for the week. I had never gotten into cooking and based on past attempts did not have a lot of confidence in producing a gorgeous 4 course meal, however, there was some pretty basic things that I knew I could do, like roast vegetables. I made the time on Sundays to prepare vegetables for the week and learned to use different spices to create flavor; during this time, I poured a glass of wine and played some Jill Scott or Erykah Badu to create an easy flowing chill vibe. I assessed that a lot of my snacking took place in my upstairs loft area where I liked to watch movies or read magazines, so I instituted a no food policy on the second floor. That way, when I wanted to reach for an unhealthy snack on a Friday night during a movie, I had to inconveniently walk downstairs, eat in the kitchen, and pause the show. This quickly became a pain in the ass which was good because I cut out most of my snacking pretty quickly. What worked was that I had not prohibited myself from the desire, I had just made it really inconvenient, creating more disruption than delight. Family meals created an experience with food rather than a food experience. I made a point to enjoy the meal and take my time chewing and eating while also listening and engaging in dialogue. The table is filled with delicious options from olive oil drizzled over roasted veggies to flavored quinoa and fresh fruit. This has since replaced the last-minute seamless order while watching Netflix, or skipping dinner to only be ravenous the next day and make poor eating choices. 

One of my favorite takeaways has been the health benefits of different herbs and spices. I have had a lot of fun decorating food and adding flavor through the use of difference spice options that also provide an added health advantage. While some may disagree with tracking food throughout the day, this has helped me tremendously. A big piece of this is knowing yourself and what works for you. I enjoy lists, journaling, and tracking, so taking everything I eat into account encourages me to think a little bit deeper about my food decisions. I also fast for at least 16 hours in between dinner and my first meal of the following day, this means that I am usually finished with dinner by 5pm (giving myself enough time to digest before bed) and then appreciating my breakfast smoothie around 9am.

Fasting helps me manage my cravings and allows my body more time to properly digest food. Lastly, I discovered a very pricey yet lovely tea that I enjoy so much. I have one cup a night before bed to bookend my eating patterns for the day. Many times, my sweet tooth kicks in after dinner, so the agreement that I have with myself is that I can have whatever I want after I have a cup of tea first. This usually curbs my sweet tooth and helps me to stay on track. 

This plan is mine and works for me. It will probably be different for you. It is not about the plan but about the process for health and wellness, I encourage everyone to understand what works for them through working through trusting your gut and movement first. You will be more aware when you try different practices, and you will be able to see things that you may have not noticed in the past. When you practice awareness and full body connection you  start to realize that there are triggers that are specific to you and practices that you can put in place that will work. You have to be gentle and patient with yourself because it takes time and the beauty of it is that you will create a program that is specific to you rather than a transient process attached to a superficial promise of change.