Have poor sleep, bad digestion, cystic acne and extreme fatigue? IT’S NOT NORMAL! Your aggravating symptoms may be a sign that something within your body may be out of balance and/or not being cop-aesthetic with a food you’re eating. Our bodies have the amazing, albeit sometimes painful, ability to tell you that something you’re currently doing isn’t working. There are many steps one can take to get started on creating a path to wellness and getting back into balance, but for now, I’m going to cover just one of them because this step is so important that it needs to have a post of its own.
The first, and dare I say most important step, is listening to your body’s cues. What do I mean by listening to your body’s cues you ask? It’s putting away any distractions (i.e. phone, chores, t.v., etc…) and really tuning in to what your body may or may not be telling you. An example of a way you can do this is to start paying close attention to how you feel before and after a meal; do you get gassy and bloated afterwards? does your heart rate increase? do you get cystic acne that graciously pops up on your face a few days after eating cheese?
If you answered yes to any of the above and then some, then it may be time to re-evaluate what your current lifestyle habits are and change them. An easy way to get started is to start keeping a log or journal with what you eat during the day and how you feel afterwards. If there is a trend to a certain food, such as an increase of acne after eating dairy, then try reducing or eliminating that food for a period of time to see how you feel. Also, focusing on foods is only just one of the starting points-you can also keep track of moods, pain and energy levels, and how often you poop (yes, pay attention to your poop-how often you go and what it looks like can tell you many things about your current state of health).
The biggest takeaway that I want you to remember, is that listening to your body’s cues and being proactive to follow through on them, is one of the most important gifts you can do for your health; especially if you want to give your body a solid foundation on which to thrive on in the long run.