My Food Theory

A question I get asked a lot in the nutrition world is what my personal theory on food and eating is. Well, my theory is simple: eat what makes you happy and listen to your body.

First, I'll explains more clearly what I mean by "eat what makes you happy" and the "listen to your body" component will tie into it. Basically we all enjoy eating certain foods. For me, I love a good piece of chocolate. It always satisfies me. However, if I eat too much, I feel gross after eating it. So I try very hard to not get to that feeling when I indulge.

Usually we do correlate happiness with indulgent foods, like fries or a milkshake, but if healthier foods make you happy (and I really hope they do), that's even greater. I also love eating sweet potatoes, a good ripe mango, corn on the cob, and cooked egg whites. When I get to consume at least one of the foods I just listed, it's a great day. So why do these foods make me so happy? They taste excellent, but I also feel really energized and content after eating them.

My concept about eating what makes you happy goes along with eating mindfully because it's important to consider what you're putting into your body, but it's also important to consider how it makes you feel afterwards. Next time you indulge in a good burger and fries, take a second afterwards to think: Do I feel bloated? Do I feel like I ate too much? Do I regret eating this item? Try to remember this feeling, next time you're choosing what to eat and how much of something to eat to help you make better choices.

Also don't worry, even the healthiest eaters eat indulgent meals, and I'm not at all saying not too. This is just a way to keep from indulging every day.