As I work to enhance my yoga poses through physical flexibility, I have also been exploring how the attitude of flexibility can help improve other aspects of my physical, mental, and emotional self. With nutrition playing such a central role in my life, it was only natural to begin by increasing my flexibility at meal times.
It has become common in the health & fitness industry to tout those who follow extremely regimented and restrictive diets. I had to laugh while writing in a trendy cafe this morning when I heard how many ingredients customers requested to alter or omit in simple breakfast entrees in a quest to make them “healthier” meals. (I too have been that girl!) How can we begin to shift from this idea of healthy eating being restrictive and monotonous, to one of healthy eating being creative, flexible, and interesting?
Flexibility noun, [ flex·i·bil·i·ty / fleksəˈbilədē ] – the quality of bending easily without breaking.
As we begin to bend the rules of dieting, we introduce a sense of ease into our relationships with food. It helps us to expand upon the number of foods we are able to eat, as well as the level of enjoyment we experience from a meal. Invoking a sense of ease at the table will also help to optimize the gut’s absorption of nutrients from food.
What does flexible eating mean to you? Here are are a few points to explore as you work to increase your eating flexibility:
Let go of restrictive calorie counting. When we consistently restrict calories below a level that the body requires to maintain a healthy weight, the body enters survival mode: metabolism slows to conserve energy. Regardless of what the conscious brain says, the body doesn’t trust it has access to the nutrients it needs to survive. When we are physically starving, the body signals for us to grab ANYTHING to eat and it becomes difficult to sense satiety cues. The reason for overeating in response to an overly restrictive diet is not due to a lack of willpower, but rather due to our body’s innate survival response to starvation. If you are a chronic dieter, the best way to “re-set” metabolism is to provide consistent nutrient intake so that the body begins to trust it is not in a state of deprivation. Try to shift your attention from counting calories to focusing on the nutrients offered through the foods you choose.
Give yourself enough vitamin P. Marc David, founder of of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, refers to eating pleasure as “vitamin P”. He encourages us to focus on the importance of receiving pleasure from food in the same way we highlight the importance of consuming vitamins and nutrients from food. Our brains are hardwired to experience pleasure from food. When a restrictive, monotonous diets deprives us of a sense of pleasure, the body reacts bycraving certain foods and the mind becomes inundated with thoughts of food. While food should not be our sole source of pleasure, it is vitally important for the body to enjoy meal times. Experiencing pleasure is one of the ways our physical bodies feel most alive. Begin to gradually reintroduce foods that you truly love. When you are at a restaurant or cafe, try to resist the urge to alter a recipe – enjoy it with all of the delicious ingredients the chef has purposely included.
Increase food variety. One of the best ways to assure the body is receiving all of its micronutrient needs is by varying your food intake. Diets are often so limiting that it becomes difficult to get away from a select few “safe” meal and snack options. How can we possibly experience pleasure at meals if we are constantly eating the same foods? Try exploring different cultural cuisine to introduce new flavors, textures, and spices to your diet. On your trips to the grocery store or farmers market, make it a habit to choose at least 1 new food each time. For those days when you have more free time, try creating a new recipe (maybe one inspired by the new cultural dishes you begin to try).
<3 I want to make an important note for those of you who have food allergies, or who follow a therapeutic diet for disease management (e.g. consistent carbohydrate diet for diabetes / renal diet for kidney disease). In these cases, it is absolutely necessary to limit or avoid certain foods in order to avoid causing damage to your body. That being said, when I educate patients on carbohydrate- or mineral-modified diets, I always try to provide as much flexibility as possible when it comes to menu planning. I often encourage patients to explore adapting recipes to fit within their specific dietary needs to help increase food variety.