The psychology of good nutrition

One of the most important building blocks of nutritional metabolism is neither a vitamin, nor a mineral, nor a molecule. It’s our relationship with food. It is the sum of our deepest thoughts and feelings about what we eat. In fact, how each of us thinks about eating is so relative that if several people were looking at the same plate of food, no two people would see the same thing or metabolize it the same way.

Let’s say, for example, that we have a plate of pasta, chicken and salad on the table. A woman who wants to lose weight can see calories and fat. She would react positively to salad or chicken, but would look at pasta with fear. An athlete trying to gain muscle mass might look at the same meal and see protein. He would focus on the chicken and ignore the other foods. A vegetarian could see the unpalatable sight of a dead animal and not touch anything on the plate. On the other hand, a chicken farmer would probably be proud to see a good piece of meat. Someone trying to cure disease with diet will see either a potential cure or a potential poison, depending on whether a plate of food is allowed on the chosen diet.

It is interesting that each of them will metabolize the same meal completely differently in response to unique thoughts. In other words, what you think and feel about food can be an equally important determinant of its nutritional value.

The brain does not distinguish a real stressor from an imagined one. If you were to sit alone in a room, happy and content, and start thinking about a person who wronged you many years ago, and if that story still carries a charge for you – your body would quickly go into a physiological stress state – an increased heart rate and blood pressure, accompanied by a decrease in digestive function.

You could be eating the healthiest meal on the planet, but if you have toxic thoughts, food digestion slows down and your metabolism stores more fat. Likewise, you could eat a nutritionally modest meal, but if your head and heart are in the right place, the nutritional power of your food will increase.

Isn’t it just food?

It is important to remember that what we eat affects how we feel, and how we feel and think affects how and what we eat. Unfortunately, in today’s world, what and how we eat is influenced by many factors, such as cultural norms, environmental pressures and family problems. This causes us to irrationally view food as a coping mechanism, when the truth is that using food to cope with stress, boredom, anger, depression or anxiety will only make us feel worse in the long run.

We’ve lost our common sense when it comes to nutrition, and meanwhile we’ve gotten fatter as a nation. Big packages, big plates, big glasses and “jumbo” meals are everywhere we look, tricking us into believing that bigger is better, and not just better, but normal. Think you can resist a “Buy two, get a third free” offer? You can’t, and in fact you’re likely to buy more than you normally would thanks to psychologically engineered supermarkets designed to keep your mind confused, suggestible and led. The “healthy aura” of psychologically sophisticated advertising and psychologically curated restaurants and menus numbs your mind and only makes you think you are eating well. In reality, the food industry has become one big psychological nightmare.

We must be aware that many of the foods we eat are genetically modified to be addictive. With the knowledge we currently have about the negative effects of foods with added unnecessary amounts of sugar and fat, it would be disastrous to approach food as lightly as we did in the past. Studies point to similarities between genetically modified foods and drugs https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3171738/ .

If you’re ready to face the concept of unhealthy eating and take back control, start by establishing nutrition awareness and creating a failure-proof environment with these simple strategies:

• • Decide how much to eat before you eat

  • When eating a larger meal, use a smaller plate

  • Arrange healthy food at eye level in the pantry

  • Always eat in the kitchen or dining room

  • Be the last person to start eating in group meals

  • Eat slowly and put your utensils down between bites

  • Never eat “dangerous” food at home

  • Always choose quality over quantity.

When implementing these steps, keep in mind the importance of balance. There is currently a shallow form of self-love in the self-help community that you should love and celebrate yourself for who you are. I’m here to tell you that you can still love yourself as you are while trying to improve yourself. Loving yourself does not mean accepting yourself at your worst. It means being kind to yourself and respecting yourself throughout your journey in this life. If I can’t devote enough time to make a delicious, balanced meal, I’ll make something as quick as possible, as nutritious and healthy as possible, and move on with my day. My breakfast is fruit and Greek yogurt with ground flax. I choose them for the simple reasons that they are nutritious and most importantly, easily available. Also, healthy food choices make my brain more active.

Poor diet and lack of physical activity not only affect our body physically, but in many cases we also become mentally sluggish.

Making things easier on yourself is one of the most important things you can do to maintain healthy habits.

• • Decide how much to eat before you eat

  • When eating a larger meal, use a smaller plate

  • Arrange healthy food at eye level in the pantry

  • Always eat in the kitchen or dining room

  • Be the last person to start eating in group meals

  • Eat slowly and put your utensils down between bites

  • Never eat “dangerous” food at home

  • Always choose quality over quantity.

When implementing these steps, keep in mind the importance of balance. There is currently a shallow form of self-love in the self-help community that you should love and celebrate yourself for who you are. I’m here to tell you that you can still love yourself as you are while trying to improve yourself. Loving yourself does not mean accepting yourself at your worst. It means being kind to yourself and respecting yourself throughout your journey in this life. If I can’t devote enough time to make a delicious, balanced meal, I’ll make something as quick as possible, as nutritious and healthy as possible, and move on with my day. My breakfast is fruit and Greek yogurt with ground flax. I choose them for the simple reasons that they are nutritious and most importantly, easily available. Also, healthy food choices make my brain more active.

Poor diet and lack of physical activity not only affect our body physically, but in many cases we also become mentally sluggish.

Making things easier on yourself is one of the most important things you can do to maintain healthy habits.