Diet? What diet!?

Most of us know the 'rules' about being healthy (you know the one main one about if the amount you eat is not used it will be stored - the body is soooo clever) so I won't insult anyone's intelligence by talking about the dirty 'c' word - calories.

The main issue for most of us living in the West is that there appears to have been a distancing from our relationship with food.

Food is so closely related to nurturing and survival is therefore seated deep in our emotional and psychological world as the most primary of all our needs - one of the first innate instincts a baby has is to search for the mother's breast for milk and born knowing how to suckle.

Our feelings of being safe, loved, accepted and connected are closely bound up with food. Having food in our bellies and feeling at peace with the world are linked. No wonder then that that instinct can become askew when under stress or emotionally distressed food is ingested to soothe and make us feel at peace with the world again.

Over time this learnt behaviour can lead to food becoming the anaesthetic needed to calm a frayed nervous system, upsets about work, or heartache at the end of a relationship or just curb boredom. Yes we really can be addicted to food. Alongside this is the loss of skills in making food from scratch and the aspect of food being part of a social event rather than a rushed inconvenience dealt with by eating convenience foods!

That diet is not going to work:

We all know that diets; that is reducing or curtailing the amount of intake we are used to, does not work. When we seriously restrict our food intake or go hungry the body-mind goes into survival mode and as soon as you start to eat normally again the body 'hangs onto the food' because it thinks there will be a famine soon and it needs to store the food/energy for your survival .

No wonder then that binge dieters will lose weight quickly but then put on more and become heavier after every subsequent diet.

The issue here is to change our attitude about food - here are some tips:

Learn to cook:

Yes we all have busy lives and need to sometimes just 'heat and serve' but give yourself a couple of days in the week or weekend where you can devote some time to cooking from scratch and making a meal of it. Since 'food science' has no longer been taught in schools, basic skills in cooking have been lost - only a small number of 25 years old know how to cook a chicken! So be inspired by some of the TV chefs, get a basic cookbook or join an evening class and learn some valuable life skills.

Sit and eat:

In our busy lives most of us have to wolf down a sandwich whilst on the computer or running from one place to another.

This disconnection with food has a detrimental effect. It takes 20 minutes from the start of your meal for your mind to register that you are eating and for blood sugar levels to stablise and for you to start feeling satisfied; if you are eating on the run you are likely to have to eat more before you begin to feel full. Japan has very low obesity rates and have a very reverential attitude to food - think of the lengthy tea ceremonies. The cars for the Japanese market have no cup holders!

It is taboo for them to eat on the run. So even if you are busy and have to eat at the desk, just move away from the computer, go wash your hands! put your sandwich on a plate and get a mug of peppermint tea and eat your sandwich without doing something else as well.

Taste the flavours of the bread and the filling, look at the food as you are eating it, taste and savour every mouthful. Afterwards take a short stroll around the building if at work or walk in your garden for a few contemplative moments to help the digestive process

Chew, chew, chew:

There is reason why we have teeth for tearing, chopping and grinding! The key part of the digestive process starts in your mouth. So take your time to chew the food until it becomes mush in your mouth before you swallow. You might find that your slow eating friends are thinner and healthier than those who eat their food at breakneck speed. Slow down when you drink liquids too, take small sips. Gandhi said we should 'drink the solid foods we eat and chew the liquids we are drinking!' To further help your digestion never drink water etc with your meals, drink liquids 20 minutes before or after a meal - otherwise you are diluting the juices in your stomach which can interfere with the digestive process.

Make a meal of it:

On a regular basis invite a good friend or friends and either cook together or spend the time cooking a slap up meal and spend the evening together enjoying food and laughter. This will help you to see food as a sharing, joyful event and to experiment cooking different recipes.

Dead Food:

In the West there is no shortage of food, in fact food from all over the world is available in and out of season. And yet recent reports show that many of us are as malnourished as someone living in a poverty stricken area of the world!

The rise in convenience foods has attributed to this - most are what is often referred to as 'dead food' as it has minimal nutrients but is full of sugar, bad fats and salt. So even if you are in a hurry how about having an omelette on wholemeal toast with onions and mushrooms instead of a pot noodle!

And it would probably take a similar amount of time to prepare. Even shop brought sandwiches can be full of fats. So if you are at work prepare your meal for lunch the night before. In a plastic tub prepare a salad; lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber etc, put in a cut wedge of fresh lemon for dressing, some sunflower seeds, drained tin of tuna, a dollop of Greek yoghurt instead of mayonnaise.

Take a thick wedge of whole meal bread. In the winter make a homemade vegetable soup and take to work in a big flask.

The body knows what to do:

We have a natural mechanism in the body that lets us know when we are hungry and when we are full. Most of us have learnt to eat by the clock or eat until there is nothing left on the plate. In order to change our attitude it is important to re-educate and reset this innate knowledge in the body so that we can recognise the hunger feelings and the stop eating when we begin to feel satisfied.

As I explained earlier it can take up to 20 minutes for the signal of 'full' to get to your brain. If we learn to slow down and eat consciously (that is not eating whilst watching TV, driving, working, on the computer etc) but savouring and being with the food, then we can recognise this signal easily

Oh the guilt... the guilt:

'ooh I know I shouldn't but I will... it's naughty but nice...its my secret stash of sweets...I was so upset I sat and had a whole packets of biscuits...then I felt sooo bad'

When we trust our mind-body it often knows what to do - when we have a craving or fancy a particular food it is our body wanting those foods to sustain itself ; we may be craving sweet sugary things because the body needs it to feel energetic.

When I was pregnant I used to get cravings to eat 'soil!' as you might know this is a common phenomenon called 'pica' and results from the body desiring certain minerals. Luckily for my babies and for myself I didn't give in to this craving although I did have recurrent dreams about rushing into the garden armed with a big spoon!

Most of the normal cravings are for foods often associated with childhood 'partying' such as sweets, cakes, cola, crisps; perhaps us hankering back to times of joys or happiness.

Most of us know what is good and bad foods - and once we try to restrict ourselves we have a sabotaging part of us, 'the rebellious self' that then kicks back after a time of restraint and binges on the forbidden food.

So how about telling yourself that nothing is forbidden - even cakes etc but that you will eat when you are hungry and stop when satisfied. Even a chocolate bar can be eaten mindfully - look at it, savour it, feel the textures in your mouth, eat really slowly, take in the aromas. In this way you are not guiltily shoving the chocolate down but you are actually enjoying it.

Consult your Stomach:

For many people food is their enemy. See food as a joy but don't be consumed with it. Get on with your life. When you start to feel hungry literally ask your self 'what do I fancy eating now?' and connect with the feelings in your stomach/solar plexus area and more often than not you will get a sensation or feeling of what you need to eat. You will have come some way when you start answering ' I fancy fresh pasta in a tomato sauce with some lovely olives'

Relax your body is very wise indeed