When healthy habits become ineffective

I wanted to chat about something that has been on my heart recently. I was thinking back to different seasons of my own health journey when I felt overwhelmed, discouraged and so stressed about eating all the right things. How a diet became a part of my identity, to the point that people teased and joked about things not being “paleo”. There was this sense of shame associated with me eating a cookie for example because of what said people would think. I felt trapped by other’s expectations, real or not and it consumed me.

I wasn’t then aware of how the stress of it all could be inhibiting my body from properly getting the nutrients I was consuming. When stress is on, and we are in this state of fight-flight-freeze, our digestion is down-regulated, meaning it isn’t able to function optimally. If we can’t get the nutrients we need from the food we consume, other systems of the body can’t be supported effectively. I address stress with each of my clients because it has such an impact on overall health. It could look different for each person. With regards to those of you that are struggling to figure out foods that don’t irritate your stomach or feel trapped by a certain diet, I empathize with you and you are not alone. Whether your motive is to feel better or look better, I have worn both pairs of shoes.

I can honestly say it’s something I still have to work through but going through nutrition school helped me to see health through a different lens. I became so much more caring and gentle with my body, turned inward to bodily cues and symptoms to support as necessary. Instead of whipping it into shape or obedience with crazy diets or intense exercises, I looked at the areas of dysfunction and addressed those and still do as they arise. Remember, health isn’t linear. I also have had to unlearn different trends and ideals over the past couple years and extend grace for doing what I thought was best in that season.

Our bodies were designed to keep us safe, if there are symptoms popping up it’s usually a red flag that something needs to be addressed. Rather than throw quick remedies at it, I encourage you to dig in deeper to find out what could be contributing to those things.

This is something I work with my clients on, diving deeper to assess areas of dysfunction and deficiencies to resolve some of their symptoms. If that is something you are interested in, click here to learn more about what 1:1 can look like and to apply . I would love to assist you in this process.

-Denae