This short and simple guide to healthier eating is meant to help you and prompt you with thoughts, ideas and opinions that I have personally implemented to help me develop and practice healthy eating habits.
We all go on a different path and journey when it comes to eating. My advice is always to observe and notice what gives you the most energy and brings about the most aliveness to your life when it comes to eating.
Eating is a life giving experience. One life form or another is transforming another life form through a natural miraculous process.
Step 1: How to Eat
- Eat with Intentionality
Do not eat solely based on routine and habit, rather observe. Observe the foods and ingredients you are putting into your body as well as observe how they make you feel. When you begin to notice these things you can begin to eat with intention.
- Eat with Gratitude
The food we eat was created, given life and a purpose. It is an experience we all partake in as part of our human existence. It is good to give thanks for the food we eat. Just as the food is devoted to its purpose to nourish and become part of us in the form of energy and continued life, so we can express our gratitude for the food.
Step 2: When to Eat
- One or two meals a day
This is important for the reason of digestion. If you are over 35 years of age your digestive system slows down. You can no longer digest 3 big meals of food with snacks in between and truly expect to be healthy.
- Intermittent Fasting
There are many different forms of fasting from food. A good practice that goes right in line with one or two meals a day is the 16/8 fasting. This is where you fast for 16 hours and leave an 8 hour window for eating. There are no strict rules on this so explore what may work best for you and your lifestyle.
- Eating before sleep
A good healthy tip is to eat your last dinner meal 3-4 hours before your sleep time. This allows your body to digest the food before sleep and will give the body the energy it needs to recover the other parts of your body. This is a night and day feeling you will experience. Try eating a big meal before sleep time and observe how you feel the next morning. Then give some space between your last meal and sleep like 3-4 hours and notice how you feel the next morning energy wise.
Step 3: What to Eat
- Food as Fuel
There is no one diet you must follow of food to eat the whole of your life. If you are paying attention and observing; you will begin to notice that your body will know what to eat. When your body is low on the nutrient dense fuel it needs, that is a good time to go for the foods that are going to give you the energy and vitality to function and run at full capacity. Food is something we eat everyday; so It is important to learn and explore what foods are best for you. Too many people lack the knowledge and education around what foods are going to fuel them and we end up with all the chronic sickness and disease we have today. In my opinion, food is the solution to many of these health issues.
- Eat clean fresh living foods
This is mostly going to be made up of fruits and vegetables. It is also best to eat what is fresh and local to the area in which you live. Growing your own garden is a great way to do this because your food source is going to come from the soil you walk on and water you drink. Finding a good local organic garden source is important to healthy eating. Eating what is seasonal is also a good idea. Certain fruits and vegetables only grow in specific seasons and that is important to pay attention to.
Be Healthy, Live Healthy
Healthy eating is extremely important to living a whole complete life. Without your health, your life will become one big struggle and will affect all other areas of your life.
If you are someone who struggles with their food and eating; follow these simple steps outlined above and start the journey to transforming to the healthier version of yourself.
Written by Brandon Holder
October 2021
