Does food really affect the way I feel?
Have you ever noticed the association between your eating habits and how you feel? Our eating habits, food preferences, and consumption have a major impact on our emotions and mental health. I have created 3 easy steps in becoming more aware of your eating behavior and how to identify necessary shifts to feel healthier overall! As a disclaimer, I am not a nutritionist or registered dietician. This information is based off my own experiences, research, and findings through working with clients on their overall health.
Step 1: Start tracking your consumption and your mood throughout the day. Make sure to include times and portions! Take note of when you feel content, energized, sluggish, headache, bloated, etc. I know every day may look different depending on your schedule and the external factors of your life. Chart this for about a week so you can get a realistic picture of what your eating habits look like. You can create your own journal or follow a template.
Step 2: Review the results of your food journal. What were the common denominators on days or periods of time when you felt good? What about when you felt tired or bloated? Here is a quick example of my experience with this practice. Around the time I started this journal, I started drinking coffee in the mornings to help me be alert and ready to go. I thought I was experiencing high levels of anxiety because I felt very shaky and frazzled. This feeling would typically fade as the day wore on. I noticed that on the days I drank coffee before having breakfast, this feeling occurred. However, if I ate breakfast before or with my coffee, I did not feel anxious! Turns out, my body was just sensitive to caffeine and I couldn’t handle it on an empty stomach. You may notice that at 2pm, you identified feeling irritable. Ask yourself a few questions. When was the last time you ate? What has your water intake looked like? Have you eaten anything that provides sustainable energy?
Step 3: Now that you have started logging your eating habits and identifying patterns, it’s time to make changes to determine what you need to feel healthier. Think of it as a fun experiment for yourself to see if what and when you eat can really dictate how you feel! Try changing just one thing this week, it can even be something small like swapping out that soda for sparkling water or adding a handful of strawberries or almonds to your mid-afternoon snack. Keep making small changes that make you feel good and healthy and you’re on the right track!
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