Ready to have some fun?
What I’m about to say is incredibly “woo-woo,” and not based in hard science, at all. Just keep that in mind. It’s about to get weird. :o)
Here goes the story:
A long time ago, I did an experiment on intuition. It was my dad’s idea, and it made my mind explode.
First, my dad asked me to hold a candy bar in one hand. Then, I extend my other arm so that it was out parallel to the floor.
Then, he pressed down on my arm, and my goal was to try to resist the push.
Then, I put down the candy and held something healthy (I forgot what it was) in my hand.
Then, he pressed down on my arm, and my arm was noticeably stronger. I was able to resist the push more than before.
Woah.
What!
I couldn’t believe it! So we did more experiments with a bunch of other things – popsicle, apple, etc. – and the outcome was the same every time:
When I held something “unhealthy” in my hand, my body was a little bit weaker. When I held something “healthy,” my body was stronger.
That experiment always stuck with me. (Perhaps it’s why I grew up to become a woo-woo Psycho-Spiritual Wellness coach.)
So, what’s the lesson here?
I’m not sharing this because I want you to do this test with everything you eat. That would be overkill, and might freak some people out, LOL.
Rather, I just wanted to illustrate that your body knows what’s good for you on an unseen, intuitive level.
Your body just knows.
You can look at as many published double-blind clinical trials as you want, but that’s just mind-stuff.
The body knows all.
So when you’re craving for an apple, eat the apple.
And when your tummy is rumbling and you’re craving a double double burger from IN-N-OUT, and that would just really do it for you, eat it.
Eat what your body wants when you’re hungry, and trust that it’s the best thing for you.
Before I wrap up, let’s play devil’s advocate really quick.
What would happen if you crave for the burger but you eat an apple instead?
4 things:
1. You miss out on calories. And if your body was craving for a burger, it probably needs calories (read: ENERGY).
2. You stress your body out. Because now that you’re under-eating, it thinks there’s food scarcity. So instead of burning through calories like normal, it starts conserving energy (read: burning less calories).
3. You lose out on joy. And while eating should not be your only joy (read about hedonic eating) it should still be ENjoyed. And when you force yourself to eat something that your body isn’t asking for, you’re miserable. And that creates all kinds of backlash.
4. If you were craving for a burger and then held it in your hand, and then had someone push down on your other arm, I bet you’d resist the push more than if you were holding the apple.
Not always, but in this case, it might.
What’s “healthy” in each moment fluctuates based on what your body needs. Stop trying to figure that out with mind-stuff.
Just listen to your body.
Do the kind thing.
Eat when you’re hungry, try your best to stop when you’re full, and practice the Stop, Drop, & Feel when you want to eat past fullness.
And trust that your body knows best.
Because it does.
This post was originally sent via email on Tuesday February 4, 2020 for my popular Tuesday newsletter. You can get on the list by signing up for the free ebook (which is also awesome) below:
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