Food Stuck.

It’s a real thing, especially after months of stress eating, feeling limited, and using food for entertainment and comfort.

Spring is here, and we are ready to get unstuck from the food habits that have added pounds to our scale and inches to our waist.

No more safe social distancing from the refrigerator; it doesn’t really work anyway. It’s time to stop making excuses and learn how to master food habits that align with how we want to look and feel. Spring can be the catalyst to build a body you love that loves you back.

One of the most critical relationships in our lives is our relationship with food and eating. And it can also be one of the most frustrating. Too often, there is a gap between the body we desire and our repeated efforts to achieve it. We feel stuck.

43% of what we do every day is mindless repetition; we don’t think we just do. That means much of our day is spent on autopilot, including eating. Autopilot is a way of not being in the present moment; it’s doing without thinking. I have said it many times, mindless eating is the enemy of mindful health. Old familiar patterns of behavior around food are the very things keeping us stuck in bodies that frustrate us.

If we want to have more energy, to lose a few pounds, stress less, and do more, it’s time to get un-food stuck.

One of the places we get stuck is understanding what food is and how to use it. Food in its most basic form is calories, and calories in their most basic form are energy. So food is fuel. Where it gets confusing is that not all calories are equal.

The calories from fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fungi, and animals are different from the calories in industrialized, processed, and refined foods. For example, the calories in an apple come attached to pre-biotic fiber and micronutrients that the body knows how to use.

On the other hand, a bagel is empty calories from refined grains that spike our blood sugar and provide little nutritional value. The calories might be the same, but the nutritional value is not. When we buy food, we are actually purchasing nutrients to fuel our bodies.

I wrote How Healthy People Eat: An Eaters Guide To Healthy Habits to demystify food and eating. When we know how nutrition works, we can be intentional and use food to our advantage.

Another place we get stuck is those pesky unproductive patterns of behavior. Over the years, I have helped hundreds of people cut through the wellness overwhelm to find a starting point for lasting change. Sometimes the most challenging part is just trying to figure out where to start. You can spend hours on Google and still be right where you started, stuck.

If you’re not seeing the results you want from your food habits, let me be frank. Doing more of what you are already doing is not the answer. If you’re going to thrive and create resilient wellness, you must learn how healthy people eat and align your habits with your big picture wellness goals. Harness that 43% of mindless repetition and make it work for you.

If you’re willing to do the work, effective food habits will radically transform your life.

Before you put another morsel of food into your mouth, take a minute and drink a nice 10oz glass of water. You heard me. Drink a big glass of water and give yourself a minute to think about what you want from your food before you eat it. Do you want more energy, a leaner body, a clear mind, or better sleep? Whatever your goal, make sure the fuel you use will help you get the job done.

If you don’t want to waste another minute feeling stuck, consider a Culinary Cure Consultation. Sometimes a customized plan is just what we need for faster and more effective results. It’s like taking a shortcut and getting all the answers to the quiz. Everything is easier with a plan.

Use this spring to get unstuck with food, rise above old conditioning and create positive change in your life. We really can eat well to be well, once we know-how.

Kristen Coffield

I am a passionate advocate for food as medicine, life navigator and culinary coach. This is my space for sharing what excites, inspires and motivates me to live my best life. It began as a recipe blog for nourishing, simple, weekday meals and has become something much bigger… a guide to resilient wellness. I am excited to share my knowledge of how daily habits can cumulatively help you to live like you mean it and age like you want to.