Episode Transcript:

The Nourished Mama - Ep 2

Hello, and welcome [00:01:00] back. Today's episode is all about navigating food during the holiday season. I felt very called to do this episode, not only because we are coming up to Christmas, but also because this is something I personally really struggled with in the past. And I see so many other mamas struggle with food guilt during this season.

Today, I'm going to give you some tips and strategies around this. And I also want to leave you with some tools you can use. After this season to help you kickstart your health journey, and most importantly, help you form a healthier relationship with food. Firstly, something I want you to really remember during this season is that food is so much more than just physical nourishment.

It's also about joy, pleasure, and memories. Food has this incredible ability to bring us together, to evoke beautiful emotions and create lasting memories. You don't want these memories to be clouded with feelings [00:02:00] of guilt or frustration towards yourself. When we allow the guilt to take over, it can significantly impact our experiences and memories during this time.

It can diminish the joy and pleasure which we should be experiencing during the holidays. It can also foster an extremely unhealthy relationship with food, affecting your overall well being and relationship with yourself. And it can also influence your social interactions during this time, making those shared meals less enjoyable due to those internalised pressures. Rather than beating yourself up during this time, it's actually a really great time to reflect, to learn, and to grow. So what do I mean by this? I mean, it's a great time to actually look at how you respond to food and how you feel around food so you can take that information and use it come January when you're ready to actually set some health goals. [00:03:00] Reality is now is actually not the time to decide you want to lose weight or put any pressure on yourself to achieve any extreme health goals. But this doesn't mean that you should completely neglect your health at all, but just allowing yourself to be in the present moment and enjoy the time with your family is what's important at this time.

Before I actually give you strategies and tools to handle during this time, I want to actually talk to you more about fostering that healthy relationship with food. So come January, you have a really clear understanding of how to approach your nutrition and health. This really is the perfect time to actually start working on that positive relationship with food by reflecting and learning. Something I see happen time and time again is come end of December, a lot of women start feeling those extreme emotions of guilt about the food they ate over the last few weeks. This then triggers them to basically go hard on a [00:04:00] health routine. They sign up to a gym, they go on a diet, they start restricting calories.

They may start seeing some results, but come February, March. Most people begin to fall off the bandwagon and before you know it, you have gone completely backwards and neglected your health. This is because this approach to health is just not realistic or sustainable. You don't want to start off your health goals in 2025 with feelings of frustration or guilt towards yourself.

This is just a recipe for disaster. When you heal and improve your relationship with food, you will be able to choose those better for you options more naturally without feeling like you should. You will be so in tune with your body that you will begin to lean towards healthier options because your body will begin to understand what makes you feel your best. This doesn't mean you cut out the simple pleasures of life, but it means you gain complete control over your [00:05:00] choices and you no longer feel the guilt. An unhealthy relationship with food kills motivation and sucks the joy out of eating. It also makes it impossible for you to form a healthy, nutritious way of eating.

The first thing we need to do in order to begin healing our relationship with food is to look at the emotional. Eating cycle. Emotional eating is the biggest culprit I see when it comes to an unhealthy relationship with food, and it generally spikes this time of year and early Jan. As hard as this can be, reflecting on this cycle and accepting you could be sitting in it somewhere right now is the best thing you can do for yourself today. This cycle is unfortunately very common in motherhood We are vulnerable. We are tired, exhausted, and then not to mention the pressure we feel from others and the pressure we put on ourselves. So generally emotional eating means you were eating when you aren't actually hungry, or you haven't assessed [00:06:00] your feelings of hunger or First, it can often feel out of control and it's generally followed by feelings of guilt. The more aware you become of this cycle, the closer you will come to overcoming it. This means it's important to monitor your current emotional eating cycle. You won't be able to break this cycle overnight. It will take time and it's okay to mess up and cave into your emotions from time to time. But being aware will make it happen less often, and that's a huge win for now. The small wins now are the ones that will make the biggest difference and impact to your future.

The emotional eating cycle is a set of behaviors that keep going around and around and around unless they are broken. Each behavior has a flow on effects from the other. So let's look at each of these stages. Stage 1. You go on an extreme diet to try and regain control. You have to [00:07:00] break the diet cycle in order to heal your relationship with food. Under eating and restricting calories is not going to make up for overeating. It will just lead you to the next phase with feelings of deprivation, and in turn, cause more out of control eating.

Instead, ditch the calorie counting diets and begin to tune into your appetite. Listen to your hunger and fullness cues. We're going to talk more about how to do this in a minute. Stage two is you start feeling deprived or restricted feelings of deprivation and restriction can quickly cause you to spiral out of control.

The best thing to do here is to actually eat more to satisfy your body's needs. You must give yourself permission to eat. Instead of eating a salad, make yourself a large meal with protein and extra veggies so you feel satisfied and not deprived. This will then ensure you [00:08:00] don't actually binge eat later on. Stage 3. You crave forbidden foods. When in an emotional eating cycle, your brain will naturally begin to create a list of forbidden foods. During your healing process, it's important you give yourself permission to eat some of these forbidden foods. But it's also important you begin to fill yourself up with nutritious foods through the day, then over time, you feel less and less like these forbidden foods.

It's about rewiring your brain. The idea is to get to a point where you are controlling these forbidden foods, and they aren't controlling you. Stage 4 You start emotional and binge eating. The worst thing you can do in this stage is feel guilty and beat yourself up over it. This will only keep you stuck in the cycle.

Accept that it happened and become aware of the feelings, the emotions, and the thoughts it created for [00:09:00] you. When we are aware of our emotions during a binge, we are able to understand what triggered and caused it. Over time, we can identify these feelings and emotions and get on top of them before the binge actually occurs.

Something I find that works really well here is starting a food journal. Remember, knowledge is power, and the more aware you are, the more control you will gain. Lastly, stage five, you start feeling guilty, angry, and disappointed in yourself. It's important to see this stage as an opportunity to learn and not beat yourself up again.

You can ask yourself, how did this happen? What triggered it? Why did I resort to a binge? And what can I do to avoid this happening again? Remember, don't be ashamed or beat yourself up. This will just keep you in the game. In that emotional eating cycle. Like I said, reflecting on your current relationship with food and [00:10:00] being honest with yourself is the first step.

And also one is one of the most biggest impactful steps to your healing process. When you're honest with yourself, you begin to understand how external factors, especially your emotions are actually controlling your diet. When you're able to reflect on this and acknowledge it, you can then begin to stop letting this cycle control you.

When these emotions arise, you can see them happening and you can begin to attempt to stop them. So I really want you to reflect and think about where you might be sitting in this cycle at the moment and take some of these strategies and advice to be able to overcome that cycle and stop it in its tracks.

Now, the second part of healing your relationship with food and breaking away from that emotional eating cycle is a learning to eat intuitively. Some of you may have heard of this term before, I'm going to chat a little bit more about what intuitive [00:11:00] eating is and how to actually practice this eating concept.

So what is intuitive eating? We are all born as natural intuitive eaters. A good way to explain intuitive eating is to think about when our kids were babies. They cried when they were hungry and felt at ease when you put a bottle or a boob in their mouth and then push away when they were full. This is intuitive eating.

Over time they absorb the world, they absorb our reactions and behaviors around food. We start to pressure them to eat. We start bribing them, distracting them while we put mouth mouthfuls of food in their mouth. And these are the points in time where they lose their natural intuitive eating instincts.

Then for ourselves, you add years of societal expectations, diet culture, body image, social media, and more. And without a trace, we have absolutely no intuitive eating instincts anymore. So the concept of intuitive [00:12:00] eating is listening to our body's hunger and fullness cues and having a healthy relationship with food.

Intuitive eating is a great way to begin to understand what actually makes us feel good. Having a healthy relationship with all foods is important, but it doesn't mean we rule out nutrition. Yes, restricting foods can be emotionally damaging, but eating certain foods can be physically damaging over time, and this is a scientific fact whether we like it or not.

I always recommend beginning your journey by understanding what foods make you feel good and which don't. You will slowly start to see that nourishing your body with whole foods is not just about the way you look, but you will also begin to feel many other benefits, from increased energy to a better mood and more patience as a mom.

Once you begin to tune into how you feel based on what you put into your body, then you can start enjoying healthier foods for kids. Out feeling like you [00:13:00] restrict yourself or like you have to. And this is why earlier I referred to this time of year as actually being a really great time to reflect, to learn, and to grow.

I don't necessarily want you to start deep diving into your relationship with food in the next couple of weeks, but I want you to consciously use this time to gather information. So come January, when you're ready to set some health goals, you are already 10 steps ahead. So many of us have lost this ability to tune into our body, to guide us with our hunger and fullness cues when it comes to eating.

Often as tired, exhausted mums, we eat based on external cues. Because we're bored, because we're stressed, we're sad, we're frustrated, or even out of habit. Intuitive eating, on the other hand, is learning to eat based on internal cues, which are simply hunger and fullness. When you listen and respond to your appetite, you're able to fuel your body with the right amount of [00:14:00] energy.

No need to count calories. This is an inbuilt system within us. Using this inbuilt system within us is a lot more powerful than you think. It's not just about your mindset. It truly is an inbuilt system that supports intuitive eating. Some weeks or days you are naturally hungrier than others and need more food to fuel more energy.

Some days your appetite is less intense and you're happier to enjoy lighter options that your body knows are going to make you feel best. Now, of course, in the beginning, your body may crave foods that are not so great and that are not highly nutritious. And that's okay. But over time, the more you do this, listening to your body will also help you choose foods that are better for you by providing valuable feedback following the meal you choose.

Chances are you feel a lot more energetic. Healthy, vibrant, and amazing when you eat whole foods, home cooked meals, and well [00:15:00] balanced meals. Whereas when you eat processed fast food meals, or grab that packet of chips, you will notice that you feel more sluggish, bloated, tired, and heavy. When you learn to listen to your body better over time, you will naturally crave more nutritious options.

It will become second nature because you know, it makes you feel the best version of yourself. Not because you think you should. So how do we learn to eat intuitively? When you go to reach for food, one of the best ways to actually assess whether you're hungry or not is to take some deep belly breaths.

This will reset your nervous system and you'll be able to determine, am I eating because I was just triggered by an emotion or am I truly hungry? Really listen to your body here. It will be hard at first, but the more you stick to it, the better you will become at it. Secondly, assess feelings of hunger.

Sometimes it can be good to have [00:16:00] your own hunger scale here. So rating your hunger from one to five, five being starving, and one being peckish. If you're peckish, it's likely due to those external cues. And thirdly, set your eating environment. Now, this one is really important. I know being a busy mama, this can be a hard one, but you really need to slow down and set 10 minutes aside just to eat.

As moms, we are often eating completely mindlessly. Cleaning, focusing on the bills, the 256 school emails, work, etc. It's really important you try not to do this. You won't be able to teach your body how to eat based on internal cues. If you don't slow down and create that positive eating environment. And reality is you're going to be so much more productive following the meal.

If you just give yourself that time. Next one is eat mindfully. So once you have sat down and most of your attention is on your food, [00:17:00] I really want you to focus on the actual food. This may seem strange at first, but this again is giving power to those internal cues of hunger and fullness. Think about the appearance of the food, the smell, the taste, the texture.

The more you do this, the more aware you will become of your fullness cues. Then, I want you to assess your fullness, and this is such an important step. This is going to be hard in the beginning because this takes time to redevelop. Most people have completely lost this ability, but like I said in point four, the best way to naturally help this step is to really focus on the food and eat slowly.

Mindfully, the more you give your brain this information, the more it will send those signals to your stomach. And lastly, reflect following the meal. We this step earlier. This is powerful information. After each meal, think about whether you feel heavy, sluggish, tired. [00:18:00] bloated, fatigued, or energised, light, vibrant, and healthy.

This is a really crucial step and such valuable information for your brain and your stomach. So I want you to practice this by starting this one simple tip. Next time you go to the fridge, instead of asking yourself, Should I be eating this? Is this bad food? Am I allowed to eat this? Instead, ask yourself, do I feel hungry?

Will I feel good after I eat this? Now I've given you a lot to think about during this time, but most importantly, I want you to focus on this following the holidays and instead use the next couple of weeks to enjoy your time with your family and create beautiful memories free from guilt.

Because remember. That guilt is only going to keep you in that emotional eating cycle, which we really want to break free from. I also want to leave you with some quick tips and strategies, as well as tools that are going to get you through the next few weeks when [00:19:00] it comes to events or lunches and dinners.

number one is don't restrict the amount you eat in the lead up to an event. Knowing that upcoming events will be full of indulgent foods and drinks can cause us to feel the need to restrict our intake before and after to make room and compensate for the extra food or alcohol restricting the amount of foods you eat before and after events.

Can increase the likelihood of overeating or binging once you finally allow yourself to eat. To help prevent this, it's important to eat normally in the lead up to and following these kinds of celebrations. Ensure you still have a proper breakfast, lunch or dinner on the day and in the following days.

Once you get back into your regular routine of eating and moving your body, everything will balance out. Secondly, try portioning your meals. During Christmas lunches and dinners, it can be common for food to be [00:20:00] served in an all you can eat banquet fashion. This makes it easy for you to pile up your plate sky high and go back for seconds, thirds, maybe even fourths.

It's very easy to go over the top. Remember one extra generous day or meal isn't going to be detrimental to your health progress or goals, but this mindset can leave you feeling extremely guilty over full and sick, which may drive your desire to restrict yourself later on, or even binge further. When going up to serve yourself, make sure you portion out your plate.

Ensure you get a decent serving of each food group that's on offer. So try making sure you get a good amount of veggies, some protein, some carbohydrates, and some healthy fats. Before going up for seconds, ask yourself, how hungry are you? How full do you feel? If you want seconds or thirds, go for it, but be mindful and don't overthink it too much.

 second, [00:21:00] lastly, move your body when possible. So when I say move your body, I don't mean an intense exercise routine. if you have this going already, that's great. Do as much as you can over the next couple of weeks. But if you don't, that's totally okay. I do recommend going out for short walks.

This is not only going to benefit your physical health, but it's also going to really support your mental and emotional health during this busy time. Walking is such a powerful form of movement for our health. If you can even squeeze in 15 to 20 minutes around the block, you are winning. Another one, remind yourself what really matters.

Does it really matter if you put on a couple of kilos over the holidays? Does a few weeks or months of eating differently really matter in the long run? Not completely. On days when anxiety and stress around food is high, or you feel overwhelmed, ask yourself what really matters. It's about enjoying these moments, creating memories, and slowing down. And lastly, have [00:22:00] the treats. It's the holidays. Let yourself indulge a little. It's so okay to do so. Yes, they may be less nutrient dense and more calorie dense compared to other foods. Yes, it's important to focus primarily on including more nutrient dense whole foods into your diet, but it's okay to include the occasional treats into your diet.

During this time, these foods give you pleasure, enjoyment, and feed your soul. This food freedom will ultimately allow you to focus on what matters and allow you to make the most of this festive season and holidays without stressing and in turn, staying in that emotional eating cycle. Once the festive season is over, you'll be in such a better headspace to focus on your health goals.

And I will be here to support you through that journey. I hope you have a fabulous relaxing break with your family. Bye for now.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope this conversation has inspired you to live your healthiest, [00:23:00] happiest life. Don't forget to subscribe and tune in next week. Bye for now.