Self-Care Nutrition: Show Yourself Some Love Through Food

Self-care is a trendy word this year for good reason. Time to yourself is totally worth it; from a long bubble bath to reading a book, it can reset your mind. However, the term is often oversimplified to just meaning time to pamper yourself or get your nails done but it is so much more than that!

Self-care is caring for yourself at a physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual level. When you get down to it self-care is acts that fuel us, rather than deplete us. And that doesn’t always just mean a bubble bath. It means different things to different people but for many a good place to start is focusing on self-care nutrition and relationship with food.

Examine what’s getting in the way of self care

Part of this is looking at what things in your life you can cut out because they are interfering with your ability to connect with your body. When you are living a chaotic and stressful life it can be difficult to tune into your body and hunger cues as well as take the time to plan for a nutritious meal. There have to be a few people out there reading this who have been so stressed at work they completely forgot to eat lunch or have been running so late in the morning the only thing they had for breakfast was coffee. Anxiety is a key player in how we feel hunger and can affect nutrition.

You might not even feel hunger in an elevated stress state because your body is in a fight or flight mode. Blood is shunted away from your digestive system to your extremities and dulls your ability to feel hunger. Ask yourself if you are incorporating self-care in each of these categories to reduce body-mind disconnect and decrease stress:

Physical

· Are you getting enough sleep? Do you feel rested when you wake up?

· Do you take time off work or school when you are sick?

· Do you take vacations?

· Do you engage in physical activity that you enjoy on a regular basis?

Emotional Self Care

· Do you make time for self-reflection?

· Are you aware of your thoughts and don’t judge yourself for them?

· Do you make time to relax?

· Do you regularly engage in activities that make you laugh?

Relationships

· Do you spend time with people who support you?

· Do you have someone that you can talk to about anything?

Boundaries

· Do you maintain a manageable work/life balance?

· Do you take breaks from technology and social media?

· Do you say no to extra responsibilities when you are overwhelmed?

Spiritual Self Care

· Do you spend time in nature?

· Do you make time for reflection?

Once you take time to reflect on those aspects of your life it may become clear if stress is disrupting your ability to connect with your body and health. From there, there are simple self-care tips you can start including into your day to day routine to help you incorporate self-care nutrition in your diet.

Ways to Implement Self-Care Nutrition

1. Stick to the basics

Not sure where to start? Keeping it simple helps changes become manageable and sustainable. Make a goal to just include more vegetables in your diet or drink more water throughout the day. It doesn’t have to be a monumental shift. You can experiment with what habits work for you. Some people may find that using a meal delivery service takes the stress out of figuring out what to have for dinner every night and that is a huge relief for them. Others may decide that time spent pursuing cookbooks and blogs for new recipes to try is a sort of creative outlet.

2. Actively plan your self-care

If you want to make self-care a priority, it needs to be something you plan rather than just happening. It is an active choice. Add certain events to your calendar and create a routine. For example, maybe every Sunday you meal prep to prepare you for the week ahead. Try arranging to have a meal with some close friends. The act of self-care, in that case, is just as much the relationships you have as the food you enjoy. This also includes making sitting down to eat a priority, especially within families since family meals have been shown to have a positive correlation with nutrition quality in adolescents.

3. Be conscious of how these changes make you feel

If you don’t realize how these changes affect your mood it won’t be as beneficial. Be aware of what you do, why you do it, how it feels, and what the outcomes are. Part of this is being mindful when eating. Mindful eating is eating with attention and intention. It helps us reconnect with ourselves and be able to notice our regulatory cues like hunger and fullness. To do so start identifying when and why you eat. Slow down. Pause between bites. Take time to savor your food. Engage all your sense and really allow yourself to enjoy.

4. Be flexible with food choices

Allowing yourself to have a variety of foods takes away the guilt and shame of the inevitable slip up. Choose foods you enjoy that fuel your body and you enjoy. Say ‘no’ to food rules that only leave you feeling worse about yourself when you break them.

5. Eat foods you love with people you love

There is so much more to food than just the nutrition it provides to our bodies. Food has the power to simultaneously bring people together, create memories, and nourish us. It’s the ingredient that binds us together. Plan a meal with a friend you haven’t seen in a while or take time to make some cookies with your mom like these Dark Chocolate & Butterscotch Cookies. I don’t have a study to back this claim up but food tastes better when eaten with those you love and that is the true meaning of self-care nutrition to me.