Everyone has a beautiful body that is meant to help us carry out our passions and purpose in life. And I can tell you from firsthand experience as a nutritionist that your body size does not necessarily determine your level of health or say if you are a healthy person or not.
My top two suggestions for amazing energy, mood, and vibrancy is to keep your blood sugar levels balanced and to optimize digestion.
Blood sugar imbalance is a major cause of poor mood, energy, and cognition, and can also cause you to eat less-than-healthy foods. Start your day with breakfast. Breakfast literally means breaking the fast. You need to refuel your body within 30-60 minutes of waking up with a nutritious high-protein breakfast that includes a little bit of healthy fats such as coconut oil, olive oil or flax seed oil. Hemp and chia seeds also work as they contain Omega 3’s. This will start your body’s engine, boost your metabolism, and help to rebalance your blood sugar. Imbalances in blood sugar can lead to diabetes, adrenal fatigue, and can harm the pituitary gland, as well as cause imbalances with your thyroid.
If you are time-crunched in the morning or cannot stomach the idea of eating a big meal first thing in the morning, try a simple morning smoothie containing protein powder, a non-dairy milk such as soy, almond or cashew, a handful of greens, a banana, and some frozen fruit. You can even add in hemp or chia seeds and a super greens powder for extra energy and nourishment. Bee pollen and maca are also highly nourishing, energizing, and help to reduce stress. Also, stick to a regular eating schedule, and do not go more than three to four hours between meals. Some healthy snacks include a handful of nuts, an apple with natural nut butter, veggies or crackers with hummus, popcorn, a greens smoothie, salt and pepper roasted chickpeas, or homemade energy or protein bars.
Optimizing digestion is important for overall health and for the ultimate absorption of nutrients from your food. Make sure that you are not overly stressed or emotional when eating. Your body can not deal with stress and handle digestion at the same time. Taking a few deep breaths before your first bite of food, lighting a candle or listening to relaxing music will help. It’s also important to help take off some of the digestive stress from your body by chewing your food more. Aim for chewing food at least 25-40 times until it has a paste-like consistency with no lumpy bits. Taking a good quality probiotic is also key for digestion and immune health. If your digestion is really out of balance, you may need to take a digestive enzyme before your meals until you can get your digestion healed and optimized.
By: Nabila Bhimji