The healthiest stress management tool..

After years of restrictive & binge eating, skipping meals & calorie counting, ignoring hunger cues, and using silly tools to trick my body into thinking it wasn't hungry forced my body to adapt. ☕️

At the start of this year, when I realised I needed to use physical tools to support myself & my stress, I realised I needed to really heal my relationship with food, and look at what decisions I was making surrounding my eating habits because what I was doing just was not cutting it anymore, and not just try to fit my choices into my calories. 🩺

After a suggestion from Synta, I started eating A LOT more food, and really focusing on eating as much as I could in the first 1/2 of the day. 🌅

I also started incorporating waaaay more fruit into my diet.

For years I hated fruit, it's inconsistent and frustrating. You never know whether it's going to be sweet and delicious, or tart and yuck. 🤮

But changing your life, does generally mean doing stuff you don't like or makes you uncomfortable.🥵

So along with eating more food, I also increased my fruit intake. Slowly I've adjusted, and fruits of the same, start tasting the same. There is less inconsistency now that I have become less used to the consistency of highly palatable sweet treats. My body will now naturally crave and choose fruits, over sweet snacks which were always my go to. 🍃

So how much food am I talking (the volume is pretty consistent, but the specific foods may change over the week);

*Breakfast: 2 slices of toast, 2 eggs, 1 veg & 1 fruit ( 1/2 cucumbers, 10 cherry tomatoes, mandarine, cooked apples)

*Snack 9am: fruit or veg & cheese

*Lunch; leftovers (big bowl of lasgna, rice, stew, roast; whatever we had the night before) + fruit

**Generally by the arvo I'll be full, but on the occasion I am hungry- Jalna yogurt & cooked apples, figs, persimmons.

*Dinner; whatever, typically pasta, or meat & veg, or rice but because I have eaten so much already through the day I'm not super hungry so I will have a smaller portion.

**After dinner snack; mixed dried nuts & feta cheese

* definitely eat everyday

** eat only if I'm hungry, rarely both on the same day

Even now to me this looks like an average influncer's diet, and tbf if i read that I would have instantly thought there is no way I'll eat that fruit, ick.

But now that I committed to eating fruit regularly, I can genuinely feel the joy that eating a lot of fruit can bring! 💪

And of course a lot of that joy comes from my stomach celebrating all the fibre I'm sending its way. 🥰

I saw a reel recently that fibre has a similar effect on the body as Ozempic, just for a much much smaller time frames, and if I'm being honest this was enough for me to really give fruit a good hard crack. ⏲️

While I cannot confirm or deny this rumour to be true, I have experienced so many benefits from eating more fruit. If you're a fruit lover you'll already understand;

🍎 just happier gut (my stomach would be in physical pain)

🍇 less sugar cravings

🫐 better mood, lighter

🍒 more frequent 💩

I love the changes I have made to my lifestyle and I'm so excited to share more of them with you!

My email next week on Vagus Nerve Stimulation is the tool which has probably had the most profound impact on my body, stress and life, so make sure you keep an eye out! 👂

I'd love to hear from you if you have any questions, you can reach me on socials @gymandtonicmovement

Topics 

🔮 meditation to binaural beats (not guided, this was too flaky for me)

🥩 eating A LOT more food in the morning for breakfast & morning tea to manage anxiety and afternoon binges

🥦 eating way more fibre (fruits & veg) to help my gut

👂 vagus nerve stimulation🫁 deliberate deep breaths through the day

💪 regularly relaxing my the tension in my body by relaxing my butt cheeks and gripped abs (TRUST ME: you do this too! You were told to hold in your stomach for most of your life, but I assure you you're actually damaging yourself).

Disclaimer: These are tools are what I have found to be beneficial for me.

They are not intended to be used as, or in replacement of, medical advice, if you are struggling with your mental health please reach out to a professional.

Shea