It's not soup, pasta, sushi or tacos. Nope, not warm cinnamon rolls either.
Joshua Rosenthal, founder of the school, Institute of Integrative Nutrition came up with a term I've known for so long was crucial to our wellbeing; it's called Primary Food.
Primary food is the necessary nourishment you give yourself to fill that empty cup after a long day at the office with a difficult boss, or after a tough week at home with your threenager.
Do you know what makes you feel full again? I'm not talking about donuts (although those can be delicious too).
Consider all the ways that make you feel complete without the things you consume internally.
For some, this means devoting themselves to a spiritual or religious practice. For others, it may be exercise in the form of a cycling, yoga class or even a solo run in nature. For me, it's physical touch in the form of hugs and entertaining coffee or wine zoom meetups with close girlfriends. Lastly, for others it can be a successful and rewarding career they love.
Have you noticed that when you "FEED" yourself in these nurturing ways, you are actually less inclined to grab the cookies and cheesecake and veg on the couch?
When you invest in having fulfilling relationships where you can openly BE YOURSELF and express your feelings, you don't crave to open the fridge every hour to see if something there will fill you up.
I've been there. I get it. Especially now more than ever. We are all at home, and what's available when your friends, lover, and family aren't?
The fridge.
You may say, "He's always there for me!" ... and you're right. BUT - so is your creativity!
The more you invest in your mental, physical and emotional wellbeing through self care and primary food, the less you will need food, especially unhealthy snacks to supplement you. This also goes the other way.
If you fill yourself up with the proper self care and primary food, you don't really have a ton of room left to stuff yourself with food just for the sake of it.
Don't get me wrong, you ABSOLUTELY need a balanced, healthy and loving relationship with food to nutritionally feed, heal and sustain you. AND, you also need a balanced, healthy and loving relationship with primary food, which is equally important.
I realize times are tough with our current shelter in place order, but there are still so many ways to be creative so that you can truly fulfill yourself.
Perhaps you can learn and practice meditation to help relieve stress... or maybe take up jogging? Is there someone you admire and would appreciate having them as a mentor? Have you thought about reaching out to set up a coffee video call? Just because we can't be within close proximity to others doesn't mean our lives have to be put entirely on hold. Personal development, self care and self love can still continue... and still flourish.
How will YOU feed yourself with primary food today?
XoxO,
