Finding Food in February
Updated: Mar 11, 2020
A year of Mindfulness<3
Hey Fit Fam!
I hope everyone is having a great week. If you have off this weekend, I hope you are excited to rest and take care of you this weekend. If you have to work, I hope you sleep well and get it done!
Like I have mentioned, this year I am seriously considering mindfulness. I made a plan to understand what I thought “considering mindfulness” looked like and what to do. In January, I abstained from alcohol to cleanse my system as I prepared for more mindfulness. In February, I wanted to focus on proper fueling and learning about food. I wanted to clear my system and then spend time understanding how, why and what I eat, and what is good for me and my body.
I have also mentioned that my food history has been evolutionary. I had good nutrition growing up, fat, carbohydrates, protein, and vegetables at dinner. Not too many processed foods, or crap snacks. Staying hydrated with water and gatorade. I happen to be lucky enough not to even like the taste of some “bad” things, like soda. My mom cooked most of the dinners, my dad the breakfasts. The help I provided in the kitchen was just a literal carry out of directions. I wouldn’t call what I did “cooking”, more just stirring, or salting mindlessly to when and how my mom told me to.
During college, I lived with my best friend, who is a unbelievably good cook. More mindless salting. I was so “lucky”. In my early twenties, I realized I was never quite satisfied with food. And after meeting and studying with Droany, I did learn a lot about food. Yes nutrition, but more importantly, food. I tried avocado, mango, kiwi, bell peppers, lentils, faro, kale, tofu, and so many more things that I had no idea!
Dating a vegan changed a lot for me because I would try to be cute and make dinner but i would have to buy all new ingredients (for 2 tsps) and spend two hours figuring it out- for the HOPE that it would come out edible! Trying to understand the vegan lifestyle taught me a lot because it challenged my beliefs and my actions. It challenged me to think more about what I was doing and at what cost.
At the same time, I was living with someone who was gluten free. More learning. I was also studying through Precision Nutrition and learning more about the science of nutrition.
The thing is, we don’t eat nutrition, we eat food.
I want to better understand foods and the value each food and group of food provides. Not how each macronutrient affects our body. I mean that stuff is interesting, but not how I want to decide what I am going to eat for breakfast. I want to know the benefits of eating (for example) blueberries… and then I want to eat blueberries and see how they make me feel. If I get a stomach ache or feel sick from them, I don’t want to eat them, no matter how nutritious they are.
What we choose to fuel our body is how we choose to treat ourselves. And as far as I have seen from my ten years of health and fitness learning, our dietary habits are extremely personal. There are so many emotions tied to what we eat that discussing protein and carbohydrates with people doesn’t always help, and isn’t always sustainable.
I am choosing to practice mindfulness in the form of caring about what I put into my body for it to live and prosper.
I will spend the whole month of February learning not about nutrition, but about food. I will either cook or spend time researching the benefits of foods that I am cooking.
Follow me on my journey!! Lend me advice! Or feed me jokes to keep my sanity;) Each day I will post on Coach Kwo’s IG story (@coachkwo) about what I have cooked or learned that day. And it starts tomorrow!!