The idea of “nourishment” has been co-opted by weight loss culture and diet mentality, but, in its true form, it’s an essential ingredient for creating freedom from overeating and peace with food. Overeating and emotional eating are often substitutes for the real nourishment you need but aren’t getting.
Unfortunately, nourishment is too often equated with a long list of things you “should” eat (and not eat). That’s not the place to start. Today I’m sharing three basic areas to focus on to improve the way you nourish yourself, but we start (of course) with mindset, and how you and your brain are thinking about nourishment and fuel.
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Full episode transcript:
Hey everybody. Today I want to talk about nourishment. and I want to start with a dictionary definition because as I'm going to talk about later, We have this tremendous capacity as human beings to take something and turn it into, turn the meaning into something that it isn't. So the dictionary defines nourish as it's a verb, and it means either to sustain with food or nutriment to supply what is necessary for life, health and growth or to cherish, to foster, to keep alive. As in he had long nourished his dream. Right? And then the third possibility for the definition of nourish as a verb is to strengthen or to build up or to promote.
Diet mentality and that way of thinking that we grow over time when you've been stuck in battles with food and overeating and weight loss and diet culture, that diet mentality reduces the idea of nourishment to this very narrow lane of food. Nourishment equals food. And it is so easy to get caught up in this pattern where nourishing yourself and the idea of nourishing yourself, when you hear those words, it is easy for it to become really automatically this long list of shoulds. Right? Like this is what you should be doing to nourish yourself. It's a, it's a to-do list and it often can conjure up this feeling of dread. Before when you just even think of when you hear the word, because it's so tied up with diet mentality and it's, it gets tied up with things that feel and maybe are very, very hard. I want to be crystal clear that that feeling and those thoughts are related to diet mentality.
The truth is that nourishment and nourishing yourself, it's absolutely fundamental for stepping outside the world of deprivation and outside the vicious cycles of overeating and emotional eating that deprivation and diet mentality can create for you. To nourish yourself is it's an action. But today I also want you to think about the feeling of being nourished because feeling and being nourished are they're both very key pieces of that, the whole concept, the whole process of creating freedom from overeating and peace with food. I'm also going to suggest to you three basic, concrete things that I believe are very helpful to focus on when it comes to nourishing yourself. They're basic, they're concrete, they're things that you can start doing today.
But first I want to go back a little bit. If you have old, entrenched, unhelpful thoughts and beliefs about yourself, about food, about yourself and food or eating, or weight, or weight loss, and by the way, you do almost certainly if you're a woman who is raised in this culture or a similar one. If you have these old entrenched beliefs, then there is something really important to know. Diet mentality can turn just about any thought or concept into more diet mentality. When you are stuck in that way of thinking, and I'm not saying that in a critical way, it's just how our brains work. We learn to think in a certain way, and when we think in a certain way and in a certain direction, we tend to see more of that. We tend to notice the things that fit with that. And when things don't fit with that, we tend to make them fit that. So diet mentality can turn just about any thought or concept into something that feels like more diet mentality. That feels like a should or a have to, or a rule or some kind of deprivation that you need to enforce upon yourself and then work harder and harder and harder to make it work somehow.
So know that that is quite likely going to happen to you or maybe has already happened to you. And I want you to think of some of the words I'm going to use today, like fuel and nourishment. Fuel and nourishment. These are rich words. These are words that when spoken outside of the constraints of diet mentality, actually speak to abundance. They speak to energizing yourself and providing yourself with what you need to be more vital and colorful. Fuel and nourishment. These are expansive words. Think about when giving your house plant some, some plant food, right? What happens when you put that miracle grow on it? Fuel and nourishment are expansive words.
And it won't be unusual if you have come to hear words like fuel and nourishment as the start of this daunting to-do list. Things that you have to do or you should do or that you feel bad about because you tell yourself that you aren't doing them well enough. And by the way, then you have this whole cascade of thoughts that is also not very fueling or nourishing.
So, today as you listen to this episode, I want you to do a little mental step back, and I want you to stop and think about really picture in your mind what real deep fueling of yourself feels like. Okay? Not a to-do list. What does it feel like to be fueled? What does it really feel like to feel nourished? Feel it in your mind. And you know, one of the most powerful ways to impress something upon ourselves is when we combine a visual with a feeling that we can actually feel in our body. So maybe you have a picture of yourself fueled, energized, vibrant, nourished, feel what it feels like in your body and see the picture. Because that is probably 180 degrees different from the deprivation mentality thoughts that you have about fuel and nourishment. Right? You probably even say them differently like I just did.
So remember the definition. Nourish is to sustain. To supply what is necessary for life, health, and growth. To cherish, foster, keep alive, to strengthen, build up, to promote. You can't create a feeling of freedom or a feeling of peace if you don't have what's necessary for your life, your health, and your growth.
And I know you already know this, but I'm not talking about vegetables here. You can't nurture and cultivate freedom from overeating with an approach that doesn't foster your being cherished. Or an approach that isn't life giving and enhancing and strengthening that isn't abundant and expansive.
Nourishment is a broad, deep concept. There is so much we could talk about, and I think it's so important to remember or to re-remember, that nourishment feels good. It feels nourishing. It's a positive thing to feel nourished. We get our nourishment from so many facets of our life and our relationships and our environment and what's nourishing for you might be very different from where I find my nourishment. And, as broad as the topic is, there are basics, and while they are basic, basic ways of making sure that you're being nourished, these basic things, I see far too many women who skim over them or minimize the fact that they aren't getting them. So I want to talk about a few of them today.
I want to talk about three basic and important ways of nourishing yourself, sources of nourishment where you might be able to create a really big shift by honing in on these a little bit and paying attention to them more than you are. And you might also recognize that you have been ignoring these things and they are part of what's holding you back. Or what is part of what is making the process feel really lousy or harder than it needs to be, or even exhausting.
All right. So you are only as good as the fuel you are fueled with. And also some of this fuel is food. I'm actually going to talk about food in this episode. Can you believe it? We never talk about food in this episode, but today is the day you're here. You're here and we're going to talk about being nourished and the piece about food that I want you to.
Here's the thing. I'm going to keep repeating this because it's so important. I want you to keep in mind what I just covered about feeling fueled and nourished. Feeling the feeling, what that feels like, and the picture that you conjure up when you imagine it. I want you to hold onto that mental state. Instead of letting your brain creep back into diet mentality, judgment about fuel and nourishment, I want you to hold onto that idea of feeling fueled and feeling nourished and that picture that goes along with that. Hold onto that picture. Hold onto that feeling instead of the diet mentality judgment that is going to try to get you to think about what it should look like or what you should be doing.
Okay, so I told you I have three concrete things that I recommend you pay attention to in terms of getting your own nourishment, and the first one is food. Here's what I want you and your brain to hear about this piece of the puzzle. When it comes to food and fuel and nourishment, you have to have a plan for eating that works for you, not a plan that you have to work. You have to have a plan of eating that works for you, that fits you. You have lived inside your body your whole life, and by now you probably have ideas. You do have ideas, and you may even really. The style of eating that that lets you feel and function at your best. That last thing I said is so important. I want you to ask yourself, really give yourself permission to ask yourself, what do you know? What do you know about the style of eating that allows you to feel and function at your best?
Start with whatever you know, and then consider some things like, do you have the foods you need in your house? Are they accessible? Are you eating breakfast? And is breakfast an important meal for you? You've lived inside your body your whole life. Start with the ideas that you have about what works best for you. If breakfast is an important meal for you, are you eating it? Do you have a plan that actually works to eat a healthy lunch?
So, we’re not talking diet mentality, right? Remember, we're talking about what it feels like to feel fueled and nourished. So do you have a plan that actually works so that you can eat a healthy lunch so that you are not starving in the late afternoon? So that you are not starving before dinner or before it comes time to make dinner or make decisions about dinner?
Undereating during the day, either because you're dieting or you're too busy or because it, you don't make it a priority. Undereating during the day is a major cause of irritability, of tiredness, of lack of motivation. It is a major reason that plans that seem so great in the morning, fall apart every afternoon. Not eating well during the day, leads to binges, leads to crashing, leads to feeling exhausted, leads to sugar and carb cravings that then feel and get out of control.
None of these things are a good recipe for nourishment and creating that feeling that, remember the feeling and the picture that you created in your mind. So that's what I want to say about food, and again, I'm challenging you to think about what are the kind of tweaks, what are the kind of adjustments you would make to your eating, when the goal is feeling more fueled, feeling more fueled and nourished. So that is what I want to say about food today.
The second area that I want to talk about, number two, is water consumption. Hydration. Now I know that has become, uh, kind of more contentious thing, and there's always a study on this about how much water do you really need and whether you really need to focus on water or not. You get to decide for you. Remember that whole, you're the expert on you thing that we talked about a minute ago. And here's what I know and what I hear from just about every woman that I've ever talked with about this topic. When I don't drink enough water, I feel tired, I feel unfocused, and I feel hungry, and I usually don't know why until I make the connection.
So I suggest as an experiment, if you're not already doing this, make sure you have a plan in place for drinking eight glasses of water a day. I know it sounds so basic in old school, but it can really make a big difference and don't we all like simple things that can make a big difference. If you don't like water, try adding something to it. Put, you know, squeeze a lime in or squeeze some lemon, or try drinking herbal tea. Some women like hot water. They put hot water in a mug with a slice of lemon. Others like a sprig of mint in a fancy wine glass. Experiment, experiment, experiment, experiment. But if you are not getting at least eight glasses of water a day consistently, I would strongly encourage you to experiment and see if that helps you feel nourished and fueled. Simple. Okay.
All right, number three. This one is cut and dry, and I think it is if you can make this a non-negotiable in your life, so much can change if you want to feel more fueled and nourished and cared for and vibrant. If you want food to stop calling to you, if you are tired of your plans and your best intentions falling apart because you just don't have the energy to take that positive step when it's time to take that positive action, then this is the place to listen. Short and sweet. The best thing you can do for yourself is to start by making sure that you are getting seven and a half hours. That's seven and a half hours of sleep a night. Minimum. Consistently. and this is important, even if you're short on time, especially if you're short on time, the time spent getting the sleep, resting your body, cleansing your brain, which is what happens when you sleep, this time spent is going to more than pay you back in increased productivity, increased effectiveness, increased focus.
We as a culture, somehow, for some reason, we love to dismiss, lack of sleep as nothing or necessary or normal, or even sometimes as a badge of honor. I am so tired. I'm working so hard. Right? Lack of sleep causes all sorts of problems, including weight gain. Lack of sleep causes changes in metabolism. It causes an increase, an actual literal increase in your carb and sugar cravings. Yes, that happens if you're not getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep causes diminished concentration and focused and memory and irritability. And also, causes your productivity to go way down, plus a lot more nasty stuff. When given a choice the solution and the answer is really straightforward. When you have a choice, when you're tired, go to sleep, and if you feel like you haven't got a choice, it is really important to take a step back and look at what needs to change so that you can get seven and a half hours of sleep a night.
So important for you, for your health, for your overeating. And essential for feeling nourished and fueled and vital and expansive. So much overeating and emotional eating happens because we're depleted. Because we just don't feel nourished or fueled. And when we are in that place, when we aren't feeling nourished, when we aren't feeling fueled, when we quite frankly aren't getting what we need, food is an easy stop gap measure.
Food is so easy to reach for and slap on top of our problems and push down our feelings. Right? And to do, while we keep doing all the other things that we’re doing.
We're just touching on nourishment here. I am just beginning to talk about nourishment here.
But these three things even taken in small increments, even taking small steps toward these three things are going to make a huge difference.
So go play with them.
Have a great day and I'll talk to you soon.
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Enter your name and email address below and I'll send you periodic updates about the podcast.
Hey everybody. Today I want to talk about nourishment. and I want to start with a dictionary definition because as I'm going to talk about later, We have this tremendous capacity as human beings to take something and turn it into, turn the meaning into something that it isn't. So the dictionary defines nourish as it's a verb, and it means either to sustain with food or nutriment to supply what is necessary for life, health and growth or to cherish, to foster, to keep alive. As in he had long nourished his dream. Right? And then the third possibility for the definition of nourish as a verb is to strengthen or to build up or to promote.
Diet mentality and that way of thinking that we grow over time when you've been stuck in battles with food and overeating and weight loss and diet culture, that diet mentality reduces the idea of nourishment to this very narrow lane of food. Nourishment equals food. And it is so easy to get caught up in this pattern where nourishing yourself and the idea of nourishing yourself, when you hear those words, it is easy for it to become really automatically this long list of shoulds. Right? Like this is what you should be doing to nourish yourself. It's a, it's a to-do list and it often can conjure up this feeling of dread. Before when you just even think of when you hear the word, because it's so tied up with diet mentality and it's, it gets tied up with things that feel and maybe are very, very hard. I want to be crystal clear that that feeling and those thoughts are related to diet mentality.
The truth is that nourishment and nourishing yourself, it's absolutely fundamental for stepping outside the world of deprivation and outside the vicious cycles of overeating and emotional eating that deprivation and diet mentality can create for you. To nourish yourself is it's an action. But today I also want you to think about the feeling of being nourished because feeling and being nourished are they're both very key pieces of that, the whole concept, the whole process of creating freedom from overeating and peace with food. I'm also going to suggest to you three basic, concrete things that I believe are very helpful to focus on when it comes to nourishing yourself. They're basic, they're concrete, they're things that you can start doing today.
But first I want to go back a little bit. If you have old, entrenched, unhelpful thoughts and beliefs about yourself, about food, about yourself and food or eating, or weight, or weight loss, and by the way, you do almost certainly if you're a woman who is raised in this culture or a similar one. If you have these old entrenched beliefs, then there is something really important to know. Diet mentality can turn just about any thought or concept into more diet mentality. When you are stuck in that way of thinking, and I'm not saying that in a critical way, it's just how our brains work. We learn to think in a certain way, and when we think in a certain way and in a certain direction, we tend to see more of that. We tend to notice the things that fit with that. And when things don't fit with that, we tend to make them fit that. So diet mentality can turn just about any thought or concept into something that feels like more diet mentality. That feels like a should or a have to, or a rule or some kind of deprivation that you need to enforce upon yourself and then work harder and harder and harder to make it work somehow.
So know that that is quite likely going to happen to you or maybe has already happened to you. And I want you to think of some of the words I'm going to use today, like fuel and nourishment. Fuel and nourishment. These are rich words. These are words that when spoken outside of the constraints of diet mentality, actually speak to abundance. They speak to energizing yourself and providing yourself with what you need to be more vital and colorful. Fuel and nourishment. These are expansive words. Think about when giving your house plant some, some plant food, right? What happens when you put that miracle grow on it? Fuel and nourishment are expansive words.
And it won't be unusual if you have come to hear words like fuel and nourishment as the start of this daunting to-do list. Things that you have to do or you should do or that you feel bad about because you tell yourself that you aren't doing them well enough. And by the way, then you have this whole cascade of thoughts that is also not very fueling or nourishing.
So, today as you listen to this episode, I want you to do a little mental step back, and I want you to stop and think about really picture in your mind what real deep fueling of yourself feels like. Okay? Not a to-do list. What does it feel like to be fueled? What does it really feel like to feel nourished? Feel it in your mind. And you know, one of the most powerful ways to impress something upon ourselves is when we combine a visual with a feeling that we can actually feel in our body. So maybe you have a picture of yourself fueled, energized, vibrant, nourished, feel what it feels like in your body and see the picture. Because that is probably 180 degrees different from the deprivation mentality thoughts that you have about fuel and nourishment. Right? You probably even say them differently like I just did.
So remember the definition. Nourish is to sustain. To supply what is necessary for life, health, and growth. To cherish, foster, keep alive, to strengthen, build up, to promote. You can't create a feeling of freedom or a feeling of peace if you don't have what's necessary for your life, your health, and your growth.
And I know you already know this, but I'm not talking about vegetables here. You can't nurture and cultivate freedom from overeating with an approach that doesn't foster your being cherished. Or an approach that isn't life giving and enhancing and strengthening that isn't abundant and expansive.
Nourishment is a broad, deep concept. There is so much we could talk about, and I think it's so important to remember or to re-remember, that nourishment feels good. It feels nourishing. It's a positive thing to feel nourished. We get our nourishment from so many facets of our life and our relationships and our environment and what's nourishing for you might be very different from where I find my nourishment. And, as broad as the topic is, there are basics, and while they are basic, basic ways of making sure that you're being nourished, these basic things, I see far too many women who skim over them or minimize the fact that they aren't getting them. So I want to talk about a few of them today.
I want to talk about three basic and important ways of nourishing yourself, sources of nourishment where you might be able to create a really big shift by honing in on these a little bit and paying attention to them more than you are. And you might also recognize that you have been ignoring these things and they are part of what's holding you back. Or what is part of what is making the process feel really lousy or harder than it needs to be, or even exhausting.
All right. So you are only as good as the fuel you are fueled with. And also some of this fuel is food. I'm actually going to talk about food in this episode. Can you believe it? We never talk about food in this episode, but today is the day you're here. You're here and we're going to talk about being nourished and the piece about food that I want you to.
Here's the thing. I'm going to keep repeating this because it's so important. I want you to keep in mind what I just covered about feeling fueled and nourished. Feeling the feeling, what that feels like, and the picture that you conjure up when you imagine it. I want you to hold onto that mental state. Instead of letting your brain creep back into diet mentality, judgment about fuel and nourishment, I want you to hold onto that idea of feeling fueled and feeling nourished and that picture that goes along with that. Hold onto that picture. Hold onto that feeling instead of the diet mentality judgment that is going to try to get you to think about what it should look like or what you should be doing.
Okay, so I told you I have three concrete things that I recommend you pay attention to in terms of getting your own nourishment, and the first one is food. Here's what I want you and your brain to hear about this piece of the puzzle. When it comes to food and fuel and nourishment, you have to have a plan for eating that works for you, not a plan that you have to work. You have to have a plan of eating that works for you, that fits you. You have lived inside your body your whole life, and by now you probably have ideas. You do have ideas, and you may even really. The style of eating that that lets you feel and function at your best. That last thing I said is so important. I want you to ask yourself, really give yourself permission to ask yourself, what do you know? What do you know about the style of eating that allows you to feel and function at your best?
Start with whatever you know, and then consider some things like, do you have the foods you need in your house? Are they accessible? Are you eating breakfast? And is breakfast an important meal for you? You've lived inside your body your whole life. Start with the ideas that you have about what works best for you. If breakfast is an important meal for you, are you eating it? Do you have a plan that actually works to eat a healthy lunch?
So, we’re not talking diet mentality, right? Remember, we're talking about what it feels like to feel fueled and nourished. So do you have a plan that actually works so that you can eat a healthy lunch so that you are not starving in the late afternoon? So that you are not starving before dinner or before it comes time to make dinner or make decisions about dinner?
Undereating during the day, either because you're dieting or you're too busy or because it, you don't make it a priority. Undereating during the day is a major cause of irritability, of tiredness, of lack of motivation. It is a major reason that plans that seem so great in the morning, fall apart every afternoon. Not eating well during the day, leads to binges, leads to crashing, leads to feeling exhausted, leads to sugar and carb cravings that then feel and get out of control.
None of these things are a good recipe for nourishment and creating that feeling that, remember the feeling and the picture that you created in your mind. So that's what I want to say about food, and again, I'm challenging you to think about what are the kind of tweaks, what are the kind of adjustments you would make to your eating, when the goal is feeling more fueled, feeling more fueled and nourished. So that is what I want to say about food today.
The second area that I want to talk about, number two, is water consumption. Hydration. Now I know that has become, uh, kind of more contentious thing, and there's always a study on this about how much water do you really need and whether you really need to focus on water or not. You get to decide for you. Remember that whole, you're the expert on you thing that we talked about a minute ago. And here's what I know and what I hear from just about every woman that I've ever talked with about this topic. When I don't drink enough water, I feel tired, I feel unfocused, and I feel hungry, and I usually don't know why until I make the connection.
So I suggest as an experiment, if you're not already doing this, make sure you have a plan in place for drinking eight glasses of water a day. I know it sounds so basic in old school, but it can really make a big difference and don't we all like simple things that can make a big difference. If you don't like water, try adding something to it. Put, you know, squeeze a lime in or squeeze some lemon, or try drinking herbal tea. Some women like hot water. They put hot water in a mug with a slice of lemon. Others like a sprig of mint in a fancy wine glass. Experiment, experiment, experiment, experiment. But if you are not getting at least eight glasses of water a day consistently, I would strongly encourage you to experiment and see if that helps you feel nourished and fueled. Simple. Okay.
All right, number three. This one is cut and dry, and I think it is if you can make this a non-negotiable in your life, so much can change if you want to feel more fueled and nourished and cared for and vibrant. If you want food to stop calling to you, if you are tired of your plans and your best intentions falling apart because you just don't have the energy to take that positive step when it's time to take that positive action, then this is the place to listen. Short and sweet. The best thing you can do for yourself is to start by making sure that you are getting seven and a half hours. That's seven and a half hours of sleep a night. Minimum. Consistently. and this is important, even if you're short on time, especially if you're short on time, the time spent getting the sleep, resting your body, cleansing your brain, which is what happens when you sleep, this time spent is going to more than pay you back in increased productivity, increased effectiveness, increased focus.
We as a culture, somehow, for some reason, we love to dismiss, lack of sleep as nothing or necessary or normal, or even sometimes as a badge of honor. I am so tired. I'm working so hard. Right? Lack of sleep causes all sorts of problems, including weight gain. Lack of sleep causes changes in metabolism. It causes an increase, an actual literal increase in your carb and sugar cravings. Yes, that happens if you're not getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep causes diminished concentration and focused and memory and irritability. And also, causes your productivity to go way down, plus a lot more nasty stuff. When given a choice the solution and the answer is really straightforward. When you have a choice, when you're tired, go to sleep, and if you feel like you haven't got a choice, it is really important to take a step back and look at what needs to change so that you can get seven and a half hours of sleep a night.
So important for you, for your health, for your overeating. And essential for feeling nourished and fueled and vital and expansive. So much overeating and emotional eating happens because we're depleted. Because we just don't feel nourished or fueled. And when we are in that place, when we aren't feeling nourished, when we aren't feeling fueled, when we quite frankly aren't getting what we need, food is an easy stop gap measure.
Food is so easy to reach for and slap on top of our problems and push down our feelings. Right? And to do, while we keep doing all the other things that we’re doing.
We're just touching on nourishment here. I am just beginning to talk about nourishment here.
But these three things even taken in small increments, even taking small steps toward these three things are going to make a huge difference.
So go play with them.
Have a great day and I'll talk to you soon.
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