When it comes to food and nutrition there are many different diets and it can be very confusing. What I can say is that one diet can be good for one person and not for the other. How do you know what category you fall into? This is why general recommendations not always work and I think that you have the best understanding of your own body and its needs, if you really were to listen carefully.

Food psychology

For some people if they are told that they cannot eat sugar and cakes, they feel deprived. Another person can perceive it as a challenge. This can be translated as having a fixed mindset or one with growth potential.  Our mindset is the most important thing in whatever we do, whether it is to start a new regimen when it comes to diet, training, deal with stress or an illness like cancer.

The first thing I do when I meet people is to find out what has worked in the past and what is not working now Then I look into how we can change the mindset about those things to easily  switch it and not make it a struggle. When we struggle we get stressed and we know that stress is not good for anybody, and particular when you are going through cancer you have enough stress to deal with and don’t need any extra.

How to do it

I like to encourage you to take a look at what you eat and start a food journal. We do so many things unconsciously. For example if we are in the kitchen and preparing dinner, so many times we snack on what we prepare and we are not even conscious about it. And then we eat dinner as well. Or we make a snack for children, maybe not the kind of snacks we are supposed to have right now but maybe they left a piece and instead of throwing it out it goes into the mouth unconsciously.

Start journaling what you eat and the other most important thing is to think about how that food makes you feel. What makes you crave it? Is there an emotion connected to it? Is it hunger, is it low blood sugar or maybe thirst? Many times we think we are hungry when the body is really signaling for water. These messages are often misinterpreted and we tend to put something in our mouth to eat instead of drinking.

In your journal you write down how you feel before you eat, when you eat, and 30 minutes to an hour afterwards. Make a note of that during the first week. You will become more aware and might be able to see a pattern. After that we can have a discussion what food might be best for you.

Functional and non-functional food

One thing we all can agree upon is that eating more of the good stuff makes less room for eating the bad stuff. Fill up your plate with greens, all sorts of vegetables and colors, functional food, instead of snacking on chips or candy, non-functional food. Go for fruit and berries and they will keep the sugar craving away until you finally have freedom from the sweet tooth, if that is what you want.

If you want help in this process you are welcome to contact me. I help people from where they are right now to a healthier version of themselves without having to struggle, without having the cravings and just making the transition to healthier food easy.