But how many calories is this? To be honest, that word isn't even in my vocabulary. Yes, I work with food and make healthy recommendations everyday, but I don't base my practice on calories and counting them. I believe that our bodies are intelligent, and know what we need for optimal health. Every feeling, every symptom, and every emotion we experience is a cue from our bodies to tell us if something is working for us, or if something is not so good. Hunger is one of those cues. When we're hungry, our body is telling us that it needs certain nutrients in order to feel satiated. When we eat the right foods that our bodies need, we feel satisfied, we have stable energy and are emotionally balanced. When we're hungry again shortly after we have eaten a meal, we're often taught that it’s a bad thing and that we should ignore it. But maybe we need to pay closer attention to what our bodies are telling us. Did we get the right amount of food that our body needed to thrive? Did we get the right amount from the right sources that are best suited for our individual bodies?
There is no “cookie-cutter” solution. You can eat X number of calories a day, but still be hungry, or eat that and feel heavy, over-full, and with low energy. Our bodies really are smart, and they know what’s good for us. Maybe instead of counting calories, we need to listen to those cues and eat real food to nourish our bodies.
