We put too much emphasis on over eating and fatness. Rarely do we highlight the problem of low or under eating. Probably we think it’s a Holywood thing to not want to eat or have low interest in food. We hardly recognise this problem even in ourselves. A majority of people who go to gym go there to lose weight. In fact, I think the entire gym industry is tailored around weight loss. This begs the question: what about those of us who don’t necessarily need to lose weight, but want to maintain a healthy body?
I’m not a big meat eater, in fact, I always say, “I can easily become a vegetarian”, except that I love pork so much. In a quest to balance my anxiety, I embarked on a “healthy eating” journey, but without proper knowledge or plan. This meant that I didn’t eat properly and didn’t prepare my meals. Instead of eating healthily I almost starved myself. This was not intentional, of course. I didn’t realise that I had a problematic relationship with food. First, I don’t really like food. I often brag to people, saying that “I only eat so I won’t starve”. I even forget to eat at times, until my stomach starts grumbling. Then I would remember , “Oh, I haven’t eaten anything”. This is usually around 1 pm. What makes me forget eating also is my strong relationship with coffee. Drinking coffee often makes me believe I’ve eaten something. This was a common theme for me in 2019. This was not until July, when I hit an almost rock bottom. That’s when I became intentional with eating and the kind of food I ate. Soon my intentionality became neuroticism. I treated food like an enemy. This only intensified my warped relationship with food. I told friends and neighbours that I was becoming vegetarian. I even started planting my own food, which is now blooming nicely. I was proud of myself, thinking I was being good to myself by trying to eliminate meat from my diet. Thankfully, that was not hard work for me to do as I was already not eating much anyway.
In the beginning of 2020, I started feeling extremely exhausted with serious hunger pangs. I would wake up feeling like I haven’t eating for days. I would find anything I could just to keep my “breath”. That’s when I became intentional about eating breakfast. I make sure I eat something no later 10am. I bought oats and it only takes 10 minutes to prepare. It’s less complicated and it is also low in carbohydrates and rich in energy. I also do energy mditations in the morning, which include breathing exercises. These exercises help with digestion. Since starting this routine, my stomach is more peaceful now. On top of meditations, I do jumping squats as part of my excercise. This helps with my heart rate. I also eat a proper lunch, which includes 70% vegetables. I cook during the day, something I used to hate doing. I also snack on fruits and drink water.
I came across an article, posted by a friend on her WhatsApp status update. The article talked about what is called Aryuverda. The concept talks about a cluster of daily activities that a person can do to maintain a healthy balance of the body. It also explains different body types and how each body reacts differently to stress. This concept is based on ancient Indian philosophy which denotes that, “I’m a spiritual being having a physical exprience”. It makes sense that when we are stressed our bodies react because the two are interconnected. I’ve also incorporated some of these daily practices and the exhaustion is completely gone. The debilitating hunger is also gone. I’m freer and happier. My body is feeling healthier, too. I also went back to my morning runs. You can read more on the Aryuverda concept on Deepak Chopra website: http://www.https//chopra.com/articles Chopra is a trained medical doctor and a mind/body philosopher.
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