The Nutritional Health Nut Phase

I previously discussed The Nutritional F#!K It Phase in episode 13 of the Satiated Podcast. You can also find the transcript here. With a new year approaching, there is a new phase I would like to discuss that many of you may have been through before.

It's called the Nutritional Health Nut Phase.

This phase is when you become a huge fan and enthusiast in taking care of yourself. You feel tired of eating foods that perhaps leave you feeling bloated, tired, and uncomfortable in your body. You start reading every book and health article you can find. You may start experimenting with green juices and smoothies and taking supplements you have never taken before. This can often occur around the new year as you perhaps desire to enter into a new year in a brand new way.

The Nutritional Health Nut Phase serves an important purpose. Here are some reasons this phase can occur:

• You're trying to feel lighter and brighter in your body.

• You're searching to feel more energy and pride in the way you're taking care of yourself.

• You have gotten to the point where you will try anything to heal a symptom or a concern you have had about your body for a long time.

• You believe if you just healed this one thing that everything else in life would fall into place.

• Focusing on food feels like a safe place to attend to when perhaps other things in your life feel too intense to focus on.

There is a part of you that might be attached to the idea that food is the answer to everything. If you're in this phase or sense yourself moving into it, get to know this part of you.

• What is sparking this part of you to focus heavily on what, when, and how you're eating?

• What are they hoping to receive by eating in a certain way?

• What initiated this phase and what are you trying to protect yourself from?

• Is this phase distracting you from something?

I truly believe every phase we go through with food serves a purpose. You get to trust you're always exactly where you're meant to be, learning what you're meant to be learning. If you're in this phase now, you just get to invite in a lot of curiosity around what this phase is here to teach you about you.

With any phase, there is a time where we need to release a certain phase to be able to shift into a new one. Here are signs that you have perhaps been in the Nutritional Health Nut Phase for too long:

You have started to fear food.

If you have noticed that you're now so confused as to what to eat that every meal feels like a stressful experience, it is time to transition into a new nutritional phase. Eating is meant to be a joyous, pleasurable experience. Plus, if we're eating in a stress response, our digestion can shut down where we're not actually receiving the full nutritional benefits from that meal. If you realize you have a lot of fear around food, it’s time to make food your friend again. Maybe put something on your plate you haven't tried in a long time because it has been labeled as "bad" and notice how you feel. Your body will guide you by your bodily sensations in what resonates with your system and what does not.

Perfectionism is present at every meal.

If you notice that every meal has to be perfect and you may even skip a meal if you can't find the exact food or snack that you have deemed as worthy of eating then it is time to shift to a different phase of eating. It is a wonderful intention to want to take care of yourself! And, putting so much pressure on yourself to choose the "perfect" foods is not going to be supportive long term on your health journey. This can also spark our fight or flight response. If we stay in this heightened stress response for too long we can be raising inflammation in our body where no matter how "healthy" your meals are, you may feel inflamed and puffy. It is time to invite relaxation back to the table to experience every food as neutral and the exact nutrition you might need at any moment.

You're starting to feel isolated and alone.

Have you started saying No to going out with friends? Have you started to skip gatherings because you don't think you will be able to find something to eat? Have you started telling everyone the way you're eating is the one way everyone "should" be eating? If you're isolating yourself from your friends and family out of concern for taking care of your body or pushing others away because they don't eat like you, it’s time to guide yourself into a different nutritional phase. Sharing food with others can be such a powerfully connecting and nourishing experience. You can feel the love in a homemade meal than something purchased from a store and that digests entirely different in our body. If you have started to feel alone on your healing journey, start to share this with those you love and maybe go share a meal with them, even if it’s over a Zoom call.

The Nutritional Health Nut Phase can sometimes feel like you have blinders on. There is so much focus on what you're eating that there can be other less satiating and nourishing acts you may be engaging in that go unnoticed and unaddressed. Health and what supports us in thriving is somewhat of a mystery. This phase can be supportive in shifting out of patterns with food that were potentially no longer supporting you. We can embrace this phase as a time that your desire to take care of yourself in new and different ways is increased. And we also get to invite in awareness that there are so many different factors that support our unique body in thriving and feeling alive.

Keep bringing in a lot of curiosity every step of the way in any nutritional phase so you can constantly be assessing what is going to be best for you and your body day by day and moment by moment. If you ever need support in shifting into a new nutritional phase, email me at support@stephaniemara.com anytime. I'm here for you on this adventure!