I realized this weekend that I often lose sight of what food really is meant for. Of course it’s to combat hunger, give us energy and essentially fuel every single thing that takes place in the body; but, how many of us REALLY think of food that way? Really think it’s something we NEED as opposed to something we WANT.
For many of us, food is love, pleasure and gluttony. Literally our whole body feels excited when we think about an upcoming meal we are going to have whether it’s our next meal or a meal in two weeks for Thanksgiving. It’s normal and the main reason why any of us feel like we need to lose a couple pounds. This love of food.
Here’s how this thought came to my mind…For the past 6 months I haven’t been feeling well. Anyone who knows me knows I have been complaining about not being able to breathe. Literally I feel shortness of breath constantly. Especially after I eat. Many people, even docs have told me its anxiety. Which I felt ok accepting as I do feel like I have a hectic schedule and high pressure job. One doc taught me how to take deep breathes by putting my finger onto belly button. That helped. But it still didn’t make sense why I literally felt numerous times a week that I was unable to take a deep breathe. I did notice it happened after I ate or drink. So I thought maybe I’m eating too much. But I really don’t think that’s the case.
It’s kind of annoying and I kind of want it to go away so I took to Dr. Google and THINK I may have gotten some answers or at least a place to start.
According to Dr. Google, 3 things could be wrong with me…
- I have acid re- flux.
- I have developed adult asthma
- I have a hiatal hernia
All sound serious/super common; therefore, not serious.
But here’s the crazy thing…every single one of these things is cured by diet and lifestyle. Basically an elimination diet lifestyle (no caffeine, dairy, sugar, artificial sweeteners, processed foods, wheat)
My first thought, no I can’t give up any of these things. I’ll suffer in pain for the rest of my life. My second thought, WOW. I have an easy solution to fix my problem but since I like all of the above too much I won’t do it.
Needless to say, I’m currently sitting at my desk with a glass of hot water with lemon instead of a latte. I had a smoothie for breakfast with non of the above. It’s miserable. I have a headache. No idea if this is going to solve my problem. But I am willing to try before I busy myself with doctors appointments.
I plan to give up these things and see if the symptoms go away. If they do then I plan to re-introduce these foods one by one to see which one is my issue.
Maybe you don’t have the same symptoms as me. But we all have symptoms of feeling like crap after eating. Whether it’s headaches, bloat, irritability, fatigue, stomach aches, constipation, or weight gain that makes us emotional. It’s important to take a moment to realize that it really doesn’t have to be that way. (as hard as it is!) It truly is crazy all the sacrifices we make for food. If we put how we physically feel first before our emotional attachment we may be able to straighten things out- in more ways than one:) I call this…food for thought.
