What is best 100% or 80% Raw Diet?
This is an interesting question I have been raw for almost 2 years now, but I have only been 100% raw for short periods. I do like to eat some cooked food on the odd occasion and I'm not a vegan although I don't eat meat. I like to eat eggs, some cheeses, fish and shellfish now and then. Most of the time I am 90 - 95% raw as at times I just eat 100% because that is what I desire to eat.
Many of the purist's will be saying that 100% is the only way to go. But I say that eating raw is a great way to get your optimum nutrition but 100% doesn't work for everyone.
I attended a Seminar last weekend on Quantum Reflex Analysis, which had several other raw foodist attending other than myself. One brought all of her food with her and the others including myself brought some food a made the most of what we could. I decided the week before the seminar that I was going to go 100% raw for several weeks and wasn't thinking about going away at the time. I was staying with my elderly auntie and also was invited to dinner at my nieces to see my brand new grandniece.
But I'm pleased to let you know that I survived the trip with out eating anything but raw food. I consider this a good effort as I am just the same as everyone else I am human. It was a bit difficult to manage especially when my sister made a very large carrot cake of which she is famous for. But I found that I just wasn't interested in eating it.
I would probably never go 100% raw on a permanent basis as I feel that you are setting yourself up for failure. And it is not about whether you succeed or fail it is about health and well being. Eating raw is about getting the nutrition that the body needs to heal itself of disease.
If you are trying to heal from cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular, diabetes or any other therapeutic diagnostic label of dis-ease, then yes 100% raw for a period of time is definitely going to be a good option. But setting unrealistic limitations on yourself can be very damaging in its self. I recommend flexibility. When you keep yourself flexible and don't put unrealistic limitations on your self then you will not fail, and success will be your friend.
Fabulous results can be achieved on a 80- 90% Raw Diet.
Creating your reality
Is it possible that you are creating your reality?
Are we attracting our bad luck and well as our good luck?
Well do you ever find yourself saying " Why does this always happen to me?"
It could be anything like you just get on top of the bills and start to put some money aside and then the washing machine breaks down or the car or the dishwasher etc.
Or you are always late no matter how hard you try not to be late; something always comes along to make you late.
Or I fail and every diet I try. I can never keep the weight off.
Or I just can’t get a good job. There is always too many other people more skilled than me.
Or I will never get out of debit, I just can’t earn enough money.
Or my one is I'm always loosing my keys. Keys and me don’t get on.
So why does this always happen to me? Do you find yourself asking this question
Our thoughts and beliefs create our reality, while we are thinking I'm never going to get out of debit, or I'm useless with my keys, I'm always late.
Our thoughts are re-enforcing our beliefs in ourselves every day and creating our reality.
If you are happy with everything in your lifestyle right now and you have no problems of any sort then you don't need to read any further.
But I don’t’ think that there is anyone that is truly happy with everything in there lifestyle where they are looking for a health and wellbeing or not.
I may be wrong but I feel that I am really happy and healthy and have a well balanced lifestyle, but there is always going to be room for improvement in my life.
So if you relate in anyway to a similar scenario then read on.
If you want something to happen you only need to visualize this happening in live as if this is already a reality.
Changing your lifestyle to a healthy one that includes raw foods and exercise could easily be being sabotaged by your thoughts and beliefs.
Try visualizing a parking spot right outside the shop you want to visit start this when you get in the car and see your self parking your car in that spot, when you come around the corner it will magically appear just right where you imagined it.
It is the same with anything in your life that you attract it is because you have been either thinking or believing that this is what you deserve, this is whether it is a good thing or a bad thing.
I found myself just yesterday using the wrong thinking process. I had some keys in my handbag that I need to leave at work. I was repeating to myself that
“I must not take the keys home”. Then I realized that I was programming myself in to taking them home. I quickly changed this to “ I must leave the keys at work” This worked really well I didn't forget to leave the keys at work.
So why are there some people that do really well in business and are very successful and others are not?
This is to do with their belief systems. They believe they deserve this, through their thoughts they are attracting success and all the things that go with that success.
A woman that is beaten by her partner and previous partners keeps repeating the process by getting into violent relationships one after the next. This is connected to her belief system she believes that she deserves no better that what she gets.
This is the victim mentality, when it keeps on happening one will begin to believe that this is all there is.
This is where we can create our own reality; no one else is responsible for all the things that are happening in your life but you.
So you are the one that can change this and no one else.
Change is not always that easy as it is connected as I said before to our belief system and these can be very deep rooted in our past. But this is not an obstacle once you understand how to create your reality.
We can be “who” we want and do exactly “what” we want.
There is nothing stopping us but ourselves.
If your are prepared to change your thoughts and reprogram your beliefs then any obstacle of the past will be a molehill of the future.
If you are interested in learning more about creating your reality you can sign up for my FREE e-zine.
The Humble Raw Beetroot Food or Medicine
Today I would like to tell you about the benefits of the humble beetroot.
Beetroot heralds as one of the top cases for "Food be our Medicine"
In Juice, salad or soup, the beetroot is an important part of any health regime.
Hippocrates advocated the use of beet leaves as binding wounds. It has been used as an aphrodisiac and to treat fevers & constipation by the Romans. In the middle ages it was used to cleanse and strengthen the blood. The signature of nature tells us that the beetroot is good for the blood the beetroot bleeds dark red blood when cut.
Modern research shows the beetroot as a powerful medicine, beetroot juice can be very helpful in lowering blood pressure, drinking beet juice every day will keep your blood pressure down as well as cleanse the blood of toxins. It is good for the liver and aids in detoxification. Beetroot also has been used for many years as a cancer treatment, it contains specific anti-carcinogens which are bound in the red pigments helps fight against cancer. Beetroot is an anti-oxidant fighting the free-radicals and is anti-aging, It increases the uptake of oxygen in your blood by as high as 400 % this in itself will increase energy.
This makes beetroot a super food and a medicine. Eating it RAW is the best way to get the full nutrient value of this wonderful little dynamo of a vegetable. Beetroot is know as food for the bowels those suffering from constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, crohns or just bloating eating raw beetroot juice or grated beets will get great benefits as it soothes and protects the bowel. The beet greens are also very nutrient rich they contain beta- carotene and other carotenoids these function as anti-oxidants. They also contain vitamin C, iron, potassium and folate.
So add some of the raw beet tops to a green salad or you can pop some in with your smoothes.
Beetroot is easy to grow they grow all year round and like a sunny position with well drained soil.
The best way to eat beetroot is raw, here are just a few ways to prepare the humble delicious beetroot.
Beetroot and Carrot Treat
2 Small Beetroot scrubbed [no need to peel]
1 Carrot
1/4 cup of Goji Berries soaked for 30 min in small amount of water.
1/2 tsp of Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp of Coriander seeds
2 tbs. of Flaxseed oil
Grate carrots and beetroot combine with soaked goji berries,
Mix flaxseed oil with seeds and pour over and mix well, chill or serve immediately. This is a winner, so yummy.
Variation: Try grating an apple instead of a carrot and add some raisins.
NB This keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days
Ginger Beets
2 cups finely grated raw beets
2 tsp grated fresh ginger root
1 Tbsp maple syrup [optional]
1 Tbsp tamari
1 tsp lemon juice
In a small bowl, combine the beets, ginger,maple syrup, tamari
and lemon juice: toss.
Let the flavors blend for a few minutes before serving.
Beetroot Juice
1 medium size raw beetroot.
2 Medium size carrots
2/3 sticks of celery [optional]
1/2 cup of crushed ice [Optional]
Wash and or scrub all vegetables, juice in a juice extractor, and serve.
NB This should be consumed with in 12 hours of making for optimum nutrition
Beetroot Soup
1 cup finely grated raw beets
1 red pepper, cut in to chunks
1/2 lemon peeled seeded and chopped
1 Tbsp Nama Shoyu [ or tamari]
1/3 cup raw tahini
1 tsp paprika
Water
In a blender combine the red pepper, lemon, and nama shoyu blend until smooth.
Add the beets, blend.
Add the tahini, paprika and enough water to achieve desired consistency.
Yields approximately 1 1/2 cups.
This can also be a dressing or sauce.
Well I hope these 4 recipes will inspire you to include much more beetroot in you diet. There are many other ways of eating beetroot but I suggest that you eat it Raw.
Why I mainly eat raw food and I don’t like eating meat.
I have been gradually becoming a vegetarian, I only eat about one piece of meat a month lately although I do still eat some fish. I haven't missed it and I feel that my body is much better for it.
I'm not in any way suggesting that everyone become vegetarians as it isn't for everyone and it is a personal choice. But the raw energy of the living food is such a powerful thing that If you eat a variation of plenty of fresh RAW fruits, vegetables, nuts seeds, and sprouts you will have no need for animal protein.
I want to share a theory of mine with you and please don't get me wrong this is just my opinion. When a sheep or cattle beast is sold to the abatoire it is herded along with it peers into the yard then up the shoot into a truck, then it is transported to the meat works. When I think about how it must be for this creature I imagine that it would be terrified. It can smell the fear of all the other creatures in the truck this intensifies its terror.
When you are terrified your adrenal glands that is situated above you kidney sends out a flood of adrenal hormones (cortico-steroids). These hormones are flowing free in the blood, this blood is pumped around the body and back to the heart in less than a minute. It is flowing to all of your muscles and tissues of the entire body and puts them on red alert, every muscle is tense. This is called the fear or flight situation also known as the sabre-tooth tiger syndrome. This happens naturally so that you will have the superhuman strength to run from the tiger.
Once the beast arrives at the abatoire it can smell blood this sends it into a frenzy and more fear, more hormones.
These animals are just like us and are very capable of the same kind of fear as we are and if you just think about it for a few seconds you will get the picture.
At the moment of death these animals have possibly had hours of this state the hormones have flooded every muscle of this beast. The meat that will be a product of this process, will have those fear endorsed hormones right throughout it.
Now for my theory!
We live in a world full of fear, hatred, paranoia and depression all these emotions fuel the wars and physical, mental, sexual and drug abuse. Eating meat that is full of all that fear and terror has to have some impact on us.
I believe that this is one of the reasons that we have so much of Fear Hatred and Paranoia in our world.
Where eating raw lush leafy green living food that is full of nutrients and live energy gives us the life force of the plant that the fruit, vegetable or seed came from.
This can only give us health and energy, filling us with love and giving emotions, compared to fear and paranoia depression emotions.
If you wish to eat animal products then I would suggest that you only eat Farm killed as this is a totally different picture as well and free range eggs.
Naked as a new Born Baby
Most of us only experience this nakedness as a new born baby when we are born. As we grow we start to cover this innocence and nakedness with delusions and barriers.
Our lives are a mass of experiences and exposures so we mask ourselves in what is expected by others like our parents and our peers. This is our protection from the naked truth of ourselves.
Some are better at this than others and they live in the delusion of who and what they are.
Some don't care but most of us do. We hide behind our facade, like the clothes we wear, the style of which is usually the latest trend, our professions our belief and opinions.
All of this is a product of others that we have seen, heard or read and we have shaped to call our own. Most of us would not want the world to know what hides behind this mask.
We all have our secrets that are for us alone and rightly so. I'm not saying that we are not allowed to have our privacy, I am speaking in a general sense.
The way we are presented to the world is of great importance we want to fit in with the crowd, most don't want to stand out or be seen to be different. This would attract ridicule and rejection. No one wants to be rejected abandoned or out-casted.
We are a race that needs the protection of the group or tribe and we can't survive with out it.
Should we not conform to the rest we may end up being alone, so this is the shape of the world as we know it.
I have been a product of this for all of my life and I'm Ok about that. I have always presented myself to the world as I would like others to see me. I act in the manner that I feel is fitting my status as a professional, a citizen, my sex and being a parent. I live in this way only exposing what I am comfortable with and hiding the rest.
I would like to question the value of this, how can we expect to be true to ourselves if we are not standing in our truth.
I recently ask this question of myself as I embarked on some healing that stems back to my childhood. I spoke the truth then and I was told it was not true and accused of a false hood,
No one believed me.
At the delicate age of 13 years I learnt how to put up the mask and live behind it.
Forty years later I can not live like this any longer and I don't have to any more.
Three years ago I stood up and spoke the truth again, this time someone listened, I opened the door and exposed the ugly truth behind. The repercussions of this were catastrophic but I had chosen to walk the path and accept the consequences of my actions upon journey, this is the single most difficult thing I have ever done in my life.
The results have been very rewarding and I can now walk tall and proud thus being the person I have always been but was masked by someone else.
I feel cleansed and renewed like I have been reborn. I don't feel exposed I feel free and open.
The healing of the hidden wound that I carried for so long is progressing very steadily I feel the need to be cleansed totally inside and out.
I have shed myself emotionally of all the pain shame and disgust that this wound held inside of me and now it is time to physically shed it from my body.
The memory of it is still in my cells and I need to cleanse that out.
I am in the process of doing a bowel cleanse right now I am using the Lifestream Cleanse
This consists of Aloe vera liquid, Bowel-biotics and Chlorella. This will cleanse my bowel and remove the toxins that hold the memory of the ugliness that comes from holding on to your shit. This is what I have done for 40 years, but no longer is there a place in my body for this.
It is not surprising that I have suffered from constipation and hemorrhoids in the past, you can't hold on to your Shit so to speak with out there being some consequences.
I also developed a melanoma on my leg a few years back, a cancer eating me up, it appeared on my skin hence the cracking out of the mask.
I eat a diet of 90 to 95% Raw Food so I am nourishing my cells with the powerful nutrients to regenerate the rebirth of healthy new cells as they divide and reproduce.
When I have finished the cleanse at the end of this week, I am going to do a three day fast.
Fasting is the ultimate cleanse it will cleanse the whole body and rejuvenate the mind and soul. I usually do a fast at least once a year and I feel very cleansed with energy and vitality to burn.
Now at the beginning of this blog I started by saying "As naked as a new born baby"
So where does this come into this story?
Firstly in the way I am sharing my experience with you now and also in my rebirth.
I have got myself involved with some fund raising for Breast Cancer Awareness and I am shaving my head on Saturday the 10th October at 11.30 am outside Jester's in Emerson Street.
The last stage of my cleansing is shaving off my hair to signify my rebirth.
I have shared my healing to the degree of my comfort, there is no need for details the essence is there for you to understand the significance of the experience.
I have become involved with the fundraising to support a client and friend that has been diagnosed with breast cancer and she has chosen to go through the Chemotherapy and radiology program. I am helping her with dietary advise and also in the future with homeopathy to remove the toxic radiation from her body.
Cancer is connection to control and it takes a lot of control to produce and maintain a mask and to hold it all in.
We are taught to do this from birth and it is reconfirmed throughout our lives by others and the process of conforming to the norm.
Eating a diet of raw food is in its own way a break from the normal, everyone else is eating cooked and processed food for every meal. People that eat Raw Food as their main diet are taking a step in to the unknown, they dare to be different and claim the prize.
I challenge you to step out into the unknown walk the plank and step off at the end and find yourself, the prize is waiting.
Swine Flu
Well there is quite a lot of talk about he swine flu in the media you can not turn on the news without it being the main headline. I would like to comment on this and give you my views on the Swine Flu. I feel that we should be cautious about getting into a panic about the pandemic that is being hearing about.
To start with we haven't had any deaths in NZ from swine flu yet, although there are more cases being detected daily I suggest don't panic. Hundreds of people every year die during the winter months from the flu they are mostly the elderly and immune compromised. I think that the best action that we can take to prevent ourselves from contracting the swine flu is to boost our immune systems.
If you are eating a high percentage of raw food then your immune system is already in good shape. If you keep your stress levels down and don't over do it, like burning the candle at both ends, or late nights and drinking copious amounts of stimulants such as alcohol and coffee, instead of raw food then you will not be compromising your immune system. Further I would suggest that you take some herbs to boost your immunity and increase the odds against you getting it, should you be exposed to someone that has swine flu.
Some to these herbs are Garlic, Echinacea and Olive leaf extract.
Garlic is a natural antibiotic and will knock over the flu in high doses on it own. Taking a garlic capsule every day will keep all colds and flu away. I have taken one every day for 10 years and I just don't get the flu. If you do get some flu symptoms then I suggest that you take 2 capsules 3 times a day and rest. This will get you back on your feet in 48 hours.
Echinacea is a well known herb to boost the immune system. It can be taken in capsules or in liquid form, but it is not good to take continuously I suggest that you take it for 6 weeks and then stop for 2 weeks. It can be then taken again for another 6 weeks. Should you get flu symptoms then taking Echinacea at the onset at the recommended dose will shorten the time of symptoms.
Olive Leaf extract is a great option to take during the winter months it is anti-viral and can really boost the immune system. Olive leaf also comes in capsules for convenience but the extract is better. It is always best where possible to take herbs in liquid form they are absorbed quicker and should your gastrointestinal tract be compromised in any way you may not breakdown the capsule as well and not receive full benefit of the herb.
So eat lots of raw food and take some herbs if you are concerned about your immune system.The more raw food you eat the healthier you will become, the less likely chance you will contract the swine flu if you are exposed.
The strain that we are experiencing in NZ is a mild form so being prepared for the flu outbreak is always going to be a good idea, but once again don't go panicking. I suggest that should you develop any flu symptoms that don't pass in 48 hours using the suggestions above go and get a swab and then make an appointment with myself or another homeopath for homeopathic treatment. If this is not possible then Naturapharm Flu-guard or Weleda Influenzium are good options. But an individualized consult and remedy choice is the best way to treat any influenza.
During the 1918 Influenza Epidemic Homeopathy proved to be the best treatment and saved many lives.
"Homeopathic treatment is likely to be an effective treatment for any new flu-like illness. Homeopathic hospitals had a less than 1% mortality rate during the last major real pandemic -1918 Spanish Flu epidemic, while conventional hospitals had between 30 and 60% mortality rates. For additional statistics on homeopathic treatment and the 1918 epidemic"
12 months on Raw Food
I'm celebrating 12 months of eating a raw diet. Last Saturday the 6th of June I have been eating predominately raw food for a year I can't believe this has gone so fast. Yes 12 month ago I decided it was time to become outrageously healthy and shed some unwanted excess weight, and I haven't looked back.
I feel fantastic and I tell myself every day "it is Ok for me to be outrageously healthy" even if some of my friends think I'm nuts.
I have decided to share an old photo of myself because most of you have only known me as I am now.
15 months ago I looked like this
I am still partial to a nice cold beer on a hot day
And this is me today 8 June 09
I think that this is worth celebrating. It wasn't until I looked for photos of myself a year ago that i realized the difference. I didn't know that I was that big.
I would get comment when I saw friends that I hadn't seen for some time like "Where is your other half" and "you are fading away" that I started to understand there was a big difference.
The rawlistic lifestyle program is not a weight loss program but this just shows the difference that a nutritious diet can make.
So if you are like I was and somewhat over weight and since you can't be outrageously healthy if you are over weight then keep eating more raw food and you will experience the reshaping of your body as well.
I lost 12 kg in six months and I have been a stable weight of 58 kg for the last 6 months. I used to be 68 kg.
I hope this has inspired you to become outrageously healthy.
Have a great week.
Ways to save money on raw food diet
Since you have decided to incorporate a natural diet into your lifestyle, in the way of raw food you would be interested in understanding how you can be saving money.
If you follow the principles of the manual and eat say between 70 - 80% raw and only 20 - 30% cooked food you will be helping with energy saving. It only takes a couple of minutes to blend a salad or make a smoothie the power required is much less than what you need to cook a meal. If you are preparing a salad especially if you hand chop and are not using a food processor then you have saved a 100% power.
Blenders are self cleaning, you just need to half fill with hot water a squirt of dish detergent and pulse for a few seconds then rinse. Saving on hot water. You are certainly reducing a portion of your carbon footprint, and saving on your power bill.
This is of importance at this time of the year as the energy costs are not only astronomical but have increased due to a need to keep our houses warm. Therefore you can have the heater on longer.
You can also save money on your food bill costs because it is cheaper to eat fresh food than it is to eat processed foods. Processed food will always be more expensive than preparing it yourself from the raw ingredients.
If you eat what is in season then you will further save money, and buying local produce is cheaper. It is nice to have exotic fruits and vegetables but out of season they are expensive, so I look at what is in season and work with that. Further reduction of carbon footprint. It is nice to support the local growers.
If you are careful with your shopping you will not have any waste and if your vegetables and fruits are looking a little bit tired it is time to blend them before they loose there nutritional value so you don't waste anything. More money saved.
If you are only preparing for one person then halve the recipes and or make enough for a few days so it is always fresh.
The biggest saving is time and in the busy life of most of us time is very precious. Raw food is so much quicker to make than cooked food, less time in the kitchen and more time at work or play.
I have always hated cooking and I spend very little time in the kitchen but the time I am there now is very enjoyable, Raw food has given me inspiration in food preparation.
Before I just ate because I had to.
Vitamin L
There is a Vitamin that a lot of us don't get - it is Vitamin L
I think that lot of us don't love nurture and appreciate ourselves. If we are constantly thinking, for instance about how overweight we are, how unhealthy, or unwell we are and how much money we don't have to buy all the nice things that others have. I could go on and on about all the things that we could come up with that are not to our liking.
So if we are constantly telling ourselves about all the things that we don't have or do have and don't want, we are just attracting more of this stuff. If a child is constantly told he is bad then he will start to believe he is bad, we are so aware of the abuse that is done sometimes unconsciously to children and adults through bulling and the like.
So why is telling yourself constantly that
"Im weak and have no will power"
"Its my thyroid"
"I'm big boned"
"My mother had Gallstones"
"Its in the family"
any different to other abuse? You are abusing yourself. Not only are they excuses but they are convincing you that you are not worthy of better.
This doesn't make sense to me we should be loving ourselves and nurturing pampering ourselves to make us happy. NOT mopping
around feeling sorry for ourselves.
Everyone deserves love and if you can't love yourself how can you love another. In order to be able to give love and affection you need to be able to know what it is like to be loved.
If we don't love ourselves then how can we expect other to love us. So your homework for this week is to start really loving yourself, yes most of us do not spend enough time loving themselves.
So it is time to start to love YOU
Tell your self that you love _ _ _ _ _ _ about yourself and think of all the wonderful things in your life that you love and take time to thank your guru for them. Appreciate them and nurture them. YOU are a unique creature on this planet and you have the right to be loved and nurtured just like any other creature great or small. When you have mastered the art of loving yourself others will be drawn to you for your love.
Love your Body and soul, your body is your temple that you live in. It is yours to do with as you wish and you can't get a new one when it wears out, so best you take good care of it and it needs love and nurture as well as nourishment.
Yes you may have guest it the Vitamin L is LOVE.
It is such an important nutrient, with out it we will just shrivel up and DIE.
So go and treat yourself to something special it could be a massage, reflexology, facial, pedicure, a hot spa, anything that you would enjoy that is a treat to nurture your body and soul.
Dealing with emotional eating and cravings for bad food
We are all capable of using food to make us feel better when the chips are down, whether it is from hormones raging out of control or from episodes of depression to just having a bad day and needing something to make us feel better about ourselves.
When this happens we also tend to over eat and then you feel the guilt and you don’t feel better at all in fact you feel worse about yourself and this can lead to more emotional eating. It all can become an emotional nightmare. When things start to go bad there seems to be a ripple effect one thing after another and before you know it you’re a mess.
Sometimes we just get a craving for fatty or unhealthy foods, it just happens and why is this. You could be following a raw diet and feeling great and for no apparent reason want to eat the bad stuff. A small indulgence is fine but if it becomes a habit then you have to start all over again trying to break the habit.
If this is a picture that resonates with you then an action plan to avoid this scenario repeating itself will help. If you have a plan that you can put into practice to identify the triggers and avoid them this is a start, then have an action plan to follow should you be triggered and a prevention plan to work towards eliminating the problem altogether.
When you are trying to change your lifestyle it takes time and dedication for the new habits to set in, so having a plan of action with workable steps to follow is always going to make it achievable. Identifying your triggers is the first step, what is it that starts you wanting to eat unhealthy or comfort food.
We are all individuals and have our own triggers. Take action to identify them, make a list, be honest with yourself, identify everyone you are aware of and be prepared to update this list as you become aware of new triggers.
Make a Trigger Sheet
Write a list on the left side of your sheet leaving several lines between each item. On the right of each item on your list write down all the situations that could be a catalyst to this particular trigger, leaving plenty of room for this section to be added to as more come to mind.
Now that we have identified the triggers and scenario’s/situation that could lead to falling in to the trap of emotional eating all we have to do is avoid them. Well this all sounds well and good but life isn’t quite like that.
Although awareness is always good as a warning it isn’t going to stop it happening altogether on its own. This is a good start though, so we now need to have a plan to deal with the situation after you have been triggered.
What to do once you have been triggered
This plan will need to be designed to suit the individual. First you need to find a way that works for you.
It is important to understand that it is connected to the way we feel about our selves and if we don’t like ourselves then we are more prone to being triggered. You need to make a plan for how to deal with the situation, only you can do this, I can only make suggestions but at the end of the day you need to work this out.
Some suggestions for this plan are:
Have a list of the things that makes you feel good about yourself, make this short and concise so you can resite this to yourself easily. This will automatically lift the mood. You need to be grateful for all those things and express your gratitude to yourself.
Being prepared is always helpful, so have you favourite healthy snack on hand, or know how you can get it very quickly.
Menu Plans are always a good way to stick to your program develop one for the times that you know that you are at risk of being triggered. i.e. PMT. Mother in-law is coming to visit.Work out what you are going to eat for that day in advance and get into a habit of sticking to your plan.
Make your life easy not complicated healthy eating is fun, green smoothes are the best way to get rid of cravings for unhealthy foods.
Put yummy things in like blueberries or pineapple to make it a taste sensation, you then have a healthy guilt free comfort food that you can indulge in on the down days.
Clear the pantry of all the unhealthy food and replace with yummy foods that you want to eat, like dried apricots and nuts and seeds that you like to snack on, and things that can be whipped up in a flash to make a yummy healthy treat. Smoothes are always yummy and filling.
Now on the back of the Triggers Sheet make your Once Triggered Plan.
You can design this any way you want, but make it achievable and realistic. It may help to outline individual situations and the steps you will take to in still new habits. Also don’t forget to build in a reward system but it should not be in the form of food, there are many other reward one can give oneself. This needs to be kept on you for reference when needed.
Now old habits die-hard so it is best not to put in your desk or draw and forget about it, because that is to easy. You need to have it handy where you can pull it out and read it several times a day.
Remember this is an action plan it will get no action if you hide it away. The next stage is in the future and we will cover that at a later date when you have developed this strategy and are ready to move to the next step.