Most of us are barely aware of what and how we eat which leads us to overeat, eat late nights, skip meals, and eat fast.
Why are we emphasizing the importance of how you eat? Well because it has a huge impact on your digestion!
This is an art that once you learn half your digestion issues like acidity, constipation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and much more will surely vanish. We tend to multitask while eating like watching TV or working, on a call, scrolling through Social media on one hand and spoon in another. This is unfortunate because we tend to gobble our food and we tend not to notice what, how, and how much we are eating. It is time we change these habits so as to help us better our mind, body, and microbiome!
The fast-paced world demands a lot of energy, stamina, physical and mental strength from us and to be able to do that we need to make sure we are fueling ourselves with the right food and are equipped to handle everything that life throws at us.
Eating right is not rocket science, we just need to relearn and incorporate certain routines.
Let us look at how we can go about this easily!
How to start your day?
Your body is hungry & depleted on waking up and this is when your muscles are extremely weak.
Start your day with 1 glass of water and then a fruit or a few nuts before you go to your coffee or chai to help your body re-energize.
The way you start your day determines how you eat throughout the day and helps you binge less.
It is not just about eating your breakfast, lunch & dinner
Mid meals are of utmost importance. These are the times when we want to snack and when it comes to snacking we always tend to pick up the easiest which is picking up packaged foods that are fattening and unhealthy.
What can you do at this time you ask? Well, a couple of things I personally do is I prepare homemade snacks like laddus, chivda, puffed rice snacks, and much more beforehand.
The other thing you can do is prepare your sherbets / nimbu pani / lemonade and other juices first thing in the morning and store in the fridge for the day.
This will really help you to maintain a healthier lifestyle.
Are you eating properly before & after a workout?
It is very important to have a pre & post-workout. To sustain throughout your workout routine the body requires fuel which we need to provide in the form of fruits, nuts, dry fruits, etc.
Post-workout, our body needs a balanced meal consisting of complex carbohydrates, good proteins, and good fats to give your body the right nutrients to repair and rejuvenate.
Snacks were heavy so let us skip dinner?
Most people assume that if you have a “cheat meal” you should be skipping the next meal. One must understand that skipping meals only leads to slow metabolism and hence leading to a gain in weight or disturbed sleep patterns. Do not overeat or skip, learn to be mindful, and eat light at dinner time.
Two best dinner options I personally have and recommend are dosas & idlis or dal khichdi with a teaspoon of ghee.
Afraid to go out because you are on a diet?
Festivities, parties, and social gatherings will always be a part of our lifestyle. So would you avoid going to such gatherings or would you rather learn how to manage your meals during such times?
When you are out make sure to order the vegetables which are in season. The second thing you have to do is avoid fried items and go for tandoori items instead as starters and last but not least for Mind your Portion!
At the end of all this make sure to have warm water or warm milk before you sleep.
Things you need to include for better digestion and for gaining the best out of what you eat:
Vajrasana and pawanmuktasana are two important asanas you need to do everyday to help with feeling right and aiding in better digestion. Vajrasana is the only asana that we can do post-meals. It has ample benefits but curing acidity and gas formation is one of the major reasons we must sit in this pose post meals. Pawanmuktasana is a pose that we need to do before we get out of bed every morning as this will allow extra gas to escape easily and relieve constipation too.
Along with these two asanas make sure to include things like whole grains, fermented foods, millets like ragi, snacks like makhana and jaggery especially in the winter season for better digestive health.
Putting all these steps into practice will be the first step to take towards a healthy lifestyle and a better digestive system. Once you start slowly you will see the difference in how mindful eating can bring great changes.
Author
Swetha Ashok- TheGutGuru Microbiologist, Biochemist, and Nutritionist, working on developing programs and recipes for a healthy gut. Along with being the founder of TheGutGuru, I am also a partner at PAMS health & wellness.
My personal interest in helping others started when I started figuring out how to solve my own digestive issues & how important it is to work on oneself. I believe in not just prescribing incomprehensible dietary practices, but in educating on the WHATs and HOWs about a meal, increasing awareness about the intrinsic relationship between food, mind, and body.