Regardless of all of the reports and info you have been bombarded with, there are benefits of drinking coffee, wine, smoothies, margaritas, or fill in the blank with your fave bevie.....
I'm not talking about increasing energy or anything you've heard in any news reports that one week tell you something is healthy, and the next it's causing heart disease.
Let's look at how you drink as opposed to what you drink.
Are you.....
chugging several cups of coffee a day mindlessly
not sure of how many glasses of wine you've had
using alcohol to "relax" then having a restless sleep
Or are you.....
sipping slowly
sitting quietly
surrounded by people that fill your soul
savoring
appreciating
This also applies to how you eat.
Are you eating....
in your car
while walking
quickly
mindlessly
whatever you can grab
while scrolling on your phone
Or are you....
sitting down by yourself, quietly (ie-no phone)
having lunch with a friend
having dinner with your family
chewing and savoring each bite
Remember the concept of rest and digest? They go together. When your body is in a state of stress, it is working to calm you down and bring you to equilibrium. In a state of stress, digesting your food becomes the last thing on the list for your body to do. The stress we are under now is not from a tiger chasing you (fight or flight) but rather from...
the mind racing
from all you have to get done(right now!)
how you are supposed to look
what you are supposed to say
how that Insta post made you look
to the multi tasking and expectations we take on daily.
For one day, if you could forget about obsessing over exactly what you "should" and "shouldn't" eat and drink, and just focus on how you are eating/drinking it, you will send your body cues to digest your food. This will lead to achieving many of the goals you likely set for yourself- to sleep better, to have more energy, to have more patience and yes, this will even help you to maintain a healthy weight.
Awareness is the first step to any change. Once you slow down and become more aware of what you consume through the day-and why-you will naturally shift towards taking in what "fuels you and satisfies you", as opposed to what "amps you up and fulfills a momentary craving."
Here's to shifting your mindset this season, and reassessing patterns and habits that we pick up along the way and stick with even when they no longer serve us.
Lots of love and tons of health,
Jill