You keep coming across #selflove on social media. It's about believing in yourself, putting your own well-being above that of others and showing appreciation for yourself. But what does self-love actually mean? Just kind words and thoughts? In today's article, we'll show you how self-love is connected to healthy eating and give you tips on how you can achieve greater well-being in your own body through conscious eating.
The connection between unhealthy eating habits and self-love
How and what did you eat/have breakfast today? Some people eat breakfast (or lunch) while walking, somewhere in between meals, or skip it altogether because of a busy schedule. That is not healthy, and not good for our self-confidence. If you also have a guilty conscience that internally reprimands you for having eaten unhealthily, this clearly goes against any form of self-love. Because whenever you don't take the time when your body is hungry, or satisfy it quickly, you are signaling to yourself that you are not as important as other activities.
Conscious nutrition through mindfulness
Mindfulness is an art and pausing in stressful situations and listening to the needs of the body requires good self-awareness and a lot of self-love. Mindfulness, conscious nutrition and self-love go hand in hand. With more appreciation for your own body comes the need to give it the food and time it actually needs for its well-being and performance. And at the same time, with more conscious nutrition comes a certain mindfulness of your own needs. But where should you start?
Practical tips for more self-love through nutrition
Especially when the cause of unhealthy eating habits lies in a stressful everyday life, it is difficult to break habits and make time for something that does not seem so important. However, if you want to make your diet, your well-being and your health a priority, you should give yourself enough time for it. Our tips may make it easier for you to get started.
Keep a food diary
Keeping a diary in which you describe every meal may sound tedious. However, the method gives you endless insights into your unconscious eating habits and helps you to become more mindful of your own body's needs. Just try it for a day and find a method of writing down your food that suits you. Try not to immediately evaluate your eating habits, but rather just take stock of the current situation. You can answer the following questions:
- When do I eat what, how and how much?
- How did I feel immediately afterward? How did I feel before/afterward?
- How did my body react to this?
Consciously ignore other people's recommendations. It's just about finding out what YOUR body needs. After a while, you can work out which foods give you a lot of energy and strength, which ones you don't tolerate so well, and which ones you should avoid because they always lower your mood and your well-being.
Plan for a day
Meal prep and multi-week meal planning always look child's play on the internet. In real life, however, something often comes up and you'd rather skip the whole effort. But when the fridge is empty, it's tempting to reach for unhealthy alternatives. Instead of planning ahead for a whole week, just look at the next day. Then you can respond to your body's needs and take your schedule into account. Did you do a lot of exercise today or do you have an appointment tomorrow that's already making you nervous? Then take that into account when choosing your meals and give your body what it really needs at the moment.
If you, as a parent, are also responsible for the well-being of others: Make sure you don't just cook your children's favorite food - but put your needs first for once. Maybe they'll enjoy it as much as you do?
The eye eats with you: arrange your food consciously
Time is a key factor for self-love. To consciously enjoy food, you should give yourself time. Time to cook, time to enjoy without distractions and, ideally, time to arrange the food beautifully. Even if you are only preparing food for yourself, it is an act of appreciation to take this time and arrange it a little more elaborately. A leaf of basil on the pasta, a few splashes of balsamic vinegar on the edge of the plate, an edible flower from the garden and you feel like you are in a gourmet restaurant. Our Puroras will also give you more joy and enjoyment if you arrange them in a beautiful bowl and decorate them with toppings . The joy that the sight of your meal gives you contributes to increased well-being and more conscious enjoyment. Perhaps you would like to go a step further? Get the special service out of the cupboard, light a candle, put a napkin and table decorations on the table - even if all the effort is just for you. You are worth it!
Self-love instead of strict reprimand
Everyone knows the voice in their own mind that forbids them from buying that bar of chocolate in the supermarket or starts threatening them when they try to get a second helping. "If you eat another portion like that, you'll never reach your ideal weight!" But it is precisely this inner voice, with all its strict rules and regulations, that harms true self-love. Now, in the gray season, is the right time to choose more kind words. Instead of strict prohibitions, pleasant compliments and moments of loving mindfulness help. Stop for a moment and ask yourself why exactly you need that bar of chocolate or the second portion. Are you really still hungry? Then consciously reach for it and enjoy it. Maybe you just need a little more energy after a long and stressful day? Then be proud of yourself and your achievement and treat yourself to some relaxation and rest instead of more food.
With all of these tips, the following applies in the spirit of self-love: Don't be too hard on yourself and treat your body with the same respect that you would treat your loved ones with. Is it hard to keep a consistent food diary straight away, even though your diet is such a high priority for you? OK, then just write down one meal a day - that's another way to get to know your body. Have you already found the time to cook for yourself but haven't prepared the food neatly yet? Then just enjoy this freshly cooked meal! Every small, conscious step supports you on your way to more self-love and takes you one step closer to leading a more mindful and contented life.
