Listening To Our Bodies & Restrictive Mindsets
- Mik
- May 15, 2018
- 4 min read
The more you restrict yourself of something, the more you are going to want it. Plain and simple. Our bodies and minds are trained to work that way. Your body is a smart cookie. You might not think so or believe it, but I can promise you one thing, your body is SO much smarter than you think. How can our bodies be smart??? Your body is a freaking machine. Your body is what keeps you alive, moving, living, breathing, thinking, doing all the things you love, etc. It deserves credit for that and it deserves to be respected and valued. Your body is sacred. Treat it that way. How? Don't deprive your body of the things it needs, wants, craves, and loves. Don't ignore your bodies natural signals and ways of communication. I am not crazy. Our bodies are so incredibly intuitive to what we are doing at any given point in time, almost always. Stop neglecting something that should be natural.
Why is it so hard to listen and respond to something thats supposed to be a natural sensation or ability? I'll tell yah why. Diet culture. False advertising. Disordered mindsets. False information. Lack of research. Quick Fixes. The feeling or perception that you have to be one thing or another. You don't. Our bodies have natural cravings and change over time. Our bodies grow and evolve. At one point in time you may love something and at another you may grow to hate it, or vise versa. You get the gist. We are forever evolving. Let it happen. Stop trying to change something that your body so naturally has already decided for you.
Vegan, Keto, Vegetarian, Paleo, Meat Eater, Carb Cycler, Macro Tracker, Intuitive Eater, BLAH BLAH BLAH. What you like to do now isn't permanent!!! It isn't forever and it doesn't mean your feelings or decisions can't change!!! Gosh dang. For example: Maybe your body doesn't genuinely crave meat now/eat it at this point in time, maybe you even classify as Vegan, but let's say five years down the road, you get a sudden craving for a hamburger or chicken nuggets or ground turkey. This is a vise versa scenario as well. Maybe you are a full blown meat eater rn, but down the road are so turned off by meat and have the urge to become Vegan/stop eating meat, yah get where I am going with this? Your body is SMART. Your body is trying to tell you something. Don't neglect its signal to you. Listen and give into it. Maybe you give into it and find its a false signal, OKAY big whoop. You still listened and tried to understand why your body was feeling that way. Thats a step closer to becoming in tune with your body and what it wants. It's not a one size fits all, you don't figure it out overnight, it's trial and error, it's so complex, things take time. You may love tracking macros now, but decide you want to take a more intuitive approach because that makes your body feel good. More power to yah!!! Do it. Trust your body. Trust you.
Being restrictive and overly controlling with anything is no bueno. It's a vicious cycle and it will leave you in a hard place. You will never feel truly happy or satisfied. You cannot deprive yourself from things. You can't tell yourself time and time again that you don't want it or don't need it. If you are continuously fighting those internal battles or mental struggles, chances are you are restricting yourself of something your body truly wants or needs. Stop. The more you start to work with your body and not against it, the less of a daily fight you will have, the less you will sit there wondering when you will ever become in tune with what you really want or need. Try listening. Try allowing yourself to let go. Once your body understands and realizes that you aren't restricting something or cutting it out, it won't fight you. It'll realize that you will allow it to have that certain thing(s) anytime it wants it or needs it.
What are you restricting yourself for? Why aren' you listening to your body? Think about these things. Are you scared, anxious, don't know how, don't know where to start, completely unsure of why? Be honest with yourself. Really try and pinpoint why it's so hard for you to listen to your body and why you feel the need to be restrictive and strict with yourself.
At the end of the day life is too damn short and time is precious. This is something i've begun to recite to myself frequently. In times of anxiousness, overwhelming stress, the uncontrollable circumstances, setbacks, etc., It helps me ground myself and recognize that all of those feelings are temporary. They aren't forever. The idea of going against our bodies and fighting its natural signals goes hand in hand with this. How? The more you try to fight your body, the more you restrict, the more you tell yourself you can't have something or don't need something (the more you want it first of all), and secondly, but most importantly, time is lost. You lose precious time stressing and fixating on things that aren't all that important, that are so very miniscule. Is that worth it to you? Is all of the fuss and unnecessary stress worth losing precious moments and memories? I hope thats a no because it's not worth it.
Don't miss out on all the good stuff because you are so laser focused on perfection. At the end of the day you have to do what works best for YOU. You have to eat in a way that makes YOU feel good, energized, and satisfied. You have to find a way of movement and/or a style of training that allows YOU to feel healthy and happy. It does not matter what he/she is doing, all that matters is that you are doing what works for YOU. Listen to your body. Become in tune with yourself. Learn about yourself by listening. Really focus on becoming familiar with your body and its signals. If you learn to work with your body and not against it, I bet you will be surprised at just how smart your body really is. Give it time. Don't rush it. Just listen, learn, and grow.

-Mik <3
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