Let Me Hear Your Body Talk

(About a 6-minute read)

OK, maybe that title is a bit misleading. What I actually want to address today is how you can hear your body talk. Because it does. Are you listening?

In a recent interview and in various social media posts, I’ve talked about the importance of listening to your body and what a crucial skill it is for good health, mental clarity, and healthy weight maintenance. Someone asked me what that means, so here we are.

Your body has a wealth of knowledge and can teach you many things. If you understand its language. It wants to connect with you. It wants to serve you. It wants to be healthy and energetic. But as with many relationships, this is one we all tend to neglect. We take it for granted. We’ve simply stopped listening.

While this may sound a bit woo-woo, it really isn’t. I’m talking about a natural state of being that we’ve lost over time. Ever notice how babies and animals seem to just know when they’re hungry, tired, full, or in need of something? And aren’t they great at telling us? This is our natural state. This is what we’ve lost, and the reasons are numerous. Our culture, our family norms and traditions, our social habits, peer pressure, and product marketing are just a few of the ways we’re taught to ignore our body’s natural signals. How many times have you heard comments like, “Oh go on, it’s just one…” or “You can’t possibly be full, you hardly ate anything!” or especially, “Gotta clean your plate - there are children starving in X country.” And my favourite, “You better eat now in case you get hungry later.” And what about the media? “Once you pop, you just can’t stop,” “Feed the need,” or “Bet you can’t eat just one.”

Can you imagine going to a social gathering that doesn’t involve food? Ever go to a buffet and feel like you need to “get your money’s worth?” And don’t even get me started on vacations and holidays and all the expectations of being able to overeat just because it’s X occasion. I get it. I’ve been there. I still go there sometimes. And the truth is, it’s not a very nice place to be. Heaven forbid we might miss out on something. (This is called FOMO, by the way - Fear Of Missing Out.)

Because we are social beings, we easily succumb to these pressures because we want to feel like we fit in. We need to connect with our tribe. We need to feel like we’re normal. Those are all really good, positive things. Until they come at the expense of our individual needs. While this line of thinking can be applied to many different areas of life, the most fundamental (in my opinion) is how we live in our own bodies.

Like anything else, sensing into your body is a skill that must be practiced. Re-learning how to do this takes time, patience, practice, and perseverance (are these themes sounding familiar?). We don’t always get it right. Social pressures won’t ever go away. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get to a point where we can openly “listen” to our body and then choose our actions.

So, how do we do this? While there are many different approaches, as usual, my preference is to keep it simple. Remember a long time ago I talked about how profoundly a daily 5-minute habit can affect your life? Well, this would be the perfect 5-minute habit to implement over the course of the next 30 days. While there’s admittedly no magic in a time-frame of 30 days, it does take time to create habits. By consistently practicing behaviours we want to turn into habits, we are more likely to reach a point where they become something we “just do” on a daily basis. I like 30 days because it’s easy to track on the calendar, and the kindergartner who lives in my brain just LOVES putting an X or a sticker on a calendar for each day I do something; it can be a surprisingly motivating little trick.

Try this: Every day for 30 days, at the same time of day (ideally before your biggest meal), sit quietly for 5 minutes. Set a timer. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Start by slowly scanning your body from head to toe. Notice anything you feel physically. Tension? Anxiety? Soreness? Relaxation? Peace and calm? Feel each of your limbs, try to sense your fingers and toes. Can you feel the fabric of your clothes against your skin? Do you notice air moving around you? If you find a spot that’s especially tense or sore, maybe rest your hand on it. Breathe into it and see if you can find some relief. How many different things can you sense that you wouldn’t normally notice? And if you’re doing this before a meal, how hungry are you, really?

The first few times you do this you may find it difficult. We have what we call “Monkey Mind” issues, where our minds won’t stop racing. This is OK and completely normal. Just take some deep breaths, observe it, and then without judgment, gently guide your attention back to wherever you left off. With time these feelings will settle. and you may even find that you look forward to those 5 minutes of stillness.

When the timer goes off, you can continue scanning or stop and get on with your day. After you open your eyes, take a big breath and notice how you feel. Do you feel different?

So, now what? This practice is just the beginning, and it’s a great way to get started. You’ll begin to sense into your body more naturally. The more often you do this, the more you’ll start noticing all sorts of different sensations. And that is where the magic starts. You can start sensing in at other times. Before a meal. Before you pour the next drink. Before you dive into a bag of potato chips or cookies. Before you mindlessly attack the bread basket on the table at the restaurant. Or before you give in to someone pushing you to have this thing that you don’t really want. It becomes easier to stop eating before you’re stuffed because you start understanding what just satisfied feels like. You’ll be able to start asking yourself what it is you really need at a particular moment. You might find that you’re feeling insecure, stressed, angry, sad, lonely, happy, elated, or maybe even just bored. Eventually, you can find other ways to take care of yourself, which may not involve anything food-related. Just be patient, because it can take a while to get there.

Is this a simple approach to a big thing? Yes! But big things are made up of small things, so one step at a time is usually the best way to go. Is this an easy thing to practice? Yes. And No. It’s easy to do, but it’s not always easy to remember to practice. Is it effective? Well, I’ll let you be the judge once you give it those 30 days, and I’m pretty sure the answer will be a resounding YES!

One caveat: Even when you get really good at listening to your body, that doesn’t mean you’ll never overindulge or succumb to social pressures ever again. What it does mean is that behaviour becomes a conscious decision. Sure, there are times when you will ignore what your body is telling you. Fortunately, once you’ve really tuned in, those times become fewer and farther between. And that, my lovelies, is when you have taken charge of your own health and well-being.

In the interest of full disclosure, I also will tell you that even as a master level nutrition coach, this is something I struggle with from time to time. It has taken me years of less than consistent practice to get to a point where I can feel when I’m not treating my body the way it wants to be treated. Then it’s easier to remind myself to practice sensing in. I ask my body what it wants. I ask it what it needs.

And you know what? It tells me.

Have a health of a day,

Juli