Diet isn’t everything

Diet

Isn’t Everything

Diet - that dirty little D word. We’re on them. We’re off them. We love them and we dread them. It starts with excitement and motivation but often leads to feeling tired, defeated and confused. We cheat on the weekends and start again on Monday. New year’s resolutions, spring detoxes and juice cleanses are all part of the vicious cycle, and I’m here to tell you how to break it.

Focusing solely on your diet is not painting a complete picture and is oftentimes misleading. Fixing a problem needs deeper insight than just looking at symptoms. Holistic nutrition focuses on much more than the food found on your plate to uncover the root cause. Of course, diet is a key aspect of health, but it’s only a small part of the puzzle in the grand scheme of things. Other areas of life such as deep connection to others, fulfillment in your career, physical activity and your spirituality influence your food habits.

The holistic approach is observing the whole being and their systems. Everything is connected like a web and when one area is heavily burdened, it can take other areas down with it. When we apply this to nutrition, we look at what drives us to choose the foods that we eat and it may have nothing to do with the food itself. By ignoring areas in our life that aren’t flourishing and are being neglected, we use food as a distraction to numb the emotions attached to the situation, or to forget them altogether. Continuing to focus solely on diet to fix your shortcomings is like a pipe bursting and you’re just mopping up the floor instead of fixing the pipe to keep it from flooding.

These other areas of our lives impact how we choose the food we eat and how our body digests and uses it. Lacking in any of these areas can cause strong food cravings as a substitute to try and fill the void. This is why we crave the chocolate, the extra dirty martini, or the late-night McDonald’s menu items even though we are consciously aware that it won’t nourish our body. Instead of fighting with your cravings, balance the other areas of life that are asking to be fulfilled. The food you find on your plate reflects how you perceive your world.

Humans are communal beings. It’s why holidays are jolly and talking on the phone to your friend is the best form of therapy. We thrive on being around like-minded people to share our passions and interests. But here’s the kicker: if you don’t have a solid connection with yourself, you will find yourself feeling lonely in a crowded room. Your first priority must be yourself. So, take the mental health day off, take yourself on a date and choose to love yourself every day. Think of it like a cup, and the contents inside the cup is self-care. What does the inside of your cup look like? If you don’t take time for yourself and haven’t learned the usefulness of the word “no”, you may feel like your cup is running on empty. How are you going to offer others any contents from your care cup if there are no contents to give? Fuel up buttercup with some self-care so you can share the love.

Physical activity is one way to fill your care cup, and it’s also another area to prioritize for a healthy plate. The good news is the options are endless and you don’t ever have to buy a gym membership again if you don’t want to. Have fun with your movements and discover ways that your body enjoys moving. Blast your favorite tunes and dance around the house, hula hoop, roller skate, or come up with your own way to move that feels good in your body. Moving energy around and increasing your heart rate gives your cells an oxygen rich nutrient bath and keeps the body strong and limber, not to mention basking in the natural high from the happy hormones released during exercise.

An alarming number of people work jobs for years that don’t support their spiritual being. Growth and expansion as a spiritual being is pertinent to your health, and if this doesn’t describe your current role then maybe it’s time to rethink your career. No, you don’t have to run off to write your 2 weeks’ notice to find fulfilment in your work. Volunteer your passions or create a side hustle - it doesn’t feel like work when you can’t get enough of it! Make a list of the things you love to do and create action steps to making a career out of it. Life is too short to do work that is depressing your soul.

Speaking of souls, how connected are you to yours? Spirituality is simply your connection to your soul - your true self. Reflecting on how and why you do things while having a strong connection between the body and the mind opens the door to the best version of yourself. You have all the answers you are looking for; you just have to turn off all the other noise around you to be able to tune in and hear it.

Being spiritual does not equate to being religious. Yes, religion can strengthen your spirituality but it isn’t one and the same. Other ways to strengthen spirituality is by experiencing joy, sharing your interests, meditation and selfeducation.

Bouncing from one diet to another is not going to help you succeed long term. A diet is not going to fill the void you are feeling. You must check into the other areas of your life and ask yourself how you’re doing. Introspect where the weaknesses lie in your relationships, physical activity, career and spirituality, and bring more attention to balancing these aspects of your life. When your world is balanced, so is your plate.

Marah Young works with professional women to help them balance business, family and health so that they can increase productivity without the stress. Marah is the CEO of My Wholistics and has an online wellness studio and community designed to support everyone’s healing journey - because not everyone heals by Aum-ing on a yoga mat. She received her M.S. in holistic natural health & nutrition and studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to obtain the title of a holistic health coach. During her studies, Marah turned towards yoga to help manage stress and keep her body and mind balanced, and soon went on to teacher training to share the benefits of the practice with others.

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