E045 | Why listening to your body works better than counting calories (and how to start)

Do you feel like you’re trapped on a hamster wheel of calorie counting, portion measuring, and diet plans—only to feel more frustrated and out of sync with your body?

If you’ve been relying on external rules to guide your eating, you might be ignoring the powerful signals your body is trying to send you. These habits often lead to hunger, fatigue, food guilt, and a constant struggle to feel satisfied.

But what if the secret to lasting wellness isn’t in a food app or diet plan—but in tuning back into your body’s natural wisdom?

In this episode, I’ll reveal why listening to your body is more effective than counting calories and introduce you to a mindful eating exercise that will change the way you think about food.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL LEARN:

• Why the “calories in, calories out” model is outdated and what really matters for your health.
• The five most common mistakes people make with food—and how to avoid them.
• How a simple mindful eating practice can help you reconnect with your body and enjoy food in a whole new way.

This episode is your invitation to break free from the diet cycle and create a healthier, more intuitive relationship with food.

MENTIONED EPISODES IN THIS EPISODE:

• Episode 39: Overwhelmed by Wellness? Here’s the Simple Fix to Align Energy, Rest, and Nutrition.
• Episode 32: The Missing Key in Chronic Illness Self-Care (where I talk about self-compassion).
• Episode 33: How to Ease Stress Without Meditation.

Chapters

• 1:36 Why "Eat less and exercise more" is a myth
• 5:44 You’re Always Hungry, Even After a “Full” Meal
• 6:17 You Feel Tired and Sluggish After Eating
• 7:01 Food Cravings Take Over Your Day
• 7:30 You Struggle to Tell If You’re Actually Hungry
• 10:17 The root cause of these frustrating symptoms isn’t your willpower....
• 17:43 5 common mistakes people make when it comes to their diet
• 24:21 5 Ways to Reconnect with Your Body
• 25:52 Mindful eating with a raisin - do this with me!

Transcript

 Do you feel like you're stuck on a hamster wheel of counting calories, measuring portions, and obsessing over every meal only to feel more frustrated and out of sync with your body?

What if the secret to true health and lasting freedom isn't enough food app or a spreadsheet, but in reconnecting with your body's innate pistol? In this episode, I'll reveal by listening to your body is not only more effective than counting calories, but also the key to a healthier and happier you. Plus, I will take you through a fun activity towards the end of this episode that involves a piece of resin or a small piece of chocolate, so keep that handy as you listen to this episode. It will change the way you think about eating about your diet.

So if you're ready to break free from dieting and finally feel at home in your body, stay with me. You don't want to miss this episode. Welcome to Embrace Your Healing Journey, a podcast for women with autoimmune and other chronic conditions to help them navigate their illness without fear of isolation and uncertainty, and find relief from their symptoms. Your body is your guide and ally in healing. If you're ready to embrace this journey. With compassion and awareness, then the show is for you.

Tune in weekly as I, a functional medicine certified health coach, deliver tips and insights that demystify the healing process, guiding you towards the relief you deserve so that you can feel healthy and happy once more.

Many people still believe that counting calories is what will help us remain healthy, and most importantly, it is the key to losing weight. This is what we're told by doctors, TV, internet and media. Eat less and exercise more and you may of course have also tried it at one time. Yet this recipe for weight loss is a myth, as you most likely have found out for yourself. Our doctor, Fatima Stanford, an obesity specialist and assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, says a calorie in and a calorie out concept when it comes to weight loss is not only antiquated, it's just wrong. And it's the same thing that many others are telling us, because modern science has shown us that there are many different factors responsible for our weight gain beyond the number of calories that we are consuming. And while I'm not getting into that today, I will be getting into that maybe in a different episode, but everything from hormones to gut health to the microbiome to the kind of microbes that we or the bacteria that we have in our that. Everything has an impact on our weight. So having 200 calories in the form of Coke or a Diet Coke or Pepsi is very different from having 200 calories of broccoli. This is what you need to wrap your head around. And this is something that I've been teaching my clients my own children, because that's not what is conventional knowledge that the foods that you eat have a far bigger impact on your body than just providing energy or fuel for us to live. And that is why the quality of the calories matters even probably more in many cases like the qual than the quantity. And that's exactly why I mentioned that 200 calories in the form of a Coke, which is actually going to move you towards disease over a period of time, are, rather than 200 calories of broccoli, which moves you towards health. Right? So we are on this disease and health spectrum with disease on one end, health on the other end, and it's up to us what we put in our mouths, because that's what's going to lead us towards one or the other.

So what we need to ask ourselves is how do we experience food? What kinds of foods do we buy? Where do we source it from? How do we prepare it? What are the kind of dishes we make and how does it make us feel? And what is our experience of coming together in order to savor that food? All of this is equally important in the, you know, in terms of eating, in terms of your diet. Uh, you know, as it is the number of calories. I mean, probably even more so we cannot simply look at food in terms of calories or even carbs, proteins or fats while they are all important. The kind of, uh, you know, the macros. We also have to look at food in terms of what kind of environment that we are consuming these foods in. So are you stressed when you're having your meal? Are you enjoying your meal with your family or having it alone? All these will have an impact in terms of how it will be digested and absorbed by your body.

 In fact, research shows us that when children eat in front of a television without paying attention, they end up consuming 20% to 60% more. And this is true for all others as well, because when you eat while you are distracted on the phone or watching a movie, you don't fully taste the food. You're not tuned in to your hunger signals either. And you don't experience the flavor and the texture and the satiated that comes with paying attention and enjoying your food. As a result, you are much more likely to be quickly and eat much more than you need to.

And that is exactly what I'll be showing you through a mindful eating exercise with a raisin or a piece of chocolate. So make sure that you have it handy with you, as we will do that in a bit. So when you rely on external rules, like counting calories to guide your eating, you might you may find yourself facing several frustrating symptoms. These are subtle signs your body's trying to communicate with you, but you've been taught to ignore them. And that's true for most of us. We are not really shown how to listen to our body, and the noise around us typically drowns out all the signals that we can get.

So let's break these down so you can start recognizing them in your own life. So it can be that you're always hungry, even after a full meal. So you sit down, you eat what's considered a balanced meal. But within an hour or two, your stomach is growling again. And it's not just physical hunger, it's a feeling of dissatisfaction that leaves you reaching first. So, for example, after lunch, you've beaten the eggs in a right amount of calories according to your app, but you are still craving something sweet or salty. This happens because your body craves nutrients, not numbers. It doesn't know how many calories you're consuming, and it doesn't really care if you know it needs those nutrients for your body to function optimally, or you feel tired and sluggish after eating. So instead of feeling energized, you often feel like you need a nap or a coffee after meals. So this can happen when you're not eating the foods that truly fuel your body. Or when you're eating too quickly to digest properly. And as I mentioned before, when you are eating in a rushed or a straight or a stressed state, your body gets the message. There's a danger out there and it activates your fight and flight system, nervous system mode, and switches off your digestion mode, rest and digest mode. This leads to poor digestion, and this is actually a hallmark typically of a low stomach acid, which often leads to this this kind of situation where we feel tired even after consuming a meal or food cravings. Take over your day so you find yourself constantly thinking about food, when to eat, what to eat and cravings often occur when you are out of sync with your body's natural hunger cues, or you're trying to restrict certain foods against your body's nutrient requirements. So, for example, you promise yourself you won't eat any carbs today by but dinner time you are. You know you're really craving for those breaths.

So rather than restricting, what I am talking about is actually paying attention to your body. And you may struggle to tell if you're hungry, so you may notice your eating out of habit, boredom, or stress rather than true hunger. And when you do feel hunger, it feels like that something you need immediately. So you reach for a snack every afternoon at 3 p.m. but when you actually pause to think about it, you're not really hungry. It's just become part of your routine. And it may be that eating feels rushed or unfulfilling. This is actually quite common when you are eating in a distracted state. So you're scrolling your phone, watching TV, or even when you're working because you don't really taste your food.

And this is the first thing that I change when I work with my clients. I change the way they eat their food as much as I do change their diet. And you know, both of these go hand in hand. You cannot see the results when you do one or the other. I mean, you of course need to change your diet and, you know, make healthier choices. But it's also the way that you eat the food, because if you don't eat food in a way that it's mental and it satiates your body, you feel unsatisfied and reach for more. In fact, a lack of pleasure and enjoyment around food is why people often develop unhealthy relationships with food. And that never ends well, right? This is not sustainable no matter which diet you follow. And diet and food can become a source of anxiety or guilt as a result.

You feel stressed about eating the wrong things or guilty if you indulge in a treat and food becomes less about nourishment and joy and more about fear and control. And again, this doesn't really end well. So you eat a slice of pizza with friends and spend the rest of the evening mentally calculating how many calories you will need to burn at the gym tomorrow. This is not how it needs to be, and it is not how it should be. Because this is not giving your body a chance to digest your food properly. To be in a good place when you are consuming a food, and it all impacts the way the food is digested and absorbed in your body by each of these symptoms, is a sign that you are disconnected from your body's natural wisdom. They reflect how external rules like calorie counting have taken over your relationship with food. So when you tune in, tune back in, these symptoms can start to fade. That's that's a good part because you will feel energized, free and satisfied and free from the constant mental chatter about what foods to eat, when to eat, how much to eat. So let's explore practical ways to reconnect with your body and rebuild a more healthier and intuitive relationship. And I want you to stay with me because this shift is where the magic happens. And as I mentioned, if you haven't already, keep a piece of raisin or a chocolate with you handy because we will be doing an exercise, right? It's a fun exercise. So the root cause of these frustrating symptoms isn't your willpower, your body, or even the food you're eating. In many cases, it's the disconnection from your body's natural signals and wisdom.

You've been conditioned to override your intuition with external rules like calorie counting, strict diets, or a one size fits all advice. So here's what's really going on.

Number one, you've been taught to distrust your body. So from a young age, you've most likely been bombarded with messages that your body can't be trusted, that somehow there's something to control or fixed. And this is actually even more so if you're dealing with some health issues or you've been diagnosed with a chronic condition or an autoimmune condition, like typically the kind of, you know, my clients I work with women with complex chronic health issues like autoimmune conditions, you know, and they've got a message over a period of time that their body isn't to be trusted, that their body is somehow broken or, you know, and needs to be fixed in a way. And that really that relationship with your own body is, you know, is or with their body doesn't really help them. So what happens is the result of that often is calorie counting, portion control, food restrictions when it comes to diet. And these make them rely more on external guide than guidelines instead of listening to what the body is actually asking for. So if you are doing this, then you end up ignoring your body's hunger cues. You pushed through fatigue or suppressed cravings, which creates a disconnect. And over time, this erodes your ability to recognize what your body truly needs.

So I tell my clients that you know if you want. If you're craving for a sweet because you're deprived yourself of, you know, you know, like a joy and you know, food, let's face it. Food does bring us joy, but using it all the time as a comfort or joy, you know, as a substitute for other things in life where we lack joy is not good. At the same time, we need to indulge ourselves. That's what it's all about. It's about enjoying life, too. It's not about managing health issues or reversing symptoms. It is much beyond that. So if if once in a while you crave something, you should go in for that. Of course, you can make healthier choices. You can go in for a dark chocolate. And if you are avoiding dairy, you can go in for a vegan dark chocolate. So there's so many ways to have healthier desserts for example.

Number two is diet culture forces a one size fits all approach. So diet culture, the one you know message that you constantly get the kind of advice that you get. It reduces food and health to numbers calories in, calories out. And it completely ignores the complexity, how food interact with your emotions, environment, and even unique biology. Which is why what works for one person doesn't really work for another. So if your neighbor has lost weight, or your friend has lost weight following a particular kind of a diet, typically that will not work for you. And you might have seen that and you then end up feeling like a failure when that diet doesn't work for you, even though the problem isn't you, it's the method that wasn't designed for your body's unique needs.

Number three stress and distraction hijack your eating experience. I can't emphasize this enough. It's not only important what kind of food you're consuming, it is equally important how you are consuming them. And this is why I do this activity with my clients. And I make sure that, uh, and I'll be doing that with you in a bit, that they are eating in a stress as much as a stress free state as possible, because modern life keeps you in a state of distraction. This, and it may be your TV. It may be your phone, and this disconnects you from the full sensory experience of eating, making it harder to notice hunger, fullness or satisfaction when, as a result, you are more likely to eat mindlessly, overeat, or crave comfort foods because you're not really present with your meal.

Number four emotional triggers replace hunger cues, and this is where food often becomes a coping mechanism for stress, anxiety, boredom, or even joy because one is that we are not making space for joy, for pleasure. And on the other hand, we are not really dealing with our stress very well, with our anxiety around our life and other things that are going on. So we've not really developed a coping mechanism to deal with these emotions like negative emotions, which are also very useful. So instead of addressing these underlying emotions, you turn to food for comfort or reward. And this creates a cycle where emotional eating masks your body's true hunger cues. So you're not really sure of when and why you are eating and you don't really know when, which is a true hunger and which is not.

And number five. Nutritional misinformation keeps you stuck. Because not all calories are created equal. And because conventional medicine advice treats them as if they are. This oversimplifies how food impacts your body. So you ignore factors like nutrient quality, food timing, gut health, and hormonal balance. You only focus on the numbers, right? And you're only focusing on that app which tells you how many calories you are consuming. So you eat low calorie or even low fat foods without even realizing that they may not nourish your body properly, leaving you hungry, fatigued, or prone to craving cravings. So the real problem is that you've been disconnected from your body's innate ability to guide you. So instead of listening to its wisdom, you've been trained to rely on external rules that don't take into account your unique needs or circumstances. So reconnecting with your body in this case isn't just about solving these symptoms. It's about regaining your trust in yourself. Self feeling empowered and finding freedom in how you eat and live.

So I had a client who needed to change. She had a lot of eczema and she had asthma, and she needed to go off dairy, change her foods. And she was really, um, very stressed about doing that because she's never she never tried, uh, to change her diet before, but she knew that something had to give. Something had to change. But when I started working with her, we didn't dive immediately into changing everything and all the food. We started with changing her relationship with food in the first place. So rather than thinking of food only as fuel, as energy and something like an even maybe as a chore, in her case it needed to be done. We designed mealtimes to make it more pleasurable.  So whether it was just, you know, uh, taking a few deep breaths before every meal, whether it was using nice crockery, whether it was, you know, sort of designing the environment with some music. We first focused on the brainstorm ways to make our environment more calming, more peaceful so that, you know, she could eat her food in a less stressed manner. And then we, you know, once she got the hang of this, she started feeling much better at mealtimes. She never needed noticed how how stressed she was at mealtime because she was on the phone, etc. and that's when we started making changes in our diet. And that's where it made a huge difference. So this is something that, you know, something for you to think about. Because if you're like most people, you've probably put in a lot of effort to fix these symptoms. And as I've given you the example of my client, they don't really work because the problem is the solutions you've been given are rooted in the same outdated thinking that created the issue in the first place. And these are actually the most common mistakes people make when it comes to their diet. And number two in this is the one that confuses people the most. And they ask me, I've tried this diet and I've tried that diet. Why doesn't it ever work for me?

So the number one thing that people end up doing is that they count their calories religiously. So if you've tracked every meal and snack, logged every calorie into an app, and you follow strict daily limits, and at first it might have felt like you were in control. But eventually doing this. And you know, eating in this manner becomes exhausting and unsustainable. And the reason is because counting calories treats food as numbers, not nourishment. It doesn't consider how your body processes different foods. It doesn't consider your emotional state or whether you actually feel satisfied. And this can lead to burnout and frustration because it's not really addressing your unhealthy. I mean, if at all your disconnection with food or maybe your relationship with food.

The other thing that happens, a mistake that many people make is following a one size fits all type. In fact, this is the most common mistake that I see as a health coach when I talk to my friends and family. This is the number one thing that they say. I tried this diet and I tried that. Tried. It worked for my friend. It worked for my neighbor, but it's not working for. So from keto to intermittent fasting to juice cleanses, you probably tried the trending diets that promised rapid results, and you may have already seen some short term progress, but you find yourself back to square one because it's too hard to maintain. Because these diets were not designed for your unique body, lifestyle, or needs. So it's not, as I tell my clients, it's not about the labels.

And I want to tell you that too. It's not about the label. It's about the foods that your body needs right now. And it might change, which is why you need to pay attention to what your body needs right at meal times. And instead of focusing on restriction, you need to focus on what your unique requirements are. Number three is exercising excessively to burn off. This is such a big myth. I mean, I cannot tell you the number of times I heard this, and initially I had to choose to get me very upset to hear that. Okay, today I had to go to the gym and work it out as if for collision and calories out 2000 calories in 2000 calories out would work. And you know, I used to start sort of discussing this with people trying to convince them. And I realized that, you know, usually unless they're receptive to hearing the truth, the reality, the science behind it. I'm just wasting my energy and my breath. And I hope that I'm not doing that with you, because I want you to know that this doesn't really work, that you you know, if you double down on exercise as a way to compensate for what you eat is not going to work. Because, as you probably have realized by now, food, it's not the calories in and calories out approach, so you don't need to push yourself harder and harder, thinking that the key to weight management or better health is burning calories. Because exercise alone can't undo the impact of eating foods that don't nourish you, as they say. I mean, as I think in functional medicine, we say rather, is that you can't exercise your way out of a bad diet. And in fact, weight loss is actually connected to your hormonal health. And unless it is in balance, you may actually experience weight loss resistance. And this typically happens for women, especially in perimenopausal and menopausal years. I am struggling with some of this because I can definitely see that there is some some amount of weight loss resistance. So the key is not for me to exercise more. Of course I need to exercise. Of course I need to do weights, but those are for other reasons. Those are for overall health, muscle toning, body weight or, you know, fat. So all of that and for bone health, mental health. But as far as weight is concerned, you know, it goes much beyond that. And exercise should never become a punishment. So rather than then supporting your wellbeing, if it starts stressing you out, then it actually aggravates the problem. So I hope you understand. You know, when I say that exercise, you cannot, you know, outrun a bad diet or exercise your way out of a bad time.

Number four is distracting yourself from cravings. You've tried all the tricks chewing gum, drinking water, keeping busy to avoid giving in to cravings. But cravings are often signals from your body or emotions that your body needs some sort of nourishment that can go beyond physical hunger. So ignoring and suppressing them doesn't solve the root issue, and eventually they may come back stronger. So this again goes back to emotional regulation coping with emotions. You know. So this is a very different thing than physical hunger. So you need to be able to differentiate between the two. And of course you're eating healthy. But ignoring your body's feedback also doesn't work. So if you switch to eating salads, low fat snacks, clean foods, uh, because you've been told that it's healthy and you still feel hungry, fatigued, or unsatisfied, then these are not the foods which are right for your body right now.  You need to have a mix of foods, and you need to pay attention as to how your body is responding to these foods. And it has to go beyond just calories or nutrients because you need to truly nourish yourself. You need to nourish yourself, mind, body, and spirit. Only focusing on physical, uh, physical hunger is not going to help you. You need to focus on your emotional hunger as well. And of course, sticking to a willpower mindset because you may have been told that you just need to be more disciplined. You need to try harder or stick to the plan better. And this overlooks the fact that willpower is a limited resource. And you don't need more discipline. You need a strategy that works with your body and not against it.

So all of that I shared right now, all these mistakes that people make rely on external rules or temporary fixes, rather than helping you rebuild trust with your body. They really don't address the bigger picture your relationship with food, your emotions, and your environment. And the good news is there is a better way. And we are about to explore it together. So stay with me because the next steps will shift your perspective and set you on the path to lasting change.

And I'm also going to share with you a few episodes like episode 39  Overwhelmed by wellness? Here’s the simple fix to align energy, rest, and nutrition

 Episode number 32  - The missing key in chronic illness self-care

 where I talk about self-compassion.
And episode 33  -How to ease stress without meditation

 So now for the fun part. You need to pause this episode and get a piece of resin or a chocolate so that you can do this activity along with me, because I'm going to share five ways to reconnect with your body, and so that you can begin to eat in a way that feels nourishing, satisfying, and sustainable. 

So the first thing I want you to do is relearn your body's is hunger and fullness cues, so your body is constantly communicating with you. So but you've been taught how to ignore it signals. So relearning how to recognize hunger and fullness is the first step to start building trust with your body. So the way you can do that is before eating, pause and ask yourself, and if you need to write this down, please do that. Take out a journal and write this down. Am I physically hungry or is this emotional or habitual? And midway through your meal, you can still check in and say, am I still hungry? Or am I satisfied? And practice stopping when you feel content and not stuffed. 

Number two focus on how foods make you feel, not just what you eat. So food is, as I mentioned, more than just fuel. It interacts with your body, impacts your energy, mood and digestion. So if you tune in, you can actually make choices that supports your overall well-being. So what you can do is you can keep a simple food journal, not calorie counting, but it's we call it a food mood journal. And I asked some of my clients to do this. Certain foods make you feel in a feel a certain way, so you need to notice that and write it down and identify foods that leave you feeling energized versus those that make you feel sluggish or bloated. And then you can start prioritizing those foods. 

Number three. Slow down and practice mindful eating. Eating mindfully helps you savor your food. Recognize when you're satisfied and reduce overeating. Most importantly, you get to have fun. You get to really enjoy each meal. So commit to sitting down for meals, even if for just ten minutes. And eliminate distractions like phones or TVs. 

So that piece of raisin or chocolate. And let's stick to the reason for just to make it easier for us. I can do this with the chocolate as well. Uh, let's take a moment to do that. It's a very quick exercise just to show you so that you experience what mindful eating actually feels like. So I want you to take the piece of raisin and put it on a, on the palm of your hand right now. You can pause this episode right now if you haven't got it yet, you can go and get one piece and do the same thing with the chocolate as well. So I want you to put the raisin on your palm of your hand, and I want you to take a look at it. See how it looks. See how it feels. Notice the color, the texture and anything else that comes to terms you know, comes to the light. Once you've done that, I want you to take it too close to your nose and just. Just sniff. Just smell it. Just see what kind of aroma. Or you know what? What strikes you? Is it sweet? Is it tangy or anything else? You know. So I just want you to use your senses for this particular activity. So just make a note of how it smells. Once you've done that, I want you to put it in your mouth on your tongue. But I don't want you to chew it. I don't want you to eat it. Just take a moment to feel it with your tongue. You can close your eyes for this, because whether you can use your other senses sense of touch with your tongue, I want you to just feel it. See how it feels. If it's a piece of raisin, then is it rough? Is it soft, is it warm or is it cold? What does it feel like in your mouth? And how is your body responding? Are you salivating more? What else is happening? I mean, are you anticipating eating this piece of raisin? Notice everything and keep your eyes closed for this activity. Take a moment to just move this around in your mouth. Stay with it and then start chewing it very slowly. Very slowly. And then now I want you to feel how it. And just notice how it feels in your mouth. Is it tangy? Is it sweet? What else is coming up for you as you are chewing it very slowly? And after a moment or two, you can slowly start swallowing it. And once again, pay attention and see if you can feel it going down your neck and right into your stomach. Okay, this is the activity. And write down how it felt to actually pay attention to the food that you were eating, because it didn't make you feel more satisfied. More content. How was the burst of flavor? The aroma? Much more than it usually is. Notice that and start paying attention to your food. Write this I hope this exercise showed you what it feels like to pay attention to to develop a healthy relationship. Let's carry on for the next couple of. Um, two more mistakes or two more ways that you can reconnect. 

One is to explore the emotional connection to your food, because many of your eating patterns are tied to emotions like stress, boredom, joy. So if you can understand these emotional triggers, then you can address them in healthier ways. So for example, when you feel a craving, you can pause and ask, what am I really feeling right now? And experiment and write it down with the same journal. Experiment with non-food ways to cope with emotions. Maybe journaling, walking, talking to somebody, practicing deep breathing.  It's okay to have an emotional connection with food. And because you're you're like any other relationship, you're improving this relationship. So be kind to yourself when you are doing this. And number five, create an environment that supports your goal. So your surroundings play a very powerful role in shaping your eating habits. So you need to design an environment that encourages mindful and intentional eating. And I mentioned the example. I mean, I gave you an example of my client who did just this. So you can keep nourishing foods within easy reach, and you can store things that are not good for you out of sight. You can set the table for meals, even if it's just for yourself. And of course, sharing meals with loved ones, with friends, with family, you know, increases their pleasure. 

So these are the five strategies that will help you to reconnect. The first one was relearn your body's hunger and fullness cues. Next. The second one was focus on how food makes you feel and not just on what you're eating. Number three slow down and practice mindful eating. Number four explore the emotional connection with food. And number five, create an environment that supports your goals. 

Uh, so these five strategies will help you move away from external rules and start rebuilding a relationship with your body that is rooted in trust and intuition. So when you do this, everything changes. You break free from the diet roller coaster and you escape this, you know, exhausting loop of eating and trying and failing and, uh, because and this is not because you know, that this is not a quick fix, right? And finally, you feel free from food guilt and you're you're no longer obsessing over every bite. You also improve your energy and digestion, because when you align your eating habits with your body's natural wisdom, you will automatically experience smoother digestion, better energy levels, and you may actually even have fewer uncomfortable symptoms like bloating or fatigue. And then food and emotions we know are deeply connected. 

So when you start listening to your body, you also break the cycle of emotional eating. And what happens is that food can then become a source of nourishment and joy, and not just a coping mechanism or a source of stress. And of course, years of diet culture may have taught you to just trust your body and its signal. When you reconnect with your body in this manner. You stop second guessing yourself. You feel empowered, resilient, and capable of making decisions, right. That will help you support your health and wellness goals. And at the end of the day, this is not just about food. When you align your self with your body's wisdom, it leads to a more calmer and grounded life. Because your food is no longer a source of stress, so you can focus your energy on what truly matters your passion, your loved ones. You know, things that you have been wanting to do, your dreams, and you unlock a happier and healthier version of yourself. It's not what I want you to understand that this is not just about eating differently, it's about living differently. And what I am doing in this episode and all the episodes that I do in this podcast, in my blogs, in, you know, in anything that I do, it's about simplifying wellness for you, simplifying this whole process of healing. 

Because when you do that, you actually amplify, like as I mentioned, it's not about eating differently, it's about living differently. So if you're ready to take the first step towards the transformation. Keep listening. Uh, you know, keep listening and, you know, to these episodes and keep doing this. And because this can completely transform how you approach your health and well be. But knowing Y is just the beginning. 

The real transformation happens when you start to put these ideas into action. So I want you to get started today and take some of these steps. And if you have any questions, you can connect with me on Instagram at another rate. And in return to thank you so much for joining me today. All you need to do is start listening to your body. And, um, let's simplify wellness and amplify life together. And before we wrap up, let me give you a quick preview of what's coming up next. In the next episode, three simple shifts to streamline your wellness routine and boost your energy level. To tackle the overwhelm of wellness routines head on, I'll share three easy, impactful shifts you can make to simplify your approach and feel more energized every single day. So hit the subscribe button so that you don't miss it. And as always, remember to take care, trust your body and be well.