Like so many couples out there, our Big Day was a long-awaited one, having had to postpone a year. But this month, it finally happened and our Wedding Day was more brilliant and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Thank you to all those who sent me lovely messages - I feel very blessed right now. And it’s great to be back, writing to you all again!
My husband and I love food – I’m obviously interested in how it can heal or hurt and my husband is more interested in the taste of whatever he’s eating and how great tastes are achieved in the kitchen. So food was definitely a big part of our wedding and we put a lot of time and effort into that element of things – sourcing the meat option from a farm we approved of, handing over family recipes to the caterers, home-making the cakes and the elderflower cordial and compiling a cheese stack that would send any cheese lover straight to heaven!
But could I actually eat any of it on the day?! Not really... in fact, the whole week leading up to the day my appetite just deserted me. How typical (and cruel I thought!) after all the effort we put in. But not surprising. That week leading up to the Big Day was mad. Anyone who’s organised a fairly sizeable wedding at home will know what it’s like. It’s great fun but it’s chaotic, overwhelming and for most couples they are operating on a level they’ve never or rarely experienced before. Throw in several nights of less than great sleep, a whole load of nerves and an excitable whirlwind of butterflies that conveniently take up residence in your gut and you’ve got a classic Week-Before Bride-to-Be!
I knew though that this frustrating lack of appetite was a short-term thing. And I knew exactly what was going on from a scientific viewpoint. I just had to ride this wave, knowing the balance would right itself once things settled down after the wedding. And it sure enough did. Once the wedding was over, my appetite returned and I happily helped finish all the left-over wedding cake!
My recent experience is a great example of the Gut-Brain connection...
My poor brain was trying to remember to do so many things and to absorb so much, that it simply did not have the capacity to deal with absorption and digestion on any other level. I was operating on a fairly high-alert mode, which is dehydrating to the body (and detrimental if lived long-term).
Digesting food and absorbing nutrients takes a lot of energy and water. If we are stressed or pre-occupied with other pressing matters, the messages going between the brain and our gut won’t be operating optimally. In my case, my gut was saying “I literally can’t digest anymore right now” and my brain was not registering the messages that my body was hungry. So the result was that I didn’t have much appetite and when I did try and eat something substantial, I felt a bit nauseous. Both were appropriate responses to the internal status of my body at that time. My body was putting all energy into dealing with the mental side of things as best possible and didn’t have a lot of reserve to pour into the arduous process of digesting lots of food.
It can work the other way too when you find you are always hungry...
The brain needs to have feedback from the gut that it is satiated but often this message fails to feed back. Either because what was consumed did not satisfy the individual on an emotional level or digestibility is compromised and the body is not being able to extract the nutrients it needs, so sends repeated messages telling us that ‘it needs more’. There is a difference between ‘still being hungry’ and needing better nourishment.
So if you’ve ever had problems with appetite it’s worth taking a deeper look at what’s going on emotionally for you. I work with clients in this holistic manner – taking into consideration what they eat but also what’s going on mentally and emotionally because it’s the only way, in my opinion, to see things more clearly from a bigger picture perspective.
We are humans. Humans are emotive beings. Therefore, emotions will always have a part to play when it comes to the diet.
Hear what my clients say here about their emotional nutritional journey with me: www.treatyourselfnutrition.co.uk I always offer a free non-obligation preliminary chat if you'd like to know more.
Have a lovely weekend, Natasha x
Comments