While there are certainly some situations in which your “gut” is by far not the organ you should be using to make decisions, there are a number of other instances in which your own inner wisdom is far more accurate than any external guides or forces. One of these times is when it comes to food. Here are three reasons why you want to trust your gut when it comes to food.
“Hunger” is your body’s way of telling you it needs fuel
Imagine you only filled up your car with gas every Tuesday. Some weeks, you might not drive a lot, so only filling up on Tuesday might work just fine. Other weeks, however, you might do a great deal more driving and need to fuel up a few times instead of just once. When it comes to our car, we listen to our gas gauge, but when it comes to our bodies, we often listen to “experts” that want to tell us what and when to eat instead. When your body tells you it is hungry, it is time to eat.
Your body knows what it needs
Diets will tell you what you are “supposed” to be eating, when, but your body is a living organism that has needs that change on a daily basis. For some reason, carbohydrates have become the go-to breakfast food, with a typical breakfast often consisting of some type of bread or cereal, fruit or some kind of dairy product like yogurt. Conversely, however, many people do best with a high protein breakfast. Instead of listening to what some expert believes you should be eating, listen to your body. It just might tell you that it would prefer the rest of last night’s chicken or steak to a high carb breakfast of fruit and granola.
Food and your emotions are strongly interconnected
While there are certainly many reasons for your emotions, the truth is your body can actually help balance your emotions with food. If you try and deny or ignore these cravings, they will often only get worse until you end up making horrible food choices. If you give in to your cravings early and satisfy them with smart choices like some dark chocolate or even take a walk first, you might find yourself engaging in fewer unhealthy binges.