Do you often find yourself eating on the run? Shoving a protein bar down your throat because you dont’ have time to get a proper meal? Drinking protein shakes instead of eating a REAL MEAL? Standing over the kitchen sink while you chew on a piece of toast for dinner? Buying processed and packaged foods for convenience?? GUILTY!!!

This is what I refer to as the FOOD DISCONNECT!! The majority of us Americans, especially those of us that live in the City of Angels, are oh-so-busy, and we don’t have time to sit and eat a proper meal or we are always eating on the go. Do you realize what this can do to your body??

First of all, FOOD, and I mean HEALTHY, WHOLE FOOD not the processed packaged junk, keeps us alive, along with water, air and sleep. Food is the fuel that makes our body go. And we don’t respect it. We plow through a meal without even coming up for air, we don’t take the time to really taste or savor our food, we treat it as an object rather than something that nourishes us and keeps us ALIVE! We count calories until we are blue in the face, deprive our bodies of real nutrients by buying “light” or “fat Free” or “natural” packaged foods. We use it as a tool to keep us fit, thin, skinny, deprived, you name it. Eating has become such a burden to so many of us, yet we don’t understand why we aren’t healthy or our digestion sucks when we eat what we think is “healthy”, or drink high nutrient shakes in place of meals. We can’t drop weight, and we feel like poo-poo all the time. We eat out 5 nights a week and make food part of a social event, we overstuff ourselves on holidays, and us Americans create every reason in the world to eat – Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, Christmas, Hanukkah, Memorial Day..you name it. Did you ever notice that every holiday is centered around eating and drinking? And it’s usually not of the healthy nature

Our bodies are begging us to slow down by giving us indigestion, acid reflux, bloating/gas or constipation/diarrhea. This is the result of eating on the go, eating too fast, eating too much, combining lots of different foods together, eating processed, greasy foods and drinking liquid with our meals.

We need to connect to our food. Taste it, savor it, chew it slowly. Cut it, cook it, steam it and saute it. Find out where it comes from and how its made if not in our very own kitchens! Food is Life, Food is Vitality, Food is Health. So why do so many of us care so little about it or treat it like it’s last on our list of priorities? Why do we only care about how something will taste in the heat of the moment instead of the longterm effects it will have on us? Why don’t we see it and appreciate it for what it really is?

Connecting to your food will change your life. Listening to your body and what it wants will change your life. Your digestion will work better, you will find your natural body weight and your metabolism will normalize! Are you eating out of boredom, habit, cravings or emotions? These are the times when we are truly disconnected from our food.

When I work with my cleansers, I ask them to be very aware of What they are eating, When they are eating and Why they are eating over the course of the 30 days. This brings them in touch with their food and their habits. The majority of them realize that they have been mindlessly eating most of their life and never really connected to or tasted their food. I challenge them to use cooking as a way to really connect and see their food as the life it provides. To slow down, chew, breathe, cut out all liquids when eating and really get the full benefit of how healthy, whole food can provide us with all the nutrients and fuel we need.  To invite their families to join in and rekindle the family dinners when members would gather in the kitchen and cook meals together and then sit down as a unit and enjoy the meal…slowly. I am not implying that we don’t do that now, I know that we do, but what I am hoping to inspire in you is the opportunity to look at where you can make better choices for yourself and reconnect to the one really important thing that gives you life – YOUR FOOD!

So I am offering up a challenge, and that is to take notice of every time you put something in your mouth and why you are putting it in your mouth. Is it because you are truly hungry or just eating out of habit, or cause your traininer or workout program tells you to? Really start to listen to your body and what it wants, not what your mind wants. Most of the time, your body will give you the healthy answer. Tune in, slow down and connect to your food! Become aware of all your actions around food and I guarantee your relationship to it will change, and as a result, your life will too!

Here are FIVE great tips to help you Reconnect to your Food:

1. Chew more and savor the taste of the food.

2. Cut out liquids until at least 30 minutes before or after meals

3. Learn where your food comes from

4. Sit down when you eat & put your fork down as often as possible between bites

5. Give thanks for the food that is on your plate and for all the workers who helped get it there!