"You Can’t Live A Full Life On An Empty Stomach"
Someone living in a developing country where food is scarce can definitely see the salience in this quote as their life has been significantly halted by their empty stomachs. They understand the pain of not having sufficient food or even any food at all. But it appears as if people in developed countries think differently. Somehow we have it backwards. Here, we starve ourselves, in the hopes to remain thin and might I say attractive. We purposely endure the pains of hunger because someone, somewhere said you would look nicer if you were thinner, and we believe it. Now I am not promoting being overweight, lets just get that straight. I am just saying that maybe developing countries have a better understanding of how full your life can be when our stomach is actually full. Alternatively, there are thousands of children in north America that leave their homes daily on an empty stomach. And when you take a look at their grades, you would definitely understand the correlation with eating a proper meal and absorbing knowledge or attempting to absorb knowledge. More than 13 million children in the United states go to school hungry (17%) Canada, it’s neighbour is not any better with 307,000 (20%) If you reside in Canada, visit 211toronto.ca to find a food bank near you. Children need to eat well so that they can live well.
Feed the Future
If left unchecked, these same children journey through life with high probability of failing. They become adults who makes poor decisions and uneducated moves. They have children, and the vicious cycle continues. So while we are purposefully avoiding food to meet some type of artificial societal standards, there are real problems right in our own backyards that should be addressed because being malnourished set children up for failure. Hunger amongst children or anyone for that matter should be unheard of in a developed nation.
Nourish your Body
Nourish Your Body
Your body needs nutrients everyday. It even tells you when it does. Like right now my stomach is growling and hunger pangs are setting in. My body is letting me know that I am running low on fuel, the same way that gas sign comes on when your car is running low on gas. If there is no gas, your car can’t move. When you’re hungry you lose interest in what you are doing because your focus is on filling up. So eat your fruits, your veggies, your protein, your carbs, your fats, just do it in moderation.
Check out myhealthycrown.com to read about foods that keep you nourished and fight illnesses. I have been small my whole life by virtue of the fact that I eat in moderation and exercise. I’m still not so good at it but I try my very best. Cause you know a girl gotta have her chocolate and cakes etc. Hmmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about them. Remember also to find a way to burn off those extra calories you consume, especially when you overeat.
Minimize Overeating
We are all aware that it’s not safe to overeat anyways as your digestive tract will become prone to exhaustion. And you know what happens when you are exhausted, your productivity is very low. Similarly, overeating causes the stomach to expand beyond its normal size to adjust to the large amount of food. So when you consistently overeat, the stomach develops a larger size to accommodate what you’re putting in. If you continuously do this, then my friend, you are welcoming the problem of obesity into your life.
Empty Stomach Equals Empty Motivation
Our body needs nourishment, that is the bottom line, but overeating is on another level. Think about a time when you have just eaten, (whatever it was) you weren’t gluttonously full but just right and you had to go back to work. How was your performance versus when you returned back to work without eating because you were busy running so many errands on your lunch hour? What about starting a shift at a job you hate on an empty stomach? Not fun, I can tell you that first hand. It feels as if another 8 hours have been somehow added to your 4-hour shift. The feeling of hunger sucks. So each day you’re alive, eat well, eat a balanced diet. Don’t starve yourself to fit the messed up ideals that have been socially constructed to trick our conscious and subconscious minds. Remember we all have routines on a daily basis that are not so enjoyable like going to work or exercising and the best time to do these things is never on an empty stomach.
Stop Starving Yourself
Aside from being hungry, if you keep this starvation diet up, a lot more serious problems are bound to occur. For example, Anorexia and Bulimia. Both disorders have profound impact on your physical and mental health and they both stem from the extreme desire to lose weight. They’re very serious disorders as they almost entirely distort your self image. Your mind is very powerful but sometimes if you are not cautious with your thoughts and the way you see things; your mind can potentially destroy you. Why I say this? Remember this video that floated around on facebook a while back? Well, take a look at this lady, while everyone is wondering if they will need a new pair of glasses, she believes they are looking at perfection. Her mind, well, is in another world. Currently there at least 30 million Americans and 1 million Canadians of all ages and genders suffering from an eating disorder. If you are someone who is battling these or any other eating disorders, please talk to your family doctor about it. Seek help before it’s too late.
How Did This Happen?
On the other side of the spectrum is obesity. Often time, I watch “my 600 pound life” and it always leave me asking, how did they get there? Continuously overeating is definitely one of the ways. And of course there might be other underlying issues that these people are dealing with that will cause them to be so addicted to food. I will repeat what I said earlier, eat in moderation. Yes, yes, I get it, food can be so tempting. Completely understood. Not only that but the manufactures of these foods have added certain chemicals and additives to make us addicted. And why you say, well we live in a highly capitalistic society, where business owners only care about their bottom line, NOT YOU.
Healthy Body & Mind
So yes, I know the world is infatuated with thinness, but a little self love goes a long way in ensuring that the world’s standards do not trump yours. Read blog on self love here. Satisfaction with your life is key. And it will be hard for you to lead a fulfilled life if you continue to struggle with weight problems. Your mind will not be at peace as you are constantly trying to lose weight to fit someone else’s ideals. Keep in mind that your body and mind are suppose to work together to ensure that you live a life full of health, joy and peace, you cannot do that with an undernourished body. The mind and the body has to work in unison and when they are out of unison, your life may reflect that of the lady in the video above.
The World Can Change Its Heart
Pay no attention to people you see in those magazines as tremendous editing is done to make them appear the way they do. Quite frankly, this should be old news as technology can do so many things nowadays. So STOP going crazy over people in magazines, they don’t look like that in real life. And finally, as the Canadian singer Alessia Cara said in her song, Scars to your beautiful, “you don’t have to change a thing, the world can change its heart.” The fact is, if you are overweight or obese, you will definitely have to change some things as your internal organs are working overtime. Same goes if you are underweight. But the point is, if you are ok and your body is ultimately performing by helping you fight illnesses, you definitely don’t need to change a thing. So exercise, mediate and eat well, so that your body can help you live well. Until next time friends, keep calm and blog on.
