By Stephanie Albanito,
Founder of Full Circle Health Coaching Systems
Traditionally, we think of food in terms of calories, which translate into our energy source. As a Health Coach, that is only one way I approach food. I would also like to propose the idea that all food has an energy polarity. What do I mean by polarity? It’s based on the idea that everything has two ‘polarities’ or extremes. When you find one thing, you’ll also find the potential for its opposite, for example: light / dark, soft / hard, noisy / quiet. So how does this concept apply to food? First, we want to consider that food is more than simply fuel. It has energetic qualities that are beyond the science and mechanics of calories, fat grams, and nutrient values. For example, there are contractive foods that make us feel grounded or heavy and blissful, foods that make us feel happy, light, relaxed.
How might this polarity in your food actually be CREATING your cravings? If life is a system of opposites and your body is always trying to balance itself out, what do you think happens if you are having too many contracted foods, like salt, meat, and eggs? To balance itself out, your body will crave the opposite of contracted foods – it will crave sweet, expansive bliss foods! Do you find that if you have something salty like potato chips, you crave something sweet afterwards? Conversely, if we have too many expansive foods, we’ll crave the contractive.
You can even look at activities in your life through the lens of the polarity of expansive and contractive. There are things that happen in your life that are a little more contractive – they create more tension. And then there are things that are more expansive – they create more relaxation.
Examples of contractive activities are: stress, working too much, if you’ve been driving in awful traffic, your toddler was a nightmare or you had a really stressful day at work. When you have too many contractive activities, you’re going to crave more expansive foods, because you need relaxation. If you don’t allow yourself to relax, then you may find yourself reaching for wine, chocolate, bread, desserts…. your body is begging for a break, like sleep, reading, meditation, walking.
So when I’m working with clients to deconstruct their cravings, we look at not just the foods they’re eating, but also their lifestyle. If you would like to learn more about where your cravings come from and how to find balance in your health and life, please book a complimentary discovery session with me.
Please visit www.livelifefullcircle.com or call 314-660-9236 to book your private consultation.