Your body is like a car.

(I know I’ve used this analogy before but I truly want to expand on it.)

When your car runs out of petrol, you go to the petrol station and fill it up.

You don’t ignore the fact that the tank is empty and keep on driving.

You fill the car up with petrol in order for it to WORK.

You check whether it requires diesel or petrol (and which kind of petrol) in order for it to run PROPERLY.

You would not put diesel in a petrol car.

And you would not put petrol in a diesel car.

Neither would you fill your car with orange juice, or chocolate sauce because it wouldn’t RUN.

Now if you looked and saw that you needed to fill your car up with 30 LITRES, you would fill it up with 30 litres. You wouldn’t fill it up with water and hope for the best.

YOUR BODY IS THE SAME!

When you pick up a sandwich and you look at the calorie content instead of going,

‘OH NO 400 CALORIES, NO WAY! THAT IS TOO MUCH FOR LUNCH!’

Say to yourself,

‘Oooh 400 calories, more ENERGY for me!’

Calories mean ENERGY.

Scientifically, that is LITERALLY WHAT THEY MEAN.

Quite obviously, it is good to be mindful.

You wouldn’t eat a WHOLE JAR of peanut butter even if it was for ENERGY and GOOD FATS (and because it is HELLA TASTY)

(and I have definitely never done that. No not me, I don’t know what you’re talking about.)

But you do not need to OBSESS about them.

You do not need to manically count EVERY CALORIE of EVERY SINGLE THING YOU EAT.

I used to have an encyclopedic knowledge of calories.

Anything I would eat, the calorie content per 100g would flash into my mind.

Even food other people were eating.

It was unavoidable. I couldn’t escape from it.

If I stepped out of my strict calorie regime for the day, everything would go wrong.

It was obsessive.

Even up until last year, I would never eat snacks and count my calories for each meal.

I would stick to my calories for the day only straying from it when it was the weekend, or on the exceptional case, with friends or on a date (to appear normal).

Your body CANNOT run on empty.

And much like a car flashing up a warning light, it will tell you IF SOMETHING IS WRONG.

When you underfeed it, it will not work.

Your emotions can’t be stabilized.

Your brain can’t function fully.

Your energy levels drop.

Your brain requires glucose in order to function.

The brain is the most energy demanding organ, using ONE-HALF of all the SUGAR ENERGY in your body.

Isn’t that brilliant and utterly ASTONISHING?

Because our nervous system is so interconnected, when are emotions are unstable, our body reacts.

Butterflies in the stomach. Headaches if you use the computer for too long.

If you eat something poisonous or that has expired, your body PHYSICALLY REJECTS IT!

How many of us DO NOT LISTEN TO OUR BODIES?

Not eating when we’re hungry or tired.

Over-eating even when we know we’re full.

Eating food groups we know we are intolerant or allergic to.

Not having a rest day from exercise when our bodies are tired.

Not giving ourselves enough sleep when we’re exhausted.

Pushing our bodies to the limit with extreme amounts of caffeine.

Who told us that we had to be THIN and count calories to be HAPPY?

A lot of our bodies are not naturally meant to be a size 6/8.

By counting calories, UNDERFEEDING ourselves or engaging in diet culture you are limiting your chances of being happy.

Your brain needs calories to be happy and to work.

Your body will sustain itself naturally at the body weight it needs to be HAPPY and HEALTHY.

Whether that be a size 6 or a size 20.

If we treated our bodies like we did caring for a CHILD….. Child Services would take the child away because of NEGLECT!

So why are we not treating our bodies with the same amount of LOVE and RESPECT?

I encourage you this week to start FUELING your body like you would a TOP OF THE RANGE car.

This does not mean lavishing yourself with chocolate, cheese boards and caviar.

It means listening to your body and giving it the FUEL it requires.

Food makes us happy.

Food FUELS our BRAIN to stabilize emotions and be happy.

Eating a breakfast balanced with slow release carbohydrates, protein, fibre and good fat.

Snacking when you need an energy boost instead of turning to coffee.

I recommend a handful of nuts, a square of dark chocolate and some dried fruit, or a refined sugar free snack bar (like nakd or perkier) or a yoghurt or a piece of fruit or a few oatcakes with some nut butter and fruit.

When you put refined sugar in your body as a snack, your body and brain burns it quickly and DEMANDS more. Like when we have a biscuit and you are GAGGING for another one.

As with breakfast, match the balancing of protein, slow release carbohydrates, good fat and fibre with lunch and dinner too.

Fuel your body.

Listen to your body.

Listen to what it’s telling you.

Treat it like a PRINCE.

Treat it like a RACE HORSE.

Treat your body with the LOVE and RESPECT it deserves.

Fuel your happiness and healthiness with FOOD.

Last night I was very anxious.

My brain was racing with a thousand different thoughts and unwelcome images.

I woke at 4am covered in sweat and with a migraine.

What a surprise …. my body had had a PHYSIOLOGICAL reaction to my anxiety.

My body was telling me that something was WRONG.

So this morning before several appointments in the afternoon, I wanted a bowl of warmth and love to set me up for the day.

Spiced Plum and Hazelnut Oatmeal.

I say a bowl of warmth and ‘love’, because when I think of plums, I think of my mum.

The first book we read together was ‘Each Peach, Pear, Plum.’

And I have happy memories of picking plums with my Mum at a ‘Pick your Own’ farm in Norfolk.

I may have got over excited as a child and eaten 20 plums whilst picking them.

Needless to say……. my body told me that something was WRONG with that.

The warm spices of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg complimenting the tart, sweetness of the plums is very comforting.

Paired with the hazelnut cream and chopped roast hazelnuts, it balances out as a sweet and spicy bowl of yum.

Let me tell you I would not have DREAMED of putting hazelnut cream AND chopped hazelnuts on my oats.

I would have obsessed about the calorie and fat content.

But this is ENERGY in a bowl.

I am FUELING my body.

A great balance of slow release carbohydrates (oats), protein and good fat (hazelnut cream and chopped hazelnuts) and fibre (plums).

This is just what my body needed this morning.

I’m feeling less achey already.

Spiced Plum and Hazelnut Oatmeal

What you’ll need:

• 45g oats (double quantities as you go if making for more than one person)
• Plant based milk (enough to cover oats)
• 3 tbsp of water.
• 1 tbsp of mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• (Optional) 1 tbsp of Vanilla Protein Powder (I used Tribe‘s Vanilla and Cinnamon Protein)
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp of hazelnut cream/butter.
• 2 tsp of chopped hazelnuts.
• 2 chopped plums.

How to make it:

• Chop plums, removing stone. Set to one side.
• Put oats into a pan or bowl with the mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, pinch of salt and optional protein powder.
• Top with plant based milk and the water. Put enough plant based milk to cover the oats and a little more.
• If heating on the stove, heat on a low heat, stirring gently. Keep stirring till at consistency that is PERFECT for you.
• If heating in microwave, heat for 2 mins. Stir. Heat for another 2 mins. Heat for 1 min more if you like your porridge THICK.
• Top with hazelnut cream/butter, chopped hazelnuts and plums.
• Sit down with your oats, inhale the sweet, spicy smell and remind yourself that you are fueling your body. You are treating it with love, joy and respect. EnJOY.

Start treating your body with the LOVE and RESPECT it deserves.

Fuel it like you would a car,

Much love,

Joy xx