“Start as you mean to go on” ~ Proverb.
It is that time of year where Christmas and New Year have been and gone and you are usually left with the aftermath of over indulging. Those moments where you have had too many second helpings, too much alcohol and or consumed too much processed food!
With all my good intentions to return to my healthy habits after the silly season, I now find I have cravings that make it “seem impossible” to return to a healthier me.
When you consume foods that your body struggles to process this puts your entire system under stress! When your body is under any sort of stress it releases adrenaline to help boost the body to eliminate.
A sudden crash in blood sugar also triggers the release of adrenaline from your adrenal glands to compensate. Adrenaline acts to make more glucose available in the blood stream once more; drawing it from the liver where it is stored. The demand on your adrenal glands increases as this cycle continues and they eventually become tired, which in turn could then lead to a risk of adrenal fatigue.
In addition to this, the adrenaline stress response in your body can make you feel anxious and irritated to add to the already exhausted list!
You are not weak, and you don’t lack willpower! These chemical reactions taking place in your body are contributing to food cravings and lack of energy. No one would probably spend much time thinking about food cravings if they were set off by foods like leafy greens!
The thing is, adrenaline can be addictive like that of the ‘runners high’. So, the more we consume foods that don’t aid our health, what inevitably happens is we become addicted to these foods (more so the chemical reaction in our bodies) and we get caught in the vicious cycle.
The human body is complex but one thing I love is its ability to heal! The New Year is a great place to start as you mean to go on. Understanding and recognising what is happening internally can help you come to terms as to why things are the way they are; it also no longer upsets me because I have the choice to change and act.
I am now determined to reset my body and detox by eliminating toxins and to remove unhealthy cravings, so I don’t have to struggle! I choose to continue my year with more energy to live the life I love.