12 tips to eat intuitively and happily

Eating should be easy right? In theory yes. The process of putting food in your mouth, chewing it and swallowing is not a complicated process at all.

But add in taste, texture and flavour and now you have more of a cocktail. When you start looking at the macro and micro nutrition, general food quality, how the it makes you feel emotionally, intolerance and allergies, whether it is organic, gluten free, unprocessed, hormone free, healthy ... the list goes on and suddenly what was once very easy, is now an intricate, convoluted and brain-exploding process that seems impossible to master. Where would you even start?

Eating to nourish your body is actually achievable for anyone. Being healthy and happy is something you can start doing right now.

Here are my top twelve tips for learning how to eat intuitively and happily.

1. Listen to your body. This is number one for a reason. If you want a healthy and happy relationship with food, then learning to read your body's physical reaction as well as your mental and emotional reactions is important.
2. Stop counting calories. It can be useful to count your calories for period a time as a educational tool. If you start doing it all the time and you may find you end up being obsessive around food. Calories from sugar are very different to the calories from broccoli, so if you focus only on these little numbers on the nutrition panel, you can quickly go down the slippery slope of forgetting about food quality.
3. Flood your diet with whole foods. This is how you can quickly and simply increase your food quality. If it grows in the ground or on a tree, can run, swim or fly then it's a good place to start.
4. Reduce processed and refined foods. Replace packaged foods with whole foods. Try things like sweet potato instead of pasta for carbs, snack on activated nuts and raw veggies instead of chips or packaged biscuits. Even that whole grain bread could be replaced with more nutrient dense vegetables or gluten free carbs like quinoa or brown rice.
5. Increase your vegetable and fruit intake. This is one of the best things you can do to increase your overall health. Antioxidant support is key to living at your optimum level. If you don't like your veggies that much, try cooking them in some organic butter and sea salt - you'll be pleasantly surprised and the butter also helps your body absorb those nutrients.
6. Go organic where you can. It can be expensive to eat 100% organic, but you can prioritise certain foods. Meat, chicken, eggs and dairy should be hormone free and organic preferably. Check the Environmental Working Group's list to see which fruits and veggies are best eaten organic.
7. Boost your omega 3 fatty acids. Don't be afraid to eat healthy fats. Coconut oil, avocado, olive oil, flaxseed oil and organic butter or ghee are fantastic choices. Supplement with an omega 3 fish oil as well.
8. Eat protein with every meal. This keeps you feeling satiated and ensures your muscles are provided with plenty of fuel for repair and growth. You blood sugar levels will be steady and you'll find your sugar cravings decrease.
9. Cut out the refined sugar. Sugar will lead you on a vicious cycle. The more you eat it the more you crave it, so sometimes cutting it out altogether at first can be beneficial to break the addiction. Once you feel content with not having it, opt of natural sugars that are lower fructose like rice malt syrup. Everything will taste a whole lot sweeter without it too!
10. Take time to test for food intolerance. If your gut is not happy, then you are likely not happy. Food intolerance can also manifest in your skin, your mood and even your energy levels. Try eliminating gluten and dairy for a few weeks and see how you feel. After a month or so, test small amounts and notice your body's reaction. You'll very quickly find out what makes your body happy and what doesn't.
11. Eat until you are 80% full. Don't be afraid of feeling hungry sometimes! Overeating doesn't make use feel good, so learn to recognise when you are satiated instead of stuffed.
12. Get creative in the kitchen. Try new things, experiment with different ingredients, find new healthy recipes online and get cooking!