How many calories should you be eating a day?

Today we will speak about the Ayurvedic perspective on eating guidelines versus calorie restriction.

Perhaps you have been told by a trainer, coach or even a doctor to start restricting your caloric intake in order to lose weight.

So what does Ayurveda say? Ayurveda teaches from a point of nutritional taste, density and value derived from the food we are eating. The ancient science also speaks about the amount of food we eat and how regulating our portions is very important.

How much should you eat? 

1/3 of your stomach should be filled with solid food. 1/3 more liquid in quantity and the final third with air to aid the digestive process. Think of this like a churn - if you fill the pot too full you won’t be able to stir the ingredients and they will spill out. This is the same with our stomach. You know the feeling when you eat too much? This is the result of not leaving enough space for the digestive process.

The size mentioned above is usually around the amount of your two hands cupped together. This may not seem like enough but here is where the importance of nutritional density comes into play.

As you start to eat smaller portions your body will adjust to smaller meals and be able to assimilate the nutrients within the food more effectively. Making sure the food you eat is packed with healthy fats, good protein and carbs, greens and other nutrient rich foods.

Ayurveda also speaks about Shad Rasa, the six tastes. These include sweet, sour, salty, pungent, astringent and bitter. Depending on our state of digestion and physical constitution, a practitioner will advise which tastes are most suitable for you and your dietary goals.

Don’t forget, just as important as what we eat is how we eat. Do you sit with a calm and grateful mind while you eat? Or are you eating on the move, distracted, angry and frustrated? The energy you are experiencing while eating is food for your cells - remember this. Take a deep, mindful breath with your eyes closed before eating. If you pray you may want to say a prayer of thanks recognizing all of the people around the world who contributed to you being able to eat this meal - from the chef all the way to the farmer who picked the spices .

So many of our clients are amazed after they start implementing even just a few of the basic eating guidelines mentioned above. Many find themselves reaching their ideal weight without calorie counting seen in so many restrictive diets. Ayurveda is a way of life and is meant to be sustainable.

If you are interested in learning more about Ayurvedic nutrition and how to improve your diet, you are welcome to book in with one of our practitioners to learn more. The link is in our bio.

Wishing you a great rest of your day.

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* 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘎𝘈. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘺𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺, 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴.