Holistic Lifestyle Coach Luke Coutinho, an expert in Integrative Medicine will be available twice a
month to answer questions on health, nutrition, lifestyle, disease management, prevention, cancer care and more.
Please send in your questions to us at info@yogalifeme.com
- How often is it ok to eat unhealthy foods like outside food, pastries, ice cream, etc. without harming our health? Why do I feel so guilty whenever I eat something unhealthy and feel like I have ruined all my efforts of eating clean? How to overcome this cycle?
Let’s not blame food as fattening. It’s the person eating it, the kind of mindset built around the food and the portions consumed. All of us have grown up eating ice-creams and sweets and it was never a problem until we started over-consuming sugar, got chained to desks and chairs (i.e. living sedentary lifestyles) and ignored our emotional self.
Consider a piece of chocolate cake. We’ve all enjoyed it while growing up. Now when you consider an
ice cream or a chocolate cake as something as fattening or bad, then subconsciously every time you eat
that piece of ice cream or chocolate, it’s going to be exactly the way you have thought it, i.e. fattening.
We need to change our mindset, belief system, attitude and the way we think and the way we relate to food.
Look at the Swiss people for example. The Swiss eat on an average of 6-8 pieces of chocolate every
single day. They’ve grown up with that and their body adapts to it completely well. They have a good
relationship with chocolate, so it doesn’t affect them. Now if they had the same relationship that we
have, that is “every piece of chocolate is going to make me put on weight”, then that’s exactly what’s
going to happen. Chill, calm down, make peace with food. Food is to nourish you, not stress you.
Guilt comes from an unhealthy relationship with food. Try and build a healthy relationship with food.
Food is never the culprit.
- How do I manage to work out and stay healthy with a stressful routine and long work hours?
Firstly, let’s drop the word “workout” and focus on movement. If you have an intense work routine, how
about just focusing on being active enough. That’s a great place to start. Make sure you aren’t sitting for
too long, take phone calls by walking, prefer stairs over the elevator, split a 30min walk into 10 mins 3
times a day. This way your body will at least be benefitted by some movement. You can then schedule a
regimented workout maybe on a weekend. Less is more, so don’t worry. Also since you have a stressful
job, its all the more necessary for you to take some time out for yourself. A little movement goes a long way in managing stress levels, because of the endorphin rush! And to top it all, its about self-discipline.
Set some discipline around being active even while at work.
- I am unable to sleep feel and feel tired all day long! Please help!
It all starts with a good night’s sleep. Sleep sets the foundation for the remaining day, which is why a
lack of it can lead to low energy levels, cravings, temptations around coffee and sugary snacks. Focus on
sleeping well at night by engaging in various sleep rituals like left nostril breathing, technology detox, prayers, engaging in pleasant conversations with family and close ones, lovemaking, practicing gratitude, warm baths, inhaling lavender oil through a diffuser, etc. These habits calm and relax our mind, which is a necessary step to put ourselves in a state of sleep. With a good quality sleep at night, a day full of energy is guaranteed!