A healthier mind and body begins with framing fuel and fitness positively, as well as giving yourself an unlimited amount of self-love...

We’re constantly bombarded with an endless number of articles centred around losing everything; ‘lose weight fast', ‘cut out carbs’, ‘drop a dress size in a week’ they all say. We then quickly find ourselves welcoming our inner critic - the hallmark of perfectionism - as we set ourselves unrealistic expectations to get that "perfect" body.

In honour of World Obesity Day, we’d like to remind you to try to switch it up and GAIN instead of losing - gain nourishment, food freedom, confidence, peace, mobility, and strength!

As a nutritionist, I believe in empowering everyone to embrace a healthy way of living through gaining a healthy relationship with food. Switch up your perception of health and ditch the losing! It's all about GAINING - because nutrition, health and fitness are all about empowerment, not deprivation. Here are some of my top tips that may help you reclaim a healthy body and mind with love.

Let go of the narrative that looking a certain way is the source of your happiness

Before you can begin to love yourself, you need to walk away from the idea that looking a certain way will make you happier. The social media obsession with looking a certain way can directly impact emotional wellness, physical and mental health. As part of the journey to gaining a healthy relationship with food, our body and mind begins with adopting a new way of thinking.

Filter your social media feeds

As you’re scrolling through your social media, chances are that you come across celebrities and ultra-filtered influencers featuring unrealistic body types. Although it may seem harmless to scroll by, research indicates that exposure to unrealistic body types is linked to lower body image. Regain control of what images and information you allow into your space.

Practice mindful eating

The constant distractions that we are faced with every day can play a massive role in our food choices. Mindlessness can cause us to easily become dissociated from what our bodies truly need and want. The key to mindful eating (and drinking) is to slow down and fully engage all our senses. When you sit down for your next meal, try to take your first couple of bites and sips mindfully, and really pay attention to the taste and texture of what you’re consuming.

Rushing through meals or eating mindlessly can often cause gas, bloating and digestive issues. So it's really important to take a moment and give your mind and body a break. When it comes to digestive issues, your daily intake of fibre can play a key role in keeping your digestive system working at its best. If you struggle to get your daily intake, a supplement can give you a helping hand. Our Psyllium Husk Fibre is 100% pure, high-grade powder that is derived from the seeds of the Plantago Ovata plant and is encapsulated in an easy-to-swallow capsule format. Your gut health can also play a huge role in bloating symptoms you may suffer with, so it might be worth taking a probiotic, like our Bio Cultures Complex 2 Billion CFU, which can help in keeping your gut bacteria in balance and may even help you beat the bloat.

Listen to your body

As you practice mindful eating, listening to your body’s reaction to food, will help you pay attention to your emotions and food triggers. The art of listening to your body can even help you discover how different foods can influence your body, mind and day-to-day experiences. To help you stay in tune with your body as best as possible, why not try a multivitamin? It can help prevent any nutritional shortfalls and provide you with a whole range of nutrients to keep your body feeling its best. Here at Nutravita, we provide a Women's Multivitamin and a Men's Multivitamin.

Riya Lakhani ANutr is a registered nutritionist and health writer with a special interest in plant-based nutrition. She has completed a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Human Nutrition, and has developed a passion for writing about all things plant-based.