Autumn: A Season of Change
I just love this time of year — the transition from summer to Fall. The colors of leaves are changing, weather and temperature is changing, schedules and routines are changing, kids are back at school and our lives are ready for an overall change.
Every season brings an opportunity to change our diet and our lifestyle and it is such an important practice to cultivate to help bring and maintain balance in the body, mind, and soul. We are not meant to eat the same foods all year long. If we do, we may find we get cravings and feel bored with what we are eating. This can lead to more ‘off-path’ moments when all we need to do is make a seasonal shift to find nutritional balance and satisfaction once again.
One of my favorite nutritional teachings is Seasonal Eating which comes from the wisdom of Ayurveda — an ancient form of East Indian healing. Ayurveda teaches that in order for the body to be well it must be in balance. Changing our diet and lifestyle with each season allows us to achieve just that. There is a purpose and perfection to what Mother Nature provides for us each season and when we align with that wisdom we maintain health and create a beautiful relationship with our food.
If you still eat all of your summer fruits and vegetables, raw and cooling foods, and keep your unstructured summer lifestyle as we move into Fall, you will be more prone to getting sick and fatigued. Colds and flu are so common at this time of year but if you change what you are eating and how you are living and how you are taking care of your health, you can prevent getting sick.
As we head into Autumn we need more grounding, warming meals such as soups, stews, stir-fry, root vegetables, and oatmeal on a crisp Fall morning. Drinking seasonal teas like chai and licorice root, and adding ginger, cinnamon, and cloves to our meals keep our immunity high. The kinds of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins, and essential fats we choose are very specific to this season. For example less berries and melons are desired as we open the door to apples, pears, and grapes which are cleansing Fall fruits. Warming vegetables are more satiating than cold raw salads. Increasing nuts, seeds, nut butters, butter, ghee and olive oil help to keep our skin lubricated and bowels moving as we move to dry, cold and windier temperatures. More animal proteins are desired to help ground us as we move to a season of change, higher demands and a faster pace than we experienced in the summer.
Do you notice that your cravings and desire for certain foods are changing?
Change can be challenging for some people. It can trigger resistance, anxiety, stress, emotional eating, digestive upset and panic. But if we learn to embrace change, it can teach us to let go, to breathe, to lean in, to trust and to surrender. When we approach change from this conscious place we are able to receive the lessons, the benefits and the gifts of walking through a new door.
Ayurveda teaches us to follow nature’s lead. Just as the leaves are changing and the trees are releasing them to fall to the ground, what can you change and let go of in your life this season? What is your body asking you to release, what is your mind ready to shift and what is your soul calling you to do differently? What do you desire to change in your life? What do you desire to change with your nutrition and your wellness lifestyle?
If you would like to learn more about how to transition your diet and lifestyle to fall, book a Seasonal Eating session with Amy at amy@amybondar.com or join her 30-Day Fall Program: Getting Back on Path, starting October 2nd.
Embrace the season of change.
Yours in health & vitality,
Amy
Amy Bondar is a leading Nutrition expert and Certified Eating Psychology Coach who is passionate about helping her clients achieve maximum health and vitality through personalized nutrition and lifestyle coaching.
Amy Bondar’s comprehensive skill-set, two decades of experience and compassionate approach have allowed hundreds of people to achieve the vitality we all desire, and deserve.
The days of generic meal plans, fad diets, yo-yo dieting and simple advice about calories and carbs are long gone. When you work with Amy you will have strategies and learn nutrition principles that are nourishing, doable, sustainable, personalized and that yield results.
