Charumathi Supraja - Mar 04 2021
My Experiments with Food and Love
Imagine if you could outsource weight-loss while focusing on eating seriously delicious food at every meal! Imagine if you could activate those cells in your body that can reverse “chronic” diseases and “switch off” your genetic disposition to obesity! Imagine if you do not have to struggle to give up your bad habits (like compulsive coffee drinking) and your bad habits instead give up on you?!
Dr. Achyuthan Eswar's Advise
I started changing my approach to cooking and eating in 2015 and have experienced some version of all of the above since then. Name of the outsourcing agency? It’s called Nature and one of its many units – my body, which I discovered can be a great healer, if only I let it be.
I remember following Dr. Achyuthan’s initial advice – to close my eyes and enjoy every mouthful of everything I ate and drank; to include a fruit before every meal; then to increase my fruit intake before every meal. And suddenly one day, my tongue demanded to know what this thing called coffee actually was and if I really wanted it?! My body had rejected coffee all on its own – with no resolve from my side. I was just a witness.
Rewiring my Relationship with Food
This rewiring of my relationship with food started the year I turned 40. That is around when, they say, diabetes strikes, hormones become moodier and fat settles over the body. The opposite happened to me. While I ate food, my body ate fat and churned out toxins accumulated over the years. My skin became clearer and brighter. My step became lighter. A heavy fog of anxiety started dissolving. I discovered I had collar bones. My chin was rescued from obliteration. Then, much later, ah – the joy of being forced to change your wardrobe!
In the last five years, my platefuls of fruit, colourful salads and creatively conjured raithas, sabjis, chats, chutneys, curries, upmas, khichdis, roties, pulavs, dals and desserts have inspired countless colleagues, complete strangers, family members and friends. My own body has expressed much gratitude by becoming more flexible and alert; by showing me how my emotions “play” my food choices and by enriching my creativity.
Yet, I have had to wrestle quite a few heavyweights: my conditioning towards consuming dairy and my desire to be “normal” and “adaptable.” I’ve had to relook at what a “snack” means to my body, what textures of food my tongue and gut lining find truly rewarding, and tasty. I’ve had to redefine “traditional dishes” for festivals and celebrations. I’ve had to juggle conflicts between “my food” and “the family’s food,” alongside hectic schedules. I’ve had to confront the monster called “Convenience” and delve deeper to find the essence of an all encompassing ‘Compassion.’ I’ve had to expand my role as ‘Caregiver’ to include me on priority.
