The Road to Self-Love Pt. 2

by Kelly Schexnaildre

Opinions expressed in this articles do not necessarily represent the point of view of Best Served. In furtherance of bringing more voices to the table we are committed to sharing varied thinking throughout the industry.

Now that y’all understand the reason why I started this practice in the first place, I’ll explain how it worked for me, and it could work for you too. It is the darkest place to sit in shame, and shame can only survive in silence and isolation. It is time to break the barriers and tell our stories. It is time to stand up and shine like stars.

I want to discuss how fear behaves in the body, how my body was hijacked by the Standard American Diet, and while I was eating that way, I didn’t stand a chance on reckoning with my emotions and showing love for myself.

In order to experience true love for ourselves we need to nourish our physical bodies. I’m a certified Primal Health Coach, and I have learned a lot about what it truly means to love oneself through a Primal lifestyle. I truly believe that any physical health is compromised by conventional wisdom and the Standard American Diet.

Let’s talk science, I eat a high carb diet, I produce a lot of insulin to combat high blood glucose which my body perceives as stress. I’m activated into fight or flight and cortisol is released into my bloodstream. My body responds with an increased heart rate, fast breathing, and my cerebral cortex (responsible for reasoning and judgment) goes offline and becomes impaired. My body is tricked into consuming even more carbs and sugar, and the cycle continues. Prolonged states of fight or flight increase blood pressure suppress immune function, and chronically hijacks my brain. My body will experience the high carb and sugar diet as fear and anxiety. In a prolonged fear and anxious state this will compromises my ability to live, function, and process emotion. By eating this way, I tap into my biological vulnerability and diminish my capacity to healthily process emotions since I lack judgment and reasoning because my cerebral cortex is offline. I am constantly vulnerable to negative emotions, therefore I’m unable to show myself love in a healthy way.

Eating a Standard American Diet is antithetical to self-love. I can’t engage with a practice of self-love if my body and mind are constantly hijacked. Therefore, I must change my eating habits before any real efforts can be made to love myself. There is no space for self-love in survival.

So, what should I eat? I eat meats, fish, fowl, eggs, vegetables, a little fruit, and healthy fats such as avocadoes, avocado oil, coconut oil, and butter. I give my body and mind a solid foundation and framework to operate within so that I may pursue self-love and experience true serenity.

Emotion is held within our bodies; it is our job to lessen the impact these emotions have on us by engaging in these healthy lifestyle behaviors.

To learn more check out the first article in this series.

Kelly Schexnaildre is a chef, health coach, and the owner + founder of Merfs Condiments. She currently lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is passionate about food, playing drums, fishing, and all things health and fitness.