Do you know what an ELD is?

It’s a habit that I often describe to my clients as a ’key stone habit.’ One that helps everything else fall into place.

An ELD is an Earlier and Lighter Dinner!

“What?” I hear you cry! “Is that all? “

But, Oh dear one. Often BIG impacts hide in little things. And it may sound easy but… many people struggle to bring this habit into their lives.

The habit of a later and larger dinner is an effect of the last 50 years of economic and societal push for constant growth and production; convenience over connection and profit over health. Don’t get me started on “On The Run” as the motto for our current times.

It is common now for many to eat dinner at 7 or 8pm or even later! This puts such a load on digestion when it is already winding down for the night! 

A hundred years ago, or even 50 years ago, before the rise of our current obesity and diabetes epidemics, the norm was to have a main meal for lunch and a smaller supper.

In some culture around the world they still do!

Supper, to sup, implies small. It is supplemental to the main meal that was had sometime between 12 and 2pm.

Why, for thousands of years was this the norm?

Our ancestors knew that we evolved from nature and we are a part of nature.

The rhythms of your body mimic the rhythms of Nature. What is in the Macrocosm is in the Microcosm.  Pinda so brahmande.

When our universal Fire energy, our Sun, is at its peak strength in the day, your digestive energy, called Agni in Ayurveda, or digestive enzymes in science, mirrors this strength and is also at its most efficient.

Eating after 6pm or eating a large meal at night puts a strain on your digestion which naturally produces less enzymes and bile at this time of the day.

Keep it up and you’ll inevitably experience more heaviness in your body, more inflammation, gut issues, poor sleep and feel groggy the next morning as your digestion struggles to process all the food that comes in and creates more waste in your channels.

If you want to experience deeper sleep and feel light and energised when you wake with less stiffness or pain, less inflammation, less allergic reactions and more balanced hormones then it is time to live in co-operation with your body’s natural rhythms.

It is time to make the shift to ELD’SDo

Ayurvedic recognises living out of rhythm with nature (Parinama) as a primary cause of disease. Mess with your natural rhythms and things start to go awry!

Now, I know that there can be obstacles in life that get in the way of having an ELD. As a general rule our society is no longer set up for them.  

If you are accustomed to having a later and or heavier dinner, and would love to make the shift, first, it helps to identify what gets in your way from having an ELD.

Then start to engineer more time at lunch to enjoy a decent meal with good fats and protein to sustain you through the afternoon. May be not every day, but most days!

Doing this means your blood sugar won’t crash late afternoon and you might even reduce snacking before dinner as well as need less each night!

If you get home later from work, perhaps you can prep dinner in the morning or put on a slow cooker to then have dinner ready once home!

Like to do yoga after work? Try having that bigger lunch then enjoy soup or steamed veg for supper after yoga dinner!

I encourage my client’s to make small shifts in the right direction. Big changes are often too much of a shock to the body.  Big shifts often get put in the too hard basket and are not sustainable.

Is having an ELD already a part of your rhythms?

Let me know if creating the integral habit of ELD’s is something that you would love to do and if you would like my support in creating the rhythms that will help you thrive!

With love,

Jacq