Today at a Glance
- “Just one bite to stay focused.”
- The “Ground & Go” Ritual
- The Pause & Plate Practice
- Shake Stress Off
It starts with a little crunch.
Just one.
I still remember those late university nights in Ragusa: the hum of the computer, papers stacked like towers around me, the pressure mounting. My parents were on the edge of divorce, and I was trying to hold everything together.
I’d tell myself, “Just one bite to stay focused.”
Chocolate biscuits were my study buddies. My tiny reward for keeping it all going.
But what I didn’t realize back then was that it wasn’t hunger. It was hurt. It was fear. It was my nervous system grasping for safety.
Food became my pause button. Like, the only moment I could breathe.
And isn’t that what many of us do?
Some reach for a glass of wine. Some for their phone. Some for endless scrolling.
For me, it was sweetness. A craving for calm disguised as a craving for sugar.
So let me ask you…
When stress overwhelms you, what’s your version of that biscuit?
What’s the thing you reach for before you even realize it?
You might already know it…
This edition is about exactly that: what to do when stress seeks soothing.
Let’s dive right in…
"We are not what we eat. We are what we digest, assimilate, and eliminate."
The “Ground & Go” Ritual
When food becomes our stress response, the body starts carrying the story.
It tightens. Stores. Protects.
And the quickest way to interrupt that cycle? Presence.
Here’s one of my favorite tools: The “Ground & Go” Ritual.
It’s simple, short, and powerful after any snack or meal (especially when you know you weren’t really hungry).
Here’s how:
- Step outside, or simply stand near an open window.
- Walk slowly for 3 minutes, feel your feet meet the ground.
- Roll your shoulders back. Let your spine stretch tall.
- Inhale deeply through the nose, exhale longer through the mouth.
- End with three slow squats or a gentle stretch.
You’re not “burning off” food. You’re integrating e-motion.
You’re moving from reaction to reflection.
I often do this after lunch. Just 3 minutes of reconnection, and suddenly my thoughts are clearer, my cravings quieter.
What if your next step wasn’t about control, but compassion, for your body, your stress, or your story?
And when you feel “hungry” try…
Eat Well
The Pause & Plate Practice
Here’s something I practice daily: the Pause & Plate.
Before I eat, I take one breath.
Just one.
I ask myself: “What am I really hungry for right now?”
Then, I make sure the food goes onto a plate. Even if it’s just a handful of nuts or a snack.
It’s small, but powerful. Because that pause creates space.
Space to choose. Space to listen.
In Mediterranean homes here in Sicily, food isn’t a side activity. It’s a ritual. A pause in the day that invites you to slow down, connect, and value what’s on your plate.
And here’s something else I’ve learned:
You can only value real food.
Ultra-processed, artificial food doesn’t nourish. Not your body. Not your mind. Not your soul. It fills space, but empties meaning.
So tonight, before your next meal, try this:
1) Sit down. Take one breath.
2) Look at your plate → the colors, the textures, the scent.
3) Eat until 80% full.
When I started doing that, I stopped needing food to fill my emotions.
Because I started filling my awareness instead.
So, I’m curious…
When was the last time you truly tasted what you were eating?
Sometimes calm might not help then try to…
Shake Stress Off
Stress eating doesn’t begin in the mouth. It begins in the body.
In the tightening of your chest. The shallow breath. The fluttering nerves that whisper, “Do something.”
When you feel that sudden wave of tension or the pull toward food you don’t even want… stop.
Stand up. And shake.
Yes, literally.
Shake your arms, your legs, your hands.
Let your shoulders drop.
Loosen your jaw.
Bounce lightly on your feet for thirty seconds.
This is not about “exercise.”
It’s about completion. You’re giving your body a chance to discharge the stress hormones your mind can’t process.
Animals do this instinctively after a scare.
We humans? We suppress it. Then we crave sugar to soothe the leftover tension.
Next time you feel the urge to snack, pause.
Do two minutes of this. Or 5 min. of this.
And listen to what’s underneath.
Can you feel the whisper before it becomes the shout?
This Week’s Tiny Experiments
A.C.T.I.V.E.™ = Awareness. Curiosity. Tiny Test. Integration. Variation. Evolution.
That’s our A.C.T.I.V.E.™ Loop. Because lasting change is built by experiments, not perfection.
This week’s theme: Listen before you eat.
A – Awareness
Notice when cravings arise. What emotion is nearby? Fatigue, boredom, sadness, overwhelm?
C – Curiosity
Ask: “If I didn’t reach for food right now, what might I feel instead?”
T – Tiny Test (pick one)
- Take a 3-minute Ground & Go walk after your next snack.
- Try a Pause & Plate before dinner.
- Shake it out when stress whispers your name.
I – Integration
After three days, reflect: Did the urge change? Did awareness sneak in between impulse and action?
V – Variation
Try your ritual in a new setting (outdoors, in silence, or before your first coffee.)
E – Evolution
Repeat the one that felt easiest for 7 days. Tiny shifts build the strongest habits.
Final Thoughts
This topic is close to me.
Because I’ve lived it. And I worked my way through it not by resisting food, but by reclaiming myself.
When you stop eating to escape, you start eating to connect.
And that’s when nourishment becomes sacred again.
We all carry stress. But how we meet it, how e perceive it, that’s where transformation begins.
So this week, I invite you to pause.
To breathe before you bite. To walk before you judge. To listen before you label.
Because food isn’t the enemy. It never was.
But disconnection is.
Let’s rewrite that story – together.
That’s it for today.
Hope you enjoyed it (and learned something new).
As always, stay fit, stay active, and enjoy your life.
Ketty & Markus