eating mindfully

geneen roth has changed my life through her books. i no longer mindlessly eat. i no longer binge. i no longer eat when i am not hungry. these are big changes for me. 

roth has 7 guidelines for eating. 

1. eat when you are hungry

2. eat sitting down in a calm environment. 

3. eat without distractions

4. eat what your body wants

5. eat until you are satisfied

6. eat (with the intention of) being in full view of others

7. eat with enjoyment, gusto, and pleasure

that's it. 7 simple yet challenging guidelines for eating. it's not a diet. it's not a lifestyle change. it's a reframing of your relationship with food. 

the idea of eating what i want when i am hungry in full view of other people was the hardest thing i faced. i'm not supposed to eat chocolate or chips or candy. i'm not supposed to eat in front of people. fat women eating in public experience shame, either internally or by other people's looks or comments. so it was really hard ... is really hard to eat fully in view of others. 

another challenge is eating without distractions which includes tv, reading, music, and driving. we always eat in front of the tv. i find myself sitting alone at the table sometimes. and i'm okay with that now. 

another difficult change was eating until i was satisfied. for a couple of reasons. first of all, when you eat in front of the tv (or with other distractions) you don't recognize the signals that your body sends to tell you to stop eating. so i would finish what was on my plate without really noticing. second, i feel guilty throwing out food, so i would finish what was on my plate. 

i started to watch other people's eating habits and noticed that often people stop eating when they are satisfied and leave food on their plates. 

what?

people don't finish their food all the time. and that's okay. it's okay to throw out what you don't eat. (or put it away as leftovers)

if you have a difficult relationship with food, i suggest you read one or more of geneen roth's books. they really were life changing for me. 

http://geneenroth.com/books/

be kind to yourself, 

xoxo

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