Friday, September 25, 2015

Secret or Savor?

The push & pull of food is so tricky: eat healthy, eat in balance, enjoy treats, be self-disciplined.... So many voices & so much "advice" to weed through.

I came across a great article by Geneen Roth today that challenges us to enjoy what we're eating. Instead of feeling shame and secrecy, make it a pleasure: slowly savor it and let yourself enjoy the process. I am AWFUL at this.

One person she interviewed put it so well:
"Eating is always a guilty pleasure," she says. "I feel as if I'm not supposed to enjoy food because I need to lose 10 pounds, and people who are supposed to lose 10 pounds should be ashamed of themselves. They should eat dry chicken without skin and salad without dressing — not steak and mashed potatoes."

There is an endless list of rules or opinions in my head and without even realizing it, those rules are on a constant ticker in my mind when I sit down to eat:
"You're not allowed to enjoy this."
"You shouldn't be eating that."
"You could have made a better choice."
"Is this something that (__fill-in-the-blank__) would eat?"
"Someone your size shouldn't eat that."

Ms. Roth ends with this thought: "We don't overeat because we take too much pleasure from food, but because we don't take enough. When pleasure ends, overeating begins."

I'm going to make it a point to keep this thought in mind and see what habits I may change if I focus less on the voices in my head and more on the pleasure to be found in the moment I am hungry & eating what is good for me.

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