{"id":11333,"date":"2023-08-08T16:12:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T23:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amihungry.com\/?p=11333"},"modified":"2023-08-30T16:12:57","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T23:12:57","slug":"do-you-love-to-eat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amihungry.com\/do-you-love-to-eat\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Love to Eat?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDo you love to eat?\u201d <\/em>That is the first sentence in the introduction to Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat<\/a>. The first time I read it, I answered with a resounding, \u201cYes! I absolutely love to eat, and that is the problem!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Do-you-love-to-eat\"At that point, I had no idea just how much I would learn from the rest of the book about my eating behaviors and my relationship to food and my body. It has been an extraordinary journey of healing.<\/p>\n

And now I know that loving to eat is not<\/em>\u00a0the problem.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always loved to eat; I love the world of food. But, I didn\u2019t really act like I loved to eat. By age 15, I had picked up so many conflicting messages about food, eating, and dieting that confusion permeated my thoughts.<\/p>\n

I would eat and feel ashamed.<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t eat and I\u2019d feel hungry and shaky.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d eat the foods on the \u201cgood\u201d list from whatever diet or magazine article I\u2019d read and I felt deprived.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d \u201cindulge<\/a>\u201d in the foods on the \u201cbad\u201d list, but I couldn\u2019t give myself permission to enjoy them because they were my enemies and I was supposed to learn to hate them.<\/p>\n

I remember that one of the diet books even recommended picturing chocolate cake, or whatever was tempting me, covered in maggots so I wouldn\u2019t want to eat it. Food had to become detestable for me to achieve my goals.<\/p>\n

An eye-opening insight I\u2019ve gained during my Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating journey is how deeply in denial I\u2019d forced myself to become. When I overate, I compounded the pain with my disappointment in myself and my self-chastising words. But, that didn\u2019t stop me from overeating.<\/p>\n

Instead, I numbed my feelings by pushing away the guilt<\/a> and trying to block out the words. But now I know that when you numb your feelings, you don\u2019t get to pick and choose. I numbed all<\/em> of my feelings, so I didn’t experience pleasure either.<\/p>\n

Mindful eating is\u00a0the opposite.<\/p>\n

I no longer block the eating experience. I see the food on my plate. I hear any sizzle or crackle it makes. I smell the aroma. I taste it\u2026 really<\/em> taste it. I feel the emotions. I notice what my internal voice is saying. I pay attention to my body. Rather than push away any part of the experience, I welcome it. I stay curious<\/a>. Is this food delicious? Is it satisfying? Is it nurturing me?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve discovered so much. I now know which foods I really love and which foods love me. I\u2019ve also discovered what it feels like to love food with no remorse, even my favorites that are on a diet “bad” list somewhere.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve learned that no matter what or how much I eat, it will never satisfy the pain of not feeling good enough, thin enough, or beautiful enough. Most importantly, I now know that I\u2019ve always been and always will be good enough, thin enough, and beautiful enough. I now see clearly that each of those \u201cenough\u201d judgments are just perceptions, and that genuine self-love doesn\u2019t have conditions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I now know what it feels like to feel good about what I eat, feel good after I eat, and feel good, and safe, in the wonderful world of food.<\/p>\n

I also know that mindful eating is the most natural path to optimal well-being. Instead of banishing my feelings, it is denial and fear that have been banished.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you love to eat?\u201d<\/p>\n

Now I can answer with a resounding, \u201cYes, I absolutely love to eat. And I\u2019m so grateful to know there is absolutely no problem with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article has been updated from a previously published version.<\/em><\/p>\n

Enjoyed this article? Here are three more that you might find helpful:<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to deconstruct overeating.<\/a><\/p>\n

The power of the pause: Mind, body, heart scan.<\/a><\/p>\n

End emotional eating by decoding your triggers.<\/a><\/p>\n