One Big Secret to Loving Food

THIS podcast aired a meaty and fun interview with Evelyn Tribole, one of the authors of Intuitive Eating. In it, they discussed lots of great content, including one topic I'm taking for our focus today. If you want to listen to the whole episode, which I highly recommend, go HERE. The top of the interview talks a lot about meditation but then gets into some great stuff about Intuitive Eating.

At one point, Evelyn tells of a client she had who couldn't answer what food was one of her favorites. Sadly, that's not too uncommon for people who have been thoroughly indoctrinated by diet culture. They can give you long lists of "good" foods and "bad" foods, or what you "should" or "shouldn't" eat, but have become so out of touch with their own bodies, they sincerely don't know what foods they love.

The closest that woman could come to naming a favorite food was to say one diet she tried included having a chicken breast on lettuce, and she liked that. When asked if that food satisfied her, she was, again, perplexed. This is heartbreaking and maddening all at once. I sincerely hope this doesn't describe you. If it does, don't worry; it's not too late to change that up.

In case no one has told you this before - YOU DESERVE FOOD THAT BRINGS YOU PLEASURE AND DEEP SATISFACTION!

I'm going to say that again in a little different way. You, my friend, have a God-given right to food that not only provides your body nutrition but which also brings you pleasure and deep satisfaction.

Are you hearing me? Because if you're not, do yourself a favor and keep reading that over and over until it starts to sink in.

So many of us have been so conditioned to fear food - what's in it, "should" we eat it, what will it do to us, we'll be "bad" if we eat it, I'll feel guilty if I have that - that we completely, or at least partially, lose our ability to nourish our heart and soul, as well as our body.

Letting go of the idea of "good" foods and "bad" foods is unimaginable for some people. I know, I get it. We've been taught what foods are "good" and "bad" all our lives. How could it not be true? But look back through the history of which foods have been on which lists and how frequently the lists change. When you do, you can comfortably begin to question not only the validity of the list, but its very existence.

Buying into "good" foods/"bad" foods leads to restricting foods or feeling guilty because we're not restricting foods. Restricting and guilt can lead to all kinds of fun things like -

- shame around eating

- binge eating

- boredom with food

- self-disgust, even self-loathing

- lack of true nourishment

- loss of trust in ourselves

- fear of food

- fear of weight gain

- fear of loss of control (which ties back to not trusting ourselves).

Isn't that a lovely list of the things we all want in relation to food? Not! And that list is just the beginning. It's far from complete.

So, how do we overcome that systemically taught and toxic way of thinking? The answer to that is far too nuanced and individualized to address in one post, or even a long series of posts, but an effective place for anyone to start can be stated in one word - SATISFACTION.

When we focus on being truly satisfied with and from our food, it often leads to slowing down and eating in a more relaxed way as we naturally take the time to really notice all the things about our food - its appearance, aroma, texture, the simplicity or complexity of its flavor, and how our body responds to it. Do we feel energized or more sluggish after eating it? How does our digestive system react to it? Does it cause headaches, congestion, brain fog, or other less desirable after-effects? Does it conjure up pleasant memories and bring happiness?

In short, is it satisfying?

When we begin to ask ourselves this question, we can expect many arguments to spring up in our brains, just like happened for Dan Harris in his interview with Evelyn Tribole. That's okay. There are answers to all those arguments.

You can start by believing you deserve to be deeply satisfied by your food. You deserve to be nourished body and soul.