To some people it may sound scary. Can I eat whatever I want? I'll finish myself off eating churros, for example.
Just imagining the person already feels the guilt for eating something “forbidden”, “wrong”, “not allowed” for them.
If we broaden our vision and approach food without fear, the relationship can change. We are free to choose what to eat. Trusting and respecting the body's signals is what accompanies us on this path.
Ask your body how much it wants to receive from that food so that it feels comfortable and doesn't get overwhelmed, feel sick, have heartburn, need to sleep all afternoon or open your pants.
How much cake do I want to eat?
Your body tells you with signs whether or not it wants that cake and how good it will be for it. The work is in recovering the inner signs, trusting his wisdom and respecting them.
Do you want to try it?
Choose a food that you want to eat, of those that have some prohibition for you. Sit down and put aside the distractions of cell phone, TV, computer, books or magazines. Take a breath and notice in your body the signs that will be presented to you, such as your mouth watering, a tingling in your stomach, an animation in your body, a butterflies in your stomach or whatever else you notice.
When eating, taste and look at the chosen food, note colors, shapes, feel the texture, flavors, aromas and the food being chewed. See if the flavor matches what you imagined. How much pleasure and joy does that food bring you? Note how much of that food you want with each bite.
Also feel how much pleasure you feel as you eat. This is important to eat as much as you really want and not be based on portion size. Sometimes, with half the portion you will already be satisfied and your body will tell you that it wants to stop eating. Respect and trust your signals.
You may find that it doesn't taste as good as you thought and that's okay as you get to choose how much you eat. Often “forbidden” foods are childhood memories and we can see that today they are not as delicious as they were in the past.
Making peace with food is transformative.
Gradually, we are getting familiar with our body, honoring hunger and respecting the signs to allow ourselves to eat without guilt. When we practice mindful eating, new paths open up for this relationship with food and the body. Try it!
You may also like another article by this author. Access: The prayer of the tree
