As I've mentioned in previous posts, I haven't been feeling to well lately. Luckily, I'm getting that taken care of and today I've felt the best?I have in days! I even managed a short run, which I?thoroughly?enjoyed :)
Since I had the day off yesterday, I spent the entire day trapped inside my basement, taking cold showers every couple of hours to defend myself from the POTS-triggering heat. And I passed the time with such an eloquent and clarifying book:
Women, Food, and God by Geneen Roth emphasizes listening to your body and intuitive eating, while providing steps to overcome emotional eating. It uses principles of spirituality such as inquiry and meditation is order to become in touch with ones true emotions. The main purpose of this book is to give readers the steps to experience what they are truly feeling instead of burying that feeling with the rigidness of a diet or the free-for-all of a chocolate cake. Geneen Roth highly discourages diets, and instead promotes listening to your body and eating whatever your body wants.
The majority of the book was spent on the topic of emotions and learning to feel instead of run from those emotions. She describes those who run from their feelings (ie. the majority of us) as having "anorexia of the soul" because we deny ourselves the pleasure of being 100% present in life.
Being present is something that I personally have been really?focusing?on for the past year or so. Ever since I learned about mindfulness in a workshop given by my local?interdisciplinary?pain clinic, it has been something that I have tried to apply to my life. One of the best ways to apply mindfulness is through eating, and being present.
Perhaps what I found most helpful were the seven eating guidelines at the end of the book:
1. Eat when you are hungry
2. Eat sitting down?in a calm environment
3. Eat without distractions (ie. reading the newspaper, watching tv)
4. Eat what your body wants (NOT what your mind wants. You may think that all you want is a slice of greasy, salty pizza- but is that really what your body wants?)
5. Eat in full view of others, or at least with the intention of being in full view of others.
6. Eat until you are satisfied
7. Eat with enjoyment, gusto, and pleasure.?
Today, I tried to follow some of these guidelines.
1.Often, I can be guilty when it comes to eating when I'm not hungry- I often eat just because I like to eat! Today I made sure to be in tune to my hunger symbols.
2. I'm very bad at this. I tend to stand at the pantry and pick at food until I've figured out what I want- only to find out that I've eaten a whole snacks worth of food and I barely even tasted it.
3. Again- a bad, bad habit of mine is to always find something to do while I'm eating. Today, I tried my best to focus just on the food. It will take some work, because my mind kept wandering, but it will be worth it.
4. I'm actually usually pretty good at this. Unless it is cashews/trail mix/dates/honey/favourite foods ever - then I tend to be good at deciphering if my body wants an apple or a banana.
5. Again, not something that really affects me. Even if my deepest stage of anorexia, I didn't mind if people saw me eating. I'm just lucky that I've never really been a private, secretive over-eater. (No, when I over-eat it is always in public, and I'm usually with my friends who never seem to get over the shock that their "petite" friend can eat so much!)
6. This is one of the rules that is certainly going to take some time. I have a very hard time with this...usually I just eat whatever I took on my plate. Very rarely do I stop and say "I'm full" even when I am. I will get to this one, eventually.
7. No. Problem. Here.
I ate with a?consciousness?of the eating?guidelines?today, and I am very proud of myself. I sat down for almost everything I ate, and I was really in tune to my hunger signals. I never once ate in front of a book or the tv or my computer. I even tried to be in tune to my "fullness" signals, but I'm still figuring that one out.
I felt very positive about what I ate today, and I plan on?continuing?to follow ?Geneen Roth's guidelines :)
Source: http://homeostatichealth.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-review-women-food-and-god.html
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