If you have ever been on a diet before (and really, who hasn’t?) these steps are going to sound silly and counter-intuitive to you. You are going to have to go out on a limb and just do some trusting on this one. The first thing you will need to do is:
#1 Eat the foods that are FORBIDDEN
Nope–I’m not kidding. Buy yourself your favorite ice cream, potato chips, pie, chocolate cake, whatever it is that you feel is your absolute weakness. Then here’s the different part–ENJOY it. Taste every bite, relish every last lick, pay attention to nothing else but the flavor and wonderfulness of your forbidden food. Whenever you want more, indulge yourself. Keep doing this until
- you no longer feel deprived of this food
- you actually know what the food tastes like
Yep, our brains get so obsessed with the forbidden fruit that we don’t even know what it tastes like. I have always loved Lays cheddar & sour cream potato chips. If there was a bag in the house it was an empty bag. Do you know what I realized after I allowed myself to eat them whenever I wanted? The chips themselves only taste good for a few minutes, then they feel heavy and fatty. They aren’t good to eat after a handful. (And guess what? A handful is only 140 calories–I can have that every day if I want to! It was eating the whole bag that was my problem before!)
#2 Eat only when you are hungry & stop when you are satisfied
Do you know that some Americans don’t even know what hunger feels like? It is that squirmy rumbling in your belly that says “feed me!” It is NOT your brain saying “I need a distraction, therapy, boredom relief, or love.” Listen to your BODY. It also isn’t your tongue saying, “That was soo good! I think I want to taste another brownie right now!” Nope–you will have to practice listening to what your body is telling you. Get to that magical place when you are satisfied but not completely FULL. In the beginning you may need to practice a MODERATE calorie counting program to train your brain to eat smaller, NORMAL portions.
#3 Eat only what you want.
When you learn to listen to your body, you will find that it will tell you what it wants. Before you go to the fridge and stick a bite (or three) of everything into your mouth, you ask yourself, “What sounds really good right now?” Then do everything you can to eat what will actually satisfy your body. Don’t put anything into your mouth that you don’t absolutely want.
As a mom it is so easy for me to become a garbage disposal–I clean all my kids’ plates because I don’t want the food to go to waste. Isn’t this the silliest habit? Feeding myself stuff my body doesn’t want, becoming a garbage can for others’ cast-offs. This isn’t being fabulous!
I challenge you this week to start respecting your body and treating yourself like the fabulous YOU that you are. Taste those foods that you have avoided and see if you actually like them, eat when you are hungry, stop when you are satisfied and eat only what you want. You will be on the road to eating intuitively, getting to your natural weight (and most of the time that will mean weight loss), and ending your obsession with food, dieting and weight. Yay!
Kim Flynn is the mother of 4 and the founder of 3 active businesses: Tutoring Connection LLC (2000), Brenson Property Management LLC (2004) and Fabulous Living (2009). She has received business recognition as “Woman of the Year” at the 2006 Thanksgiving Point Women’s Conference, and was the director of the 2008 Women’s Conference in Provo. She has also been featured in Utah Valley Magazine, on the radio program “Ask a Woman,” and the upcoming television program “Standing Up.”
