4 stages to normal eating
3 September 2006 by livingrainbowcolor
This weekend has moved in slow motion, at least with respect to my actual accomplishments. After struggling with should for a while, I chose to lean into the curve and gave myself movies until I broke the emotional block.
The block ultimately broke during The Banger Sisters, a movie about breaking through walls we create to keep ourselves from being truly ourselves. It enabled me to get up and actually do some things, rather than endlessly surf.
As one action, I finished reading a rather long article about the 4 stages to normal eating, from an intuitive eating website. Here’s a summary.
Goal: to please myself and feel good about my eating.
Basic concept is that COEs have to learn to meld the body’s, the mind’s and the emotions’ needs for food. It acknowledges that eating must have all three in order to be truly satisfying.
The steps to get there are:
- Legalize all foods
- Reconnect with hunger and fullness
- Learn to handle stress with things other than food
- Choose the right foods for you
Number one clears the mind’s blocks to foods, since the mind rationally detects that no food is inherently good or bad. It also clears out any compulsive eating that was due to deprivation.
Number 2 connects the body’s needs back to eating habits, Number 3 starts to heal emotions. Number 4 brings them all together in learning to choose foods that meet my emotional needs, my physical needs, and my mind’s needs.
The most interesting statement is one does not beat COE without taking action. It’s not enough to think about things and wait for habits to change. They only change when you choose to change something. And I know from experience that this is incremental change, not catastrophic (changes all at once). That’s what made today a very good day - I practiced breaking out of a doldrum without binging my way through it.
