“When you eat at the refrigerator, pull up a chair”. Geneen Roth, one of my Intuitive Eating mentors chose that as a title for one of her many amazing “non-diet mentality” books. It truly is a humorous phrase with enormous meaning. How many times have you eaten standing up and secretly said that “standing up” calories don’t count. How about if you are drinking something…certainly those calories don’t count either. Have you ever thought you were hungry but weren’t quite sure? A clue that you might not really be hungry at all is if you find yourself at the refrigerator holding the door open while scanning the shelves. “Let’s see…1/2 of that burrito someone didn’t finish last night, a bagel with 2 bites taken off one side, a plastic container full of jelly beans, lettuce, tomato, pasta sauce, chocolate sauce…….”. Still not sure what you really feel like and certainly not sure what would satisfy your perceived hunger you might just grab a spoon and sample a few things. Nope, that doesn’t taste good enough, salty enough, sweet or spicy enough. So you continue. A fork-full here, a spoon-full there. Still not satisfied!

It happens more times than we would like to admit. Eating with purpose and eating without guilt is so much more pleasurable and satisfying than mindless grazing and picking.

Here’s a tip on tuning into your Intuitive Eating mechanism that is really always longing to be heard.

Still yourself. Quite your thoughts. If you find yourself at the refrigerator already…then by all means, pull up a chair. This will help remind you that when you eat you deserve to do it with dignity and respect. Each time you eat it should be a small celebration and gift to your internal desires. Ask yourself “do I want something crunchy, salty, sweet, cold, hot, chewy, smooth. Am I really hungry for this kind of food right now”. Sometimes we are influenced by the smell of a particular food. You might get swayed subliminally by a TV commercial. You probably weren’t even craving a piece of pizza 5 minutes earlier, but ever since you saw that Boboli bread on the screen not only is that the only food that you can think of, you can’t think of much else. Sit with yourself for a moment and check in with your feelings; physical as well as emotional. How does your body feel? Is your stomach growling? Do you have an empty feeling? Could you just be thirsty? Are you really hungry for what is in front of you or do you have to make some kind of time and effort to prepare or buy the food item.

Remember, you really deserve only the best all of the time. By perfecting the art of discerning what food will really satisfy you at any given time, you will begin to only accept eating foods that will make you feel satisfied and better after you have eaten them then before your meal. Begin to take note at the way some foods feel in your body after you finish eating them. Do you feel energized and light or heavily weighed down or sluggish. Do you still feel that need to eat more even though you are feeling full? Maybe you didn’t choose the right food for that meal. That’s okay. It will take time to develop the skill of honoring your body. No more guilt. No more questioning should I have eaten that or passed on eating something else. You will get better at it. I guarantee it.

So, if you find yourself in front of the refrigerator and just hanging on the door and staring inside…by all means…pull up a chair.

…the motivator lady
lori ellen
eating behaviorist
motivation.inspiration.strategies.support

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