Day 22 - Unconditional Permission to Eat

It was a moment I will never forget. Immersed in Nutrition college with textbooks and research papers gobbling up my desk I sat with jaw open and in shock. Could this be true? That all this (looking at the piles before me and recollecting the memorization of number, figures and chemical names) that I have learned is only secondary to such an immensely profound yet simple philosophy? It made sense to me; it was a rare intellectual moment that seeped into my gut and punched up through my heart. From simply allowing in a new thought I was transformed.

I had just read a paper by a Naturopathic physician talking about the scientific studies showing transformation in patients who had been trained in unrestricted eating. This went against everything that I was learning. I was hooked. I dived into every book, periodical, research paper and article I could find.

The true start of the revolution was one concept: giving ourselves unconditional permission to eat. This means that we are responding to our biological hunger as well as the desire for the food we want. We let go of the restriction, demoralization and deprivation of demonized foods (high fat, high calorie, carbohydrates, sweets, etc.) and rather accept that all foods have equal status. If we desire to experience them then we should have not only the right and inclination but the willingness to become familiar to their sensations.

With a prohibitive attitude it is only natural to want to rebel. Our diet and its rules develop biological food cravings and yearnings, food obsession and binge eating behavior to counter the feeling that certain foods will be removed or withheld. With unconditional permission to eat we discover our true synergy with a food, whether it speaks to us, feeds us or depletes us. We learn its subtleties and texture beyond the thrill of taking in the forbidden fruit of society. We finally allow ourselves to experience the complexity and honesty of each consumable. This is not a delusional process. There is not a assumption that a donut has the same nutrient density as a bushel of spinach. The point is that by becoming an awake eater who trusts his/her body enough to feel any food, you naturally have an inclination to follow the sensations of the body; which by the way are always pointing you towards health and well being.

Giving ourselves unconditional permission to eat requires some simple (but not necessarily easy) steps:

• Recognize that there are no good or bad foods, just foods that create different experiences uniquely in your body.
• Recognize that one food, one snack, one meal or one day does not make or break your health.
  
• Allow yourself to have the foods that you have forbidden yourself to have. Ask yourself these questions before eating them:
• Do I really want this food?
• Do I want it now, or later?
• When you eat any food, but especially the ones that are challenging for you, make sure that you are awakened to the sensations of your body so that you are truly in a state of unconditional permission.
• Apply every step in The Awake Eating Method
• Stay connected to the eating experience by taking note of the aroma, taste, texture and temperature.
• Make sure you truly believe that this item will always be available to you no matter what. You must believe this to truly be engaging in this step.

 Although you may fear that unconditional permission will give you creative license to consume gallons of ice cream that turn into rapid weight gain, you may be fantastically surprised by the outcome. When food is no longer forbidden the opposite happens - we begin to listen to our body and its amazingly wise intuitive nature.

Guinea Pig Update

Our Under-the-kitchen-table fort!

Shredded Spoonfuls

For those who have been curious about my journey with my daughter and this awake eating step it has definitely been interesting, both in observing her as well as listening to my own internal reactions. Her seeming obsession with chocolate pudding is rather hilarious. She ate it while standing in the bathtub naked tonight and later declared that she was done with all chocolate pudding. Over. Time to move on. Interesting. When we built a fort in the kitchen (which was my attempt at playtime but we ended up talking about Sudan) she could not get enough of dry cereal (she even took a picture out of pure excitement to share it on my blog). She said to me later, "Mom, it feels so good to have play food. I missed it."

Hmmm....

Nat