Why and How to Give Yourself Permission to Eat Anything

A few comments shared about this -

* What happened to the days when I could eat chicken fingers without a second thought?

Or when I could reach into a bowl of m&m's without an ounce of guilt and slip each calorie into my lips without the calorie police saying "you better stop soon"?

The thought of not knowing approximate calories makes me feel out of control. I think what scares me more is the idea that if I eat out or grab something yummy at a bakery or at the store, that I may be hungry so soon after, and that i wont honor that hunger as I have just splurged or stepped out of my comfort zone.

* I love this! I've written on a post-it note in my kitchen "If we start to allow ourselves to enjoy the food and say wow, this croissant is so beautifully made and flakey and light and airy and amazing...then we are eating beauty and then beauty lies within us..it is us." Food is love, not a number on a calorie counter. Beautiful!


* First things first, be kind to yourself and realize that your recovery is a process. It will take time! It took me years to unlearn all of the calorie information, and nutrition label data, I had memorized and used as my guide to what to eat, what not to eat. However, slowly but surely, I did forget it. I took food out of its external packaging so I didn't have it there tempting me to read it. I bought from bulk bins and individual items from restaurants and small shops that didn't have standardized calorie information available (e.g., getting something from a local coffee shop rather than Starbucks).