How to make peace with your body and food

 

Aren't you tired of struggling with food and your body?

Would you like to get of the diet-binge yo-yo?

Are you on a yo-yo diet?

Our culture, unfortunately, is still entrapped in its rigid norms. An unrealistic standard of beauty unattainable by most women is dictated by the beauty industry in particular, and by sex-oriented advertising campaigns in general. 

Barbara Holtzman wrote" Our self-esteem as women suffers as we are told that we are not okay as we are – our noses are too big, our stomachs too round, our breasts too small – leading us to believe that if we fix these “flaws,” we will be “acceptable” and our lives will be perfect. Since all of us long for love and acceptance, we may buy advertising’s well-spend message that we are not okay as we are."

It is important for us to understand that the current standard of beauty is unhealthy for most people. Unless you were born with an ectomorphic body, you cannot have a model’s size and shape and still be healthy. Many models need to starve themselves in order to meet the industry’s current standards. Even then, an “imperfect” body part may be substituted by another’s in a spliced photograph.

For many of us, food has been a source of comfort when none was available. Food is a way to cope with the stresses of life. When we stop using food to stuff our uncomfortable feelings, we become more aware of our sadness, anger, and loneliness (since our feelings live in our bodies).

When we let ourselves experience all of our feelings, we begin to know ourselves better and what is important to us. As we take off the mask, we can relate to ourselves and others authentically. In harmony with our true selves, we can recreate a life of our own design.

To really enjoy the benefits of a weight loss program, we have to ensure that we get out get out of the cycle of dieting and regaining weight? Through lifestyle changes – exercising (a crucial ingredient for our bodies’ health) and changing our eating habits:

1. Fueling ourselves throughout the day. (Underfeeding sets us up for a binge.) 
    
2. Giving ourselves permission to eat what we want, as deprivation sets us up for a binge. 
    
3. Practicing conscious eating. When we eat when we’re hungry, slow down our eating and enjoy each bite to the fullest, we enjoy it more and are satisfied with less. 
    
4. Planning ahead so we have tasty and nutritious foods available at all times. 
    
5. Choosing our foods by how they taste, how they nourish our bodies and how they make us feel – physically and emotionally. 
    
6. Being sure to get enough water, rest and oxygen, as we often use food to fill these needs.
    
7. Realizing that emotional eating means that we need soothing. Breathe and send yourself compassion for the state you are in.

Here is a gift for the holidays; its a book containing food tips for the holidays. Click the link below to get your book.

------->>>>>Peace with Food for the Holidays<<<