I thought it would never happen

[Guest guest]

I've posted before about my struggle to make nutritious foods legal,

and my desire to fill up mostly on sweets. For the past year I have

been in the pattern of eating a small lunch, filling up the rest of

the way on some hot cocoa and maybe a cookie, and the same pattern for

dinner. Even if we had dinner in a restaurant it wasn't unusual for me

to eat something like 1/4 of a cheeseburger and fries so that I could

save room for a treat at home.

Nothing necessarily wrong with that. Everyone has favorite foods, and

there should be a place to have your favorite foods often, right?

Well, for me the problem was that physically, I wasn't feeling quite

as good. Probably because I wasn't getting enough of certain

nutrients, I suspect.

A couple weeks ago I began to honor my cravings for some whole grain

breads, cheese, salads, and fruits. I didn't force them down, only had

them when I was hungry for them, and gave myself the option of filling

the rest of the way up on the entree or saving room for dessert,

instead of automatically doing the latter. Since then, I feel

physically and mentally better. Instead of my old pattern of

automatically having treats twice per day, I have had treats when I

have a craving for something sweet. Thus I think I've had about 4

treats this week (a frosty at wendy's, a mug of hot chocolate twice,

and an ice cream sandwich). Each treat has been very enjoyable. More

so than when I was eating sweets 14 times a week (at a minimum).

This has really been a victory for me. I don't want to be enslaved to

anything, and I feel like I have a more balanced outlook now. For the

past year, I have felt somewhat dependent on sweets, like I NEEDED to

save room for sweets after a meal, otherwise I couldn't have sweets

because I wouldn't be hungry. I have a new attitude now, though. I

don't NEED to save room for sweets after each meal. I can if I choose

to, but since I keep my kitchen well-stocked I know they will always

be there for when I want them and can enjoy them most.

I just wanted to share this because I thought (even a few weeks ago)

that I would be forever deprived if I didn't have sweets at least once

or twice a day. It's turned out not to be true, though. I learned that

part of intuitive eating is paying attention to what foods one's body

is physically asking for and eating them inside of hunger and fullness

- not just eating whatever within hunger and fullness. This revelation

has really had an impact on my physical and mental health.

Peace,