For 20 years my head was constantly filled with negativity around food and body image. As I opened my eyes in the morning I would be bombarded with, "I wonder how much I weigh? What am I allowed to eat today? Will my clothes fit?"
It was all consuming and totally exhausting which left me in a deep state of depression and suffering from bulimia. Then I learnt how to eat naturally which enabled me to tune back in to my body's natural instincts so I could eat solely for the physical need. What a relief it was to have the freedom to love and trust myself and my body.
We are all born with the innate ability to nourish ourselves based on our body's natural signals of hunger and satisfaction. Babies and young children eat solely for the physical need as there is no emotion involved. They simply notice they are hungry and eat, and when they've had enough they stop, not even thinking about food until they realise they are hungry again. However over time these signals can get overridden by fear, guilt, deprivation or restriction. We lose the ability to trust ourselves as we seek to control our body rather than listen to it.
This is generally because we have used food for reasons other than hunger often to give us comfort. Such as boredom, loneliness, sadness, anger, loss, stress, depression and on and on. However our body doesn't want food for comfort which is why we keep eating waiting for that magic fix that never comes. I realised that for 20 years I was using food to stop myself from facing a great deal of loss and pain in my life. By controlling how I ate, I could keep my emotions inside of me. Unfortunately the harder I tried to control it the more my body fought back which meant I began to binge uncontrollably and then exercise excessively. It was a never-ending battle which left me despondent and totally overwhelmed.
Thankfully, Natural eating was my lifeline back to normality. However I realised the only way I would be able to learn to listen to my body again was to face the loss I had suffered between the ages of 5 and 25. I needed to turn the negative thoughts off and replace them with love and kindness. A counsellor enabled me to gently acknowledge my emotions instead of dismissing them. I couldn't change the past but I no longer needed to control it.
Thankfully, Natural eating was my lifeline back to normality. However I realised the only way I would be able to learn to listen to my body again was to face the loss I had suffered between the ages of 5 and 25. I needed to turn the negative thoughts off and replace them with love and kindness. A counsellor enabled me to gently acknowledge my emotions instead of dismissing them. I couldn't change the past but I no longer needed to control it.
Once I began to love myself again I could then learn to trust myself with food. It didn't happen over-night but with constant practice I then began to believe that food was not my enemy but simply a means to nourish my body. This then enabled me to get joy and pleasure from food again.
Natural Eating gives you peace of mind around food and body image and a huge sense of freedom from the negativity of diets and deprivation. Once you begin to eat only for the physical need you can then find positive and empowering ways to provide comfort instead.
I am a wife and mother who has recovered from 20 years of food and weight related issues. I used to binge on food uncontrollably and then exercise excessively to get rid of it. After being diagnosed with depression and bulimia in 1996 I was introduced to Natural Eating and personal development. These key tools allowed me to learn to love and trust myself enough to make a full recovery. For a FREE copy of my e-book,"Empower yourself by eating what you want - how to develop a healthy relationship with food" please click the following link http://nourishnnurture.co.nz/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Catrina_Bengree/379036
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