"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." - Marilyn Monroe
This is a topic I've probably covered before, but I will come back to it again and again, because I'm still learning it too: "mindful eating." What is that? Pretty simply, it means listening to your own body to decide when and what to eat - not judging your wants or hunger by a calorie count, celebrity diet, or even a friend.
It's so funny, because this is really a process of unlearning - our bodies intuitively know what they need, but culturally it becomes more standard to follow someone else's rules, as if they know what's right. There's this gum commercial right now that is a perfect example - a woman is standing in front of the cookie counter, but then decides she "shouldn't" have one, so she chews a stick of sugar-free gum instead. Who told her that cookies are "bad" foods? If you want one, you can have one.
Beyond the influence of media, I catch myself following my friends too. If I hear them talk about bad foods or things they shouldn't eat, I keep that in mind. And I always seem to try not to eat more than they do. It's not like they would really care, or say anything about it. It just seems safer.
And you know what? There's no need to follow anyone's rules. Because who knows better than you what you need? The fact is, nobody. And it can be a great challenge to tune out all of those rules, especially if they've become a seemingly "natural" way for you - believe me, I know. But once you can start to turn them down, you can listen more carefully to the one who really knows best: you.
