| Figuring Out What to Eat by Lynn Woodland Have you noticed how diet-specific everyone is these days? Once upon a time, throwing a dinner party simply meant cooking up some "good food" and watching everyone happily chow down. The main consideration was how the guests would get along. Nowadays, my bigger concern is whether the guests' diets will get along. No kidding. I've been known to have at my house -- all at once -- an Atkins diet (no carbs, lots of meat), a Zone diet ("good" carbs, lots of protein), a heart health diet (no fat), an allergy diet (no wheat, dairy or sugar), a vegetarian (no meat), and a vegan (no animal products and emotionally distressed at the sight of meat at the table). Is it any wonder I've taken to thinking of my friends as diets rather than personalities and plan my entertaining around having the "low carbs" over one night, the allergy/veggie/vegans on another night and the diabetics and heart healthies on yet another occasion? Who cares if they have anything to talk about? At least they'll all eat. Each different eating approach seems to generate it's own special fervor. Our diets have become so much more than how we eat -- they're lifestyles. If one researches any of these "lifestyle choices" it's easy to get caught up in the excitement. Each diet has literature filled with scientific evidence and empassioned testimonials that make us want to go right home and throw away our toxic meat or indulge in bacon and eggs and give up our poisonous pasta. If we read too much, of course, we may never feel whole-heartedly comfortable eating anything again. With the possible exception of lettuce. So long as we scrupulously wash all the pesticides and E. coli off of it. So, in this new world of confusing and conflicting dietary do's and don'ts, how do we find the approach that's best for us? Personally, I think there needs to be a step prior to plunging headlong into the latest weight-loss or health-promoting restrictive diet. It's a step that's not for everyone (and please don't substitute my suggestions for your doctor's counsel) but it's one that I have, myself, found helpful. My own long journey with food has included: a struggle with binging, dieting and weight gain in my teens and twenties; a phase of dedicated vegetarianism; a highly restrictive allergy diet recommended by a naturopath who declared me allergic to practically everything (I miserably stayed on this diet for nearly two years, with brief lapses, until I finally noticed I didn't feel a bit better on it or a bit worse off it); and any number of other dietary experiments, some with books written about them, some of my own creation, all in an effort to balance my love of food with my love of health. I've finally come to a modified version of a popular dietary approach that I adopted for no reason I could put my finger on. I just got the inkling one day and started it the next. I found it less difficult than I imagined to live with its restrictions, and noticed, after a few weeks, all kinds of minor symptoms I've had for most of my life disappearing. Success! If you haven't guessed already, a secret to finding the eating plan that results in success -- you like it, can live with it, feel healthy on it -- may require some form of listening to your own inner guidance, as well as to the experts. This can be easier said than done, though, when it comes to food. We may first need to unlearn everything we've been taught about "good" eating and "bad" eating before we can discern our intuition. If we have long restricted certain foods or ways of eating, this enforced discipline may have obliterated our natural healthy instincts about food creating out-of-balance cravings for whatever's been denied. So, one step toward your ideal diet may be to lighten up on food restrictions for a while, paying more attention to the whole experience of appetite, craving and satiation. Experiment with eating exactly what you want and exactly when you want, thinking of all foods as equally "good." Go out of your way to feed yourself what you really want rather than what's easy. Letting go of dietary shoulds and shouldn'ts will give your appetite a chance to swing back (perhaps with some pendulum-like extremes for a while) to a healthier balance. Rather than using this suggestion as permission to binge, though, make it an opportunity to become more conscious around eating. When practical, consider eliminating distractions like the TV, reading or eating on the run. Make eating a meditation: become quiet and relaxed, take several deep breaths and say to yourself, "Everything I eat turns to health and beauty." Picture the food you're about to eat being easily assimilated by your body and turning into health and beauty. Eat slowly, paying attention as you chew and swallow. Stop the minute you feel the first sensation of fullness. Afterward, sit quietly for a moment, relax and take some deep breaths. Imagine a feeling of comfortable fullness and lightness in your body. Imagine that your stomach is filled not just with food, but with peace and well-being that radiates soothing sensations throughout your body. Don't eat again until you feel the first sensation of hunger. Then eat immediately, but only until you feel the first sensation of fullness. This is an exercise in learning to discern and trust your body's appropriate messages of hunger and fullness. It will only be effective if you honor your body's wisdom by eating at the first sign of hunger and stopping at the first sign of fullness, regardless of what you think you should be eating. All the many ways we use food for reasons other than nourishment can create big interference with our ability to differentiate between what our body wants and what's just a substitute for emotional fulfillment. Consequently, a step in figuring out what to eat may include shifting attention away from filling your stomach and onto creating a full life. Focusing too much on food can lead to cycles of self-denial and restriction interspersed with guilty indulgence and self-hatred. So, however focused you've been on food, give at least this amount of energy to self-healing, self-love and self-improvement in ways that don't involve food. If you're postponing happiness or important goals until your diet does something for you -- as in, "I'll be/do/have ___ (fill in the blank) when I lose 50 pounds" -- consider that you may be using food as a smokescreen to cloud deeper issues. The real block to your happiness may have more to do with your relationships, your self-worth, your sexuality or your power. As you gradually let go of externally imposed eating restrictions and defuse emotional triggers around food, you'll be better able to discern how foods feel in your body. Educate yourself about various approaches to food, both the ones you "believe" in as well as ones you may have preconceived judgments about. See if there is an approach that feels exciting to you, not as a quick fix, but as a lifestyle. Or perhaps one you feel drawn to for no reason you can quite explain. Experiment. See how you feel. And remember, our bodies change. When you find an approach that works for you, don't be afraid to let it go at some point in the future to try something else when your inner guidance suggests a change. Lynn Woodland is a writer, teacher and Ministerial Guide at Lake Harriet Spiritual Community. Her popular weekly spiritual empowerment group meets Tuesday nights and has been ongoing since 1987. To find out more about this and other events, see her ad in this issue or www.lynnwoodland.com. Copyright © 2004 Lynn Woodland |
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July 2004 |
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