Last week my girlfriend invited me to a late birthday lunch. It was on a Thursday, and yet my free day wasn’t untilSaturday. Normally when this comes up I’d declare it a free-for-all day and completely go nuts eating, gleefully throwing in the towel and yet hating myself as I did that.
Not this time.
I enjoyed my madonna pizza with a little bit of buffalo mozzarella, roma tomatoes and reduction balsamic vinegar drizzled on it. I enjoyed my gelato! And I listened to my body when I no longer felt hungry and stopped eating at that time, rather than waiting until the “full” sensation swept over me.
I didn’t feel one ounce of guilt over what I put in my mouth! I enjoyed the conversation with my friend (she’d just gotten back from Disneyland, and since I love everything Disney I wanted a play by play of her vacation), the great food, and the time rejuvenating my soul.
I’ve learned that my thoughts are incredibly powerful forces of energy, that I literally create my reality with them. So if my thoughts are geared toward feeling bad regardless of what I’m eating, I add that energy to my food. Ditto if I’m thinking about how “naughty” I am, or that I “shouldn’t eat this” or “this is going to go right to my hips.”
For this “cheat” I simply loved my food! I honored and listened to my body’s signals, and for once didn’t go into sabotage mode afterwards! (In my mind that sounds like “Well, I messed it all up now, might as well go for broke.”)
This “cheat” was perfectly legitimate. There was no regret, no remorse, and no sabotage. And honestly, I didn’t even go into the meal regarding it as a cheat at all. It was for my birthday! I still live and celebrate on this planet, after all.
My point is, pay attention to your thoughts around food. You can think yourself thin and think yourself fat. They’re conscious thoughts. And they carry one powerful punch!