satisfied

My initial intention of this pursuit of health was not to rewrite a new rigid set of food rules, but by way of my personality this year long adventure has the potential to turn in that direction.  So I am rerouting back on track by asking God for help as I seek holistic, long term, lifestyle health for my entire family.

As I seek to make eating the sacred experience I believe God intended it to be, I want to feel satisfied by the foods I choose to eat.

And while I am a long way from eating everything from the farm verses factory, step by step I am discovering how this pursuit of health will fit into my life.  As I learn, I begin by just changing one thing at a time rather than trying to revamp my entire lifestyle in one month.  And with each intentional change I am listening to my body for a response.

Eden has recently starting eating solid foods and it is fun to watch her discover new flavors and textures.  I am amazed at her ability to eat and then turn her head when she is done because I can see that at six months of age she knows her limits and can basically dictate her own eating.  This beautiful world of simplicity in which she lives without the ability to critically think creates a healthy relationship with food which we hope to maintain in her life as she grows.

It really can be this simple.

Eat until full.

Eat until my body is satisfied.

The first 4 months of my recovery from my distorted relationship with food focused on regaining hunger signals.  Because my mind and emotions became engaged in the eating experience in an unhealthy way, I had stopped trusting my body to tell me when full and I had to relearn this feeling.  I had to relearn how to trust my physical body because I used food as emotional nourishment rather than physical.  

Rather than eating when lonely, stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, afraid, or sad, I am learning to eat for the sacred and holy purpose of nourishing my body, finding other healthy outlets as to how to deal with these uncomfortable emotions.

I observe and model the behavior of Eden as I listen to and trust the signals God has miraculous created to communicate cravings, hunger, and fullness.  Just like my precious baby girl, I want to learn how to eat until satisfied.