Learn guilt free eating in 3 steps.

Eating is truly one of life's simple pleasures. So why do so many women feel guilty about it?

The truth is that eating is something completely natural and as such it should guilt free. 

Eating is absolutely necessary for existence so why not enjoy it?

Lets consider what guilt is?

Guilt is very common negative emotion. If your emotional life is governed by guilt you are wasting too much energy on that emotion. When our guilt stems from situations as overeating, procrastinating, or wasting money, it signals us that there has been a breakdown in self-control. When we feel guilty, we concern with the notion that we have done a “bad thing” or have failed to do a good thing. As adults, we feel guilty when we believe that we have willfully harmed another person or ourselves or have done a bad thing when we could have done otherwise.     

When guilt follows overeating we keep harming ourselves again, again, and again. Its time to start loving ourselves, to become self-compassionate and stop this vicious circle.

Let's look at three key strategies for savoring food fully, and guilt free eating. 

Let your body be your guide

The first strategy is to eat when you're hungry. This may sound obvious but think about how often you eat for other reasons: convenience, taste, boredom, stress, holiday time, and many other reasons. Human beings and other animals are born with a natural ability to regulate their intake to meet their nutritional needs by using hunger to guide them. When you eat for other reasons, food just isn't as satisfying.

All foods fit

The next strategy is to let go of guilt about eating certain foods. Food isn't inherently bad or good; it's just labeled that way by the latest expert or diet guru. However, the rules keep changing and many people feel confused and uncertain about what they should eat. 

When you're in the habit of labeling and judging food as good or bad, you also tend to judge yourself by what you ate ("I was so bad at dinner last night!") As a result, it is difficult to enjoy certain foods because you feel guilty when you eat them. Ironically, the guilt usually leads to overeating - causing you to feel even more guilty.

This is a vicious cycle that leads to weight gain and a love-hate relationship with food.

Instead, give yourself unconditional permission to engage in guilt free eating. All foods can fit into a healthy diet using the simple principles of balance, variety and moderation. Over time, you'll see that giving yourself the freedom to eat any type of food you want actually decreases stress-induced cravings and overeating and increases enjoyment.

Mindful Eating – enjoy what you eat

The final strategy is to choose to eat mindfully. In other words, by giving food and eating your full attention, you'll feel much more satisfied. If you eat when you are distracted by watching TV, working or driving, you won't notice what or how much you are eating.

• Create a pleasant environment and be sure to sit down to eat.
• Appreciate the colors, textures and aromas of your food.
• Chew slowly, allowing the flavors to saturate your taste buds.
• Put your fork down between bites and be conscious of all the different sensations you're experiencing.
• Stop eating periodically and notice cues of satisfaction; for example, food becomes less flavorful as you get full.

Learning to savor your food and eating mindfully you not only simply make eating more pleasurable but feel more satisfied with smaller quantities of food. This is crucial for successful weight management for women over the age of 40.

After the age of 40 the rules of self-care change: if you continue to consume the same amount of calories you did 20 years ago you can expect yourself to be 15 kg heavier and at risk of health problems.  

When you eat mindfully you are aware of your bodies signals of hunger and fullness so you can more easily regulate the amount of food you eat -- you eat less, you savor more and maintain optimal weight with ease.   

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Want to eat guilt free the foods you love without overeating and binging?

Follow Mindful Eating Program.