Are you in food jail or food joy?

hessoftexas · April 2012

(I read this article by Nina Manolson this week that was very eye-opening. What do you think?)

"Here's a short quiz for you to get clear if you are really in a loving relationship with food, or if you are imprisoned by your relationship with food.

Are you eating your food quickly and barely tasting it?
Do you regularly bypass your body's "I'm full" signal and keep eating 'til you are past full.
Do you eat and then give yourself a hard time about what you ate and/or how much you ate?
Do you end up feeling uncomfortable after you eat?
Do you ever sneak food or eat certain food on the sly, so the kids won't see you?
Do you look at the world of food in terms of 'good' food or 'bad' food and then judge yourself if you ate any 'bad' food?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you're in food jail and I bet you want to get out!

Absolutely! food jail is no fun and you totally deserve to have a fantastic, joyful relationship with your body and with your food!

Food and body are two of the most sensual, pleasurable spheres of life, and yet for so many [people], the pleasure part is out of reach.

Here are three techniques to help you walk out of that food and body jail and into the joy and pleasure of a healthy relationship with food.

1. Love the food that loves you back.

Be sure that you are in a reciprocal relationship with your food.
It feels crummy to love someone but not have them love you back...well it's the same with food.

If you are having a love affair with ice cream or chips, but then you just end up feeling bad about yourself, that food is just not loving you back. It's time to break up with those foods that are just undermining your self-worth.

2. Be kind to yourself.
If you've been in food jail, you may have picked up some mean habits like being really critical of yourself. To really get out of food and body jail, it's vital to shift the negative self-talk and replace it with deep kindness and compassion.

3. Get support
You know how you want your kids to hang out with other kids who are a positive influence? The same holds true for you. Being influenced and guided by others who have busted out of food jail gives you the support to stay out of jail and step into the joy and pleasure of your food and your body."