GENEEN ROTH'S GUIDELINES TO EATING

In an excerpt from "Women, Food, and God," Geneen Roth shares seven guidelines to eating more consciously.

1. Eat when you are hungry. (Truly hungry. Body hungry, not mind or mouth hunger.)

2. Eat sitting down in a calm environment. This does not include the car.

3. Eat without distractions. Distractions include radio, television, newspaper, books, intense or anxiety producing conversation and music.

4. Eat only what your body wants. (Big difference from what your MIND wants!)

5. Eat until you are satisfied. (This is different than full).

6. Eat (with the intention of being) in full view of others.

7. Eat with enjoyment, gusto and pleasure.



Affirmations for Compulsive Overeaters

1. My worth as a person is not diminished in any way by my body size or my eating patterns.

2. I will love myself no matter what my eating patterns are.

3. I will judge my days not by what or how much I eat, but by the accomplishments I have made and the love I have given.

4. My life is a gift, and I will not let my enjoyment of it be diminished by feeling guilty over my body size or how much I eat.

5. I am finished blaming others, situations, and myself for the way I eat. I will take action minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, and day-by-day until I can eat normally again.

6. Compulsive overeating is a temporary condition in my life.

7. There is a normal eater within me. I will let her/him take over my life more and more each day as I am ready.

8. I can imagine a life without being a compulsive overeater.

9. When I feel stressed, I will close my eyes and picture how my all-powerful, normal eater would handle the situation.

10. I believe I will be a normal eater again. I know I will be a normal eater again!


HUNGER SCALE

10. Stuffed to the point of feeling sick

9. Very uncomfortably full, clothes really tight

8. Uncomfortably full, stuffed

7. Very full, feel you have overeaten

6. Comfortably full, satisfied

5. Comfortable, neither hungry or full

4. Beginning signals of hunger

Hunger urge comes every 2-5 minutes for just a moment. Try to go back to what you were doing, it may go away. It may be more “I see it so I want it”, or psychological eating.

3. Hungry, ready to eat

Hunger urge lasts longer, eat here, you need it physiologically. You’re body needs fuel.

2. Very hungry, unable to concentrate

Definitely need to eat here, if you go much longer it’ll be hard to stop.

1. Starving, dizzy, crabby, headache

When you wait this long, you may set yourself up for overeating because you’re too hungry.

* Learn to eat when your body feels a 2 or 3
* Try to match your physiological hunger and stop around a 5-6


Courtesy of http://consciouseaters.webs.com/

xoxox michelle joy