Last Thursday around 7:30pm Ava* stood in her kitchen and, using the edge of her thumb nail to cut open the adhesive labeling on the packaging, pulled one gluten-free oatmeal cookie out of it’s neatly arranged row of six, tore off a bit-sized piece, popped it in her mouth, and enjoyed a few blissful chews.
Soon enough said cookie was gone, and she found herself quickly going back for a second…
…and shortly after, a third.
“Uh oh,” she thought, knowing what clues to look out for, “Something must be off for me right now.”
*******
I’d recently shared this observation on Facebook and Instagram: ”The more you say the truth, the harder it is to binge.”
Although having a few cookies in the story above is not a binge in the intense way true binges are known for, I can still say with a good deal of confidence that some little truth is hiding within any ‘interesting’ eating habit.
Today this is what I’m sharing: An insiders look at what I’ve noticed our eating habits may reveal.
(Take note which ones you find pause in).
A whole number of things I’ve noticed our eating can reveal:
Your relationship with pleasure
Improper macronutrient balance
What you feel you deserve
Your tolerance for feeling good
Your tolerance for discomfort
Nutrient deficiency
Your sensitivity or disconnection from physical sensation
How on board you are with Being Here
How you navigate ambiguity in your life
Your relationship with Nature
The pace of your life
Your relationship with your appetite
How you feel about your body
Areas of self-containment in your life
How you respond to hunger
Food sensitivities
Your trust in your body
Your comfort being seen or visible
Issues around self-attack/judgment
Undernourishment in certain areas of your life
How you feel about your sexuality
Your unique body chemistry
How you process inner and outer conflict
The ways shadow parts work through you
Boundaries you have not spoken yet
Challenges unique to your introversion or extroversion
The pressure you put on yourself
Your actual dietary preferences
The wisdom of your symptoms
Pain
Desire
…and more
Pretty interesting, huh?
And this is not an exhaustive list.
Here I am making the point that there’s a lot of gold hidden within eating habits.
On the surface, I know quirky eating habits seem like problems that need to be eliminated or controlled. But as the nearly platitudinous quote by Pema Chodron states, “Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know.”
Sometimes we simply need to learn how to feed ourselves properly. Sometimes we are actually outgrowing old ways of relating to eating. And still other times, eating and body challenges are pointing to other core lessons.
I hope this has your gears gently turning…
With love,
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