There is power in realizing that once you deeply know something that knowledge cannot be undone. Once we are even just a little practiced in mindful eating, once we experience how different our relationship with food can be, we are then equipped with the power of that knowledge. Even when we unconsciously (or consciously) decide to eat in ways that are contrary to the health of our bodies we can always choose to return to ourselves.
Learning to bring presence to the experience of eating does not result in a brand new body overnight. The process involves simple small shifts that are more in line with living in harmony with our bodies. Even once we are convinced by the power of mindful eating we still eat when we are not hungry from time to time however our experience of overeating is so very different. There is a new layer of consciousness in the experience. We are able to recognize mindless overeating episodes much quicker and usually with a nonjudgmental gentleness. These small shifts add up over time and slowly we begin to see new patterns emerge and this results in a changed body and a changed life.
Susan Albers author of Eating Mindfully, How to end Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with Food. encourages people to embrace the mindless eating episodes as they happen. She challenges us to see them as reminders to reconnect. Instead of feeling like a failure as we often do when we ‘cheat on’ our diets we can notice our behavior and lovingly ask ourselves ‘what is going on for me right now?’. We will see that often times it is an emotion driving our eating, boredom, anger, sadness. By just simply noticing what we are doing we lessen the strength of the grip of the behavior. Mid-bite we can wake up to what we are doing, take the reins and connect with our hearts and our bodies. In that moment we experience the freedom in the acceptance of what is and the power in realizing that we can decide anew.
Deeper Cravings 
Reblogged this on Push Dump Fat Button.