October 2005

Have you ever watched a small child eat? He eats until he is done. Wow, let me say that again. He eats until he is done. He does not eat until the plate is empty. Or until all the food in the serving dish is gone. He eats until his body says it is time to stop.

At some point we lose that skill of listening to our bodies. We eat because we see food. We eat because we don?t want someone else to get our food. We eat because we can. We eat because someone tells us to keep eating. We eat because we do not know when to stop.

Small children are naturally tuned into their bodies. They know when they hurt. They know when they are happy. They know what they want. As we grow older, we learn that we cannot have what we want immediately, or possibly at all. So, we begin to not listen to ourselves as much. Now, delay of gratification is an important life skill, but that does not mean that we stop listening to ourselves!

So, today, try what children do. Eat, but tune into what your body is telling you. Stop when you need to. Remind yourself that there will always be more of whatever delicious food there is in front of you. Remind yourself that if you choose to leave food on the plate, that doesn?t mean that you are being unappreciative. It means, instead, that you are appreciating the messages that you are being sent by your own body.

So, for today, tune into yourself and eat healthy!