Making friends with food

[Guest guest]

(From CompuServe Diet and Fitness Newsletter)

If you're like most women, you've been on some sort of a diet ever since you

can remember. Food is most likely your enemy.

You may also have learned to approach eating like a military campaign:

planning every meal of the day; measuring exactly how much you're allowed to

eat, eliminating fats, calories, carbohydrates, sugar -- whatever is the

current " bad guy " ; and knowing that in the end, you either " win " or " lose " .

It's time to make food your friend.

Now, this may not be a simple matter. If you've read the first three

articles in this challenge, you're beginning to change your eating habits,

learning to identify when you're physically hungry and stopping eating when

you are just beginning to be full. It's time to put everything together into

normal eating, that is, eating without following a specific diet plan.

Yes, you can be a normal eater. Find out how!

According to Frances Berg, " Normal eating is natural and simple. It is

trusting yourself. " Instead of eating because the diet says it's time to

eat, focus on your hunger signals. Instead of choking down dry whole wheat

toast and an egg white for breakfast because it's on the diet, enjoy cereal

and fruit. Instead of measuring out a half cup of pasta because that's the

listed portion, eat a variety of foods until you just begin to feel full.

The final bonus: you're actually enjoying eating! Build on what you've

learned so far in this challenge, and use the following tips to stop dieting

and start eating:

Look at food as something to be enjoyed, not feared or avoided. When you get

right down to it, eating is designed to fuel our bodies so we can work and

play. If we want a healthy body full of energy, we need to provide the

appropriate fuel.

Eat at regular times throughout the day. Take time to notice your hunger,

and then stop and have something to eat. Stop eating when you're just

beginning to be full. It's okay to eat lunch at 2pm instead of noon if that'

s when you're hungry. It's not okay to skip meals or ignore your hunger.

Choose foods that taste good. If you've been eating diet foods because you'

re supposed to, stop. Choose foods that satisfy your taste buds as well as

your hunger. If you typically choose foods by the numbers, for example zero

fat or less than 3 grams of sugar, stop reading the nutrition labels.

Instead, consider how the food will taste and how it will fuel your body.

Nourish your body with a variety of healthy foods. I don't define healthy as

fat-free, sugar-free or low-calorie. Instead, remember this guideline:

Healthy foods are minimally processed and pack a hefty nutritional punch. A

whole orange provides more nutrition than a glass of orange-flavored fruit

drink. A turkey sandwich on whole grain bread gives you more nutrition than

a corn dog. For a truly satisfying meal, try to include three different

types of foods. Choose from whole grains, protein foods, fruits and

vegetables. For example, breakfast might be a whole grain English muffin

(grain) with a poached egg (protein) and a fresh plum (fruit). Lunch could

be a can of tuna (protein) mixed with diced tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, and

green peppers (vegetables) and some whole grain crackers. Try some grilled

chicken or pork chops (protein) and pasta salad (grain and vegetables) for

dinner.

Make this your new mantra: There are no bad foods, there are no good foods.

Food doesn't rob banks, and it doesn't hold open doors for people. Food is

simply energy for our bodies. Once we strip away all the emotional ties we

have with food, we can find out what true physical hunger and satisfaction

really are. More importantly, we can choose foods because we're hungry, not

because we're angry, happy, bored, or tired.