Eating Intentionally: Make Peace with Food

This year, I’m learning to Eat Intentionally, and I’ve invited you along for the ride. In January, we focused on ditching the diet mentality, and February was learning to honor our hunger.

Eating intentionally is, in the end, about having a normal relationship with food. Food was created to nourish our bodies, and it was also created for enjoyment. So often we abuse it to the extent that it does neither, and intentional eating is about getting back to that balance of food that both delights and nourishes.

That’s why principle #3 - Make Peace with Food - is so important. In the end, that’s what it’s about. You shouldn’t be in conflict with your food. Food should not control you, but neither should you control it. It’s not a domineering relationship on one side or the other.

And it’s not the enemy either. Think of food more as your ally, not your enemy. It’s not the “thing that makes you fat” - no! It’s what nourishes you, gives you energy, keeps your body’s systems running smoothly, and yes, is enjoyable.

Just think about that for a minute: food was meant to be enjoyed. Not in a gluttonous way, but as a simple pleasure. It’s a necessary fact of life, but it’s not a drudgery! Isn’t that amazing? Truly, if we don’t eat, we die, so it’s an absolute necessity. And yet, unlike other necessities of life, it’s a pleasing occupation. It’s a pleasure to sit down to a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, yogurt and fruit. There’s no need to feel guilty about enjoying it, because it was given to us to enjoy.

So here’s permission to enjoy your food, especially your favorite foods. It’s not a sin to savor a piece of chocolate or laugh over a cupcake at a birthday party. Food is a way to share love, with your family, with a sick friend, or with a neighbor. Food is the centerpiece of celebration, so celebrate!