My Eating Manifesto

I have been struggling the last couple of days...all because of the damned scale. I am taking a break from weigh in Mondays for a month. I am only hoping this does not back fire on me but I am going to do it. I am going to keep blogging and reading to keep my head on straight.

I found a new site via some FaceBook pages. In particular, the woman who wrote the cookbook Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Like to Eat did an interview at http://www.radicalhateloss.com/. I haven't listened to the whole interview yet but I am doing the assignment at the end of the write up and that is to create an eating manifesto.What are your guiding principles and intentions when it comes to eating and your relationship with food?

As they define on that site, a manifesto is “declaration of principles and intentions.” The questions they give as a guide to help you in creating this are:

• How do you experience pleasure with food, physically, emotionally and socially?
• Why do you choose to eat as you do, not just in terms of what you eat but how and when?
• What do you eat for the sake of?
• How do you make choices?
• What is the relationship you choose to have with food?

Here we go:

Lynn's Eating Manifesto

My basic principle for eating is to focus on nutritionally dense foods, to seek foods that will nourish my body efficiently and fully. I will eat when hungry. I focus on how my body is feeling and what cues I am getting from it. I will NOT eat if I am not hungry, even if the clock says it is time to eat. I will NOT be stressed by the need to eat six small meals throughout the day. If the cues from my body indicate I need them, I will eat them but I will not force myself to eat this way because "it's what the experts say."

I will see food for what it is, fuel and nutrition for my body, and NOT for what it isn't, an emotional release. I will experiment with new and different nutritionally dense foods. I will seek colorful and flavorful whole natural foods. This will NOT be the year of eating lettuce and chicken breast, unless that is what I feel will satisfy my nutritional needs at the time. I will NOT be afraid of good fats. I will avoid things that do not have nutritional value. The majority of the food in my diet (as a lifestyle) will NOT have a label or a list of ingredients.

I think that is about it for now. I will tweak this at points if I think I am missing something.