Love Letters
Emotional eating is the most controversial principle of Intuitive Eating since sometimes food can be the best tool we have for comforting ourselves. Exploring Principle # 7 of Intuitive Eating, Cope with Your Emotions without Using Food, can be a creative exercise of discovery and attunement. It asks us to answer these questions: How am I feeling now? What do I need in this moment? What do I enjoy?
This week, write a letter to your snack or meal using these prompts to get started:
1. I liked/didn’t like the …
2. The colors/texture/temperature was …
3. I felt excited/unexcited about eating ….
4. When I finished eating, I felt ….
5. I appreciated how I made time/sat down/remembered to pack a snack …
The first time you write a letter, use pen and paper. From then on, set aside a moment to compose a letter in your mind after you eat, and do this as often as possible. Notice how your increased awareness often guides you in making choices around food that are both physically and emotionally satisfying .
Dieting and diet culture wouldn’t make sense if we simply accepted that people come in all different sizes.
Virgie Tovar
