In the feminine approach to weight loss while recognizing that WHAT you eat is important, HOW you eat is even more important.
The masculine approach asserts that you are what you eat. It’s hyper-focused on calories and portion sizes.
The feminine approach asserts that how you feel – as you eat, about the food itself and, most importantly, about your Female Animal – has a greater effect on your weight than simply what you put in your mouth.
Mantra for Pleasurable Eating: You are how you feel, not what you eat.
You like eating, so eat! Mangia! Don’t be ashamed of enjoying food. When you give your body pleasure through the enjoyment of good food then your beloved Female Animal, who previously could never get enough, will at last be satisfied. It may surprise you how truly surrendering to the pleasure of food, without the guilt, actually causes you to eat less without even noticing, because you are so damn satisfied.
The following 4 Pleasurable Eating Practices will help you lose weight – and maintain your healthy weight – without ever depriving yourself.
- Relax Before You Eat
Just as a fire needs plenty of oxygen to burn most brightly, your body also requires a steady source of oxygen to maximize its calorie-burning efficiency. The way to do that is to consciously breathe deeply.
Before you begin eating, take several deep breaths to relax your body and mind and to stoke your metaphorical digestive fire with oxygen. As you continue to breathe and to stay present with the experience of eating, you’ll become more and more relaxed. Imagine that: Relaxing while eating! What a contrast to the stressful experience of restricting yourself to follow a diet.
The result: You’ll be satisfied sooner and you’ll even surprise yourself by eating less. Not because you have to, but because continuing to eat has no draw.
- Smell the Food
Wake up and smell the dinner. Appreciate the aromas of the food you’re about to eat. Take long, slow sniffs – as if it were a perfume you were to indulge in – and allow that indulgence to enter into you as you eat.
I want you to inhale and savor the aroma of your food. Smelling your food helps activate your digestion which, of course, supports pleasurable weight loss.
- Seek Pleasure in Every Bite
When you eat with pleasure, incredible things happen. You smile, relax, and appreciate the beauty of who you are. All your senses come alive, and you’re more present to the world. Your metabolism ramps up your calorie-burning efficiency because you’re not stressed.
Eat with attention to maximize the pleasure available from every bite. Eat sensually, with your Animal. Slow down and heighten your enjoyment of the sensations of the meal and the eating experience.
- Master the Art of Chewing
There is something very relaxing about thoroughly chewing your food. It also helps you enjoy the whole spectrum of tastes and aromas that makes up the meal. You’ll find that chewing makes the food taste better and increases your pleasure.
Chewing helps release enzymes so your body can better assimilate nutrients from the food you eat. It also helps your digestion. By chewing well you will be present for your meal. You will be better able to identify the point at which a particular food no longer gives you pleasure and satisfaction, supporting you to easily stop eating without feeling deprived.
In my next post, I’ll share with you 3 more Pleasurable Eating Practices. But for now I want to give you just a few so you can begin to explore each of them over the next few days, without feeling overwhelmed.
I invite you to check back in and let me know how doing each of these practices went for you. You can share your experiences in the comments below!
New York, New York
Tiqua S.
I actually read this report and it is a great report and very informative.