My dear Pleasurista (or woman on the path of pleasure),

Please put away your books, take out your pencils, and get ready to take this 1-question pop quiz.

(Please keep your eyes on your own paper. Or screen. Wink.)

Pleasurable Pop Quiz

1. How can you best manage your appetite, for the purpose of slimming down?

A. By controlling it with your willpower and determination because your appetite is out of control
B. By locking yourself in your closet during all festivals, holidays and parties when food is EVERYWHERE
C. By deeply tuning in to your natural body-wisdom so you always know what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat.

Time’s up – pencils down! Which one did you pick?

I’d be happy to tell you the ideal answer, but it’ll be juicier if we take a step back, and explore each response…

If you picked “A”

I remember the time in my life when I also would have answered A.

From the age of 14, when I first began bingeing uncontrollably, until the time I became a Pleasurista, I was convinced my willpower was broken, and that my appetite was monstrously out of control!

Naively, I believed the cultural message that the only way to manage your appetite is to control it, subdue it and ignore it.

But in reality, your appetite does not need to be controlled.
This is because your appetite is actually an innocent expression of desire — the desire for the pleasure that your body receives from food.

Your body likes food.
It’s designed to like food.

Your appetite is not too big or too small.
And it’s not meant to be controlled through your willpower.

So go ahead and cross out A!

If you picked “B”

Let’s face it. Sometimes, a woman can walk into a room and be bombarded by sugar cookies, triple pudge (I mean, fudge) brownies and fried lasagnas.

What’s a Pleasurista to do in these situations?

You can start by gently acknowledging the Cookie Monster voice in you “Aaaaaaaah, cookies!!!!” taking a deep breath or two, and tuning in to the feelings in your body.

What does your body really want to eat?
What will leave you feeling fresh, light and nourished after you eat it?

Tuning into your body amidst the chaos of a social event with food on offer will help you connect to what your body *really* desires. And when you do that you’ll discover it wants to be energized and enlivened, not burdened down by excess food, bloated or heavy.

When you start listening more deeply to the messages coming from your body, and you can safely step out of your closet during parties and special events without fear of “blowing it” by mindlessly over-eating.

You guessed it. Go ahead and cross out B!

If you picked “C”

Ooooh baby! Well done. “C” is the ideal answer in this pleasurable approach to managing your appetite.

Here’s why:
Your appetite is wonderful, healthy and natural.
It helps you seek whatever your female body needs to survive and thrive at that particular moment.
It’s as natural as your breath, your heartbeat and your digestion.

When you understand that your appetite is a force that’s natural and trustable, you can fully relax into your body.

And do you know what happens when you relax around your appetite and your body?

Yes, you’ll get extra credit on this quiz, but more importantly, you optimize your metabolism to release extra weight your body is holding on to.

Feelings of relaxation will trigger your metabolism to unleash physiological processes like premium fat-burning, optimum circulation, turbo digestion and an overall biochemistry that will help you slim down permanently.

All of this physiological magic will happen once you manage your appetite by appreciating it as right, tuning in to it and basing your eating decisions on its wisdom.

Long story short: relax about your appetite, and watch the extra pounds drop.

And after you take a deep breath to relax, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below:

1. What foods leave you feeling fresh, light and nourished after you eat them?
2. Can you share a recent social experience when you were completely tuned in to (or out of!) what your body wanted to eat? How did it go? What did you feel?

Sharing your wisdom, victories and trials-and-errors can help you better digest, and build upon, your slimming progress. It can help another Pleasurista, too.

Appreciating Your Appetite,
xo Jena

P.S. Wanna get a jump start on appreciating and understanding your appetite?

Then tip toe out of your comfort zone and step into Pleasure Camp NYC!

This November 30^th – December 2^nd event is designed to give you all the practical tools, wisdom, community and moral support you need to slim down, and stay slim, for good.

Three of my favorite parts of Pleasure Camp NYC are: the pleasurable movement that we engage in, the candidly honest conversations we have about the inner and outer game of shedding weight for good, and the radiant body-love and body-confidence that attendees always step out of the retreat with!

Tickets are on sale here, and by joining me, a slimmer, more pleasured you is just around the corner…