"An Encouraging Word" by Jean Fain

My daughter Alee introduced me to Jean Fain's "An Encouraging Word" site a few years ago. (At the bottom of the post you can read a short bio.) This morning I received this post and want to put it out here for you because it is timely and powerful as we try to find the confidence to eat and drink what we chose to rather than to allow ourselves to be talked into eating for others.

"An Encouraging Word, Vol. 39
Just In Time: Holiday Bill Of Rights
By Jean Fain / Published November 15, 2011

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Read on if you’re interested in losing weight without the deprivation associated with dieting. Feel free to forward “An Encouraging Word” to a friend.

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Pumpkin Pie For Breakfast….

With the holidays fast approaching, I’m reprinting some timely encouragement from Evelyn Tribole, an award-winning nutritionist and co-author of the mindful eating classic, “Intuitive Eating.” Even if you’ve read Tribole’s Holiday Bill of Rights in last year’s Encouraging Word, it’s definitely worth rereading right about now:

What if peace on earth could begin at the dinner table? Imagine experiencing an inner peace, free from incessant worry about what to eat. It's hard to enjoy the holidays when you are preoccupied with eating or worried about what to say to relatives who have an annual tradition of telling you what and how to eat.

To help you foster inner peace with food, mind and body, consider your Intuitive Eating Bill of Rights:

1. You have the right to savor your meal, without cajoling or judgment, and without discussion of calories eaten or the amount of exercise needed to burn off said calories.

2. You have the right to enjoy second servings without apology.

3. You have the right to honor your fullness, even if that means saying "no thank you" to dessert or a second helping of food.

4. It is not your responsibility to make someone happy by overeating, even if it took hours to prepare a specialty holiday dish.

5. You have the right to say, "No thank you," without explanation, when offered more food.

6. You have the right to stick to your original answer of "no", even if you are asked multiple times. Just calmly and politely repeat "No, thank you, really."

7. You have the right to eat pumpkin pie for breakfast.

Remember, no one, except for you, knows how you feel, both emotionally and physically. Only you can be the expert of your body, which requires inner attunement, rather than the external, well-meaning, suggestions from family

In addition to seeing clients in private practice, Jean Fain teaches behavioral medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and she writes for O, The Oprah Magazine, among other publications. More information about Jean Fain’s therapy services, audio CDs and new book, The Self-Compassion Diet, is available on her website (www.jeanfain.com)."

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