Your Mission: Super Market Self-Care
“Everything I eat has been proved by some doctor or other to be a deadly poison, and everything I don’t eat has been proved to be indispensable for life. But I go marching on.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
A trip to the grocery store can feel like a dangerous and unnerving endeavor for many of us. We’ve been instructed to scrutinize and agonize over labels, to stay away from fats, carbs, calories and to avoid the center aisles since they contain all the “bad” foods. But these food shopping “shoulds” actually contribute to our weight and food struggles and leave us drained and hungering for clarity about what to put in our cart.
Our work towards attuned eating helps us begin to confidently know [private_membership circle]what belongs in our shopping cart. Grocery shopping can become an exciting adventure! Well, okay. For some, it may never be more than a necessary chore. But it does not have to drain us of precious energy or fill us with fear. Transforming our trip to the supermarket into a Super Market Mission to meet our needs and wants is an important part of an overall self-care strategy.
Should we choose to accept this Super Market self-care Mission, we will be required to take major risks. We will begin by fully tuning into ourselves and our bodies. Guided by our inner messages about needs and wants, we will risk allowing satisfaction and joy into our shopping cart.
We will arrive at the source of our angst well fueled, with a normal blood glucose level that will allow us to proceed with minimal distraction. We will venture deep into the “dangerous” center aisles, blazing a trail for ex-dieters everywhere.
With courage and strength, we will challenge our doubts about the choices we make, battling and defeating the shaming “shoulds.” If we have decided we need some reasonable purchase boundaries, we will take a grocery list map. Our memory enhancing mapped-out list assures attention to the details of our mission. If we find ourselves unnecessarily limiting our choices to only what’s on the list, we will allow the list to self-destruct. Should we find ourselves locked into label reading, we will escape to the wisdom of what we want and need.
With our cart filled, we will be clear that food is not the enemy, but a satisfying, nourishing, and — yes — even desirable necessity. We can feel proud of another successful Super Market Mission and know that self-care has been achieved and that confident grocery shopping is possible.
Tip: Tune into what you need and want from the grocery store this week, and set out on your Super Market Self-Care Mission!
Affirming Statement: “I courageously accept my Super Market Self-Care Mission.”
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Nutrition therapists Amy Tuttle, RD, LCSW and Karin Kratina, RD, PhD provide no-diet articles and resources including “Stay Attuned: The E-zine for Nourishing Connections” at their Nourishing Connections website. www.nourishingconnections.com [/private_membership circle]
