The Benefits of Being a Picky Eater

Photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash

You might be asking yourself why you would want to become a picky eater. After all, picky eaters are kind of annoying with their special requests and the expectation that the world will cater to their dietary needs.

To clarify, this is not what I'm suggesting; when I say picky what I really mean is discerning.

As someone who finally managed to stop binge-eating after 30 years, I understand the benefits of being discerning about what I eat.

Now that I've given myself permission to eat any food I want, I'm finally - for the first time in my life - tasting food.

It might sound strange to you if you've never binged or yo-yo dieted, but for those of us who have, you understand what I mean.

When you binge-eat, you rarely taste your food; you just swallow it, sometimes almost whole.

That's because there's a guilty voice in the back of your mind telling you that you shouldn't be eating that food. You're trying to "sneak-eat" past that voice, so you eat quickly and mindlessly, in an effort to drown it out.

But once you stop bingeing (which includes giving yourself complete and total permission to eat anything you want) - you suddenly start tasting food.

WARNING: This might be a disappointing experience for you; lord knows I've felt very let down in the past year.

To realize that so very much of the food I had been forbidding myself from eating (but then bingeing on) was actually...not very good.

Suddenly the store-bought donuts weren't appealing anymore. 

Now I don't say no because I can't have them; I say no because I know those donuts are mediocre and if I actually want a donut, then the bakery that specializes in making only donuts is where I should go.

Photo by Ashley Byrd on Unsplash

Permission to eat, to slow down and really taste food has made letting go of a lot of unhealthy food incredibly easy.

There are a lot of things I don't eat now, not because I'm not allowed to eat them, but because I just don't want them anymore.

Because when I actually paused and savoured the food - when I ate it slowly and took the time to really notice the taste, texture, and smell - I realized that it was actually kind of yucky.

A lot of the things I wanted to eat - and tried to resist for years - I don't struggle with anymore.

Permission will do that.

Choice will do that.

It's only the option to do something that will give you the option not to do it.

What I'm saying is: give yourself the option to eat what you like.

Allow yourself to enjoy your food.

When you’re allowed to eat, you don’t have to eat so fast and you don't have to eat all the things.

You become more discerning.

You become a picky eater.

As an added bonus, your weight might stabilize - maybe even go down - with no effort. Just permission.

(I've noticed is that picky eaters rarely have weight issues in spite of the fact that they generally eat whatever they want.)

Permission to eat.

Permission to enjoy.

You're allowed to eat, and you're allowed to enjoy your life.

Most importantly, you're allowed to FEEL GOOD.

Photo by Diana Oramas on Unsplash

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For more on how to give yourself complete and total permission to eat anything you want, click here to get my guide on how to quit Binge Eating — yours FREE with subscription to my site.

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