Hope

___?___ lbs

Melissa Hartwig, author of Food Freedom Forever, wrote something that caught my eye this afternoon after I cracked open her inviting hardback. There I was, sitting on the bench by the pond, savoring the most beautiful, breezy spring day Florida had to offer, when I read this:

“This plan is different from every diet you’ve tried. You don’t run through this program once and “graduate” with no idea of what happens next. There isn’t a “start” and a “stop.” This three-step plan runs on an ever-evolving cycle. You’ll reset, find your balance, experience what it feels like to go off-balance, and reset again…but even though you’ll keep returning to the reset whenever you need it, the difference here is that going back to the start is not indicative of failure – it’s just part of the process (and progress).”

Music to my ears! She goes on to expound on this beautiful picture of “food freedom”:

“Each repeat of this cycle brings you even more awareness, even more ease in making conscious decisions; an even better plan for managing stressful situations and identifying your triggers before they’re pulled. You’ll spend more time experiencing food freedom, and return to your reset less and less frequently – spending the majority of your days just living, fully in control of the foods you are eating.”

I’m just trying to imagine a world in which I don’t feel like a failure after bingeing on Whole Foods’ best in one sitting on car rides home from school. I won’t even mention the delicious fluffy-light-yet-crunchy-crust pizzas to chocolate/peanut butter/whipped cream I-don’t-even-know-what-they-are layered delicacies.

But I know one thing for sure: I’m starting to hope that I can have a truly good relationship with food – and I have proof besides what I just shared from Chapter 1 of Melissa Hartwig’s Food Freedom Forever.

Here’s my solid proof of this budding hope: I just successfully finished my last meal at 5pm, and I feel more than ready to face the rest of the night as a bona fide 16-hour intermittent fast-er.

Bring it on, cravings!