| Domestic abuse survivors hear it all the time: "You're | | | | eating and with your body. |
| too fat." "That dress makes you look like..." "Your hair | | | | 1) Have your entire meal in one sitting and don't start |
| is too short, too long, you're a dummy, you're too | | | | another until that meal has been digested. |
| fat, you can't, you won't, you shouldn't, you're too | | | | 2) Introduce variety into your diet and into your |
| fat!" Sound familiar. | | | | meals, satisfying all five tastes during your main meal. |
| It's no wonder that domestic abuse survivors | | | | 3) Enjoy the foods you love in public and the |
| develop dysfunctional relationships with their bodies | | | | entitlement you feel from the permission you give |
| and unhealthy eating habits. Far be it for him to see | | | | yourself. |
| me enjoying a candy bar...so I'll sneak it in and have it | | | | 4) If the table is met with hostility, anger or stress, |
| while alone in my car. | | | | hold off on eating your meal. |
| As one survivor shared, pulling out that snickers in | | | | 5) Know the feeling of your body being satisfied and |
| the privacy of her car was her way of both | | | | the signs of your body being hungry...never to be |
| satisfying her chocolate craving and doing so without | | | | confused with "time eating" or "emotional eating." |
| reprimand or guilt over indulging in a personal pleasure. | | | | 6) Eat only when you are hungry and stop when you |
| Or how about this one: When I pull up to the table to | | | | are 75% full. |
| have dinner with you, I'll serve you and nibble on | | | | 7) Do not eat in a hurry. If time doesn't permit for |
| what's on my plate. Then shortly after "our meal," I'll | | | | eating in a pleasantly comfortable evenly paced |
| treat myself to the leftovers or a second helping of | | | | manner, then the time is not right to eat. Wait until it |
| what I really wanted to eat during dinner. | | | | is. |
| Domestic violence survivors who are inundated with | | | | If you follow these guidelines regularly, you will be |
| the commentary that their bodies are unappealing, or | | | | pleasantly surprised to see: how you reach for what's |
| too large, gradually cultivate an unhealthy relationship | | | | good for you; how good you feel and how good you |
| with their body and with themselves. | | | | look, no matter what your partner says about your |
| Here are some important habits to acquire to insure | | | | weight. You will come to know your body as your |
| that you maintain a healthy relationship with food, | | | | temple. |