I ate a burger.

I know it’s been a while since we last spoke.

It has been a transformational couple of months that involved a lot of changes, internally and externally. You’ve been on my heart and mind through it all and I can’t wait to share with you everything I’ve been silently dreaming up for you.

Something crazy happened last week.

I ate a burger.

This might not seem so crazy to you, but I haven’t eaten beef in over 12 years.

It took me months of contemplation, talking to everyone who had switched from veggie to carnivore, lots of books and research to make the decision to do this. Everything culminated when I took the first bite and realized that I was giving my body exactly what it needed.

The months of contemplation resulted from very strong cravings from my body. What once turned me completely off started causing me to salivate. I would find myself staring at my friends’ steaks.

Being a vegetarian for many reasons, including moral, I had a total identity crisis. Who was I if I ate meat? What did I believe in? What was important to me?

Plain and simple – I felt really, really guilty.

In Nourishing Wisdom, Marc David shares his story about food and guilt. He came to a point where he released all food guilt, except for one thing – bacon. He knew in order to fully let go of the guilt he would have to eat bacon and know that it was okay. When I read his story I felt a sense of peace. I thought about all the guilt I used to feel around food and felt proud that I am now at a point where I never feel guilty about eating anything. But, I realized that wasn’t entirely true. If I ate meat, I thought, I would feel pretty guilty. In that moment, encouraged by my recent cravings, I knew that I needed to eat meat and release that final piece of guilt.

What is most important to me is that as women we never feel guilty for what we eat. We honor our bodies, and have the most ridiculous amount of compassion for ourselves throughout every meal, no matter what’s on our plate.

Through this process of listening to my body and giving it what it needs, of gratitude for the nourishment that nature is providing me, and of doing my best to consciously choose the source of my food, I am able to release even more guilt and allow more peace into every bite.

Finding peace with food is a continual process of learning about yourself and letting go and learning more about yourself, and letting go and creating more freedom around food.

The more you are able to see where you limit your freedom and peace within your relationship with food, the more transformation is able to naturally happen. It always begins with awareness and paying attention.

This is often a misunderstanding of body and mind. Take a really close look at what your body wants. Where is your mind saying, “no, I know better, listen to me”? How are you allowing your mind to tell you that your are “wrong” or “bad” for eating something?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Next week, I’m going to send you the first video in a 4 part series that will walk you through some of the most important steps of making peace with food. In the first video, you’ll learn:

*why you are actually always in your own court and how what looks and feels like sabotage is actually self serving
*how to figure out WHY you can’t ever create peace with food (knowing this will allow you to change your behaviors with ease)

“See” you then!

I’ve missed you,
Jackie