Food freedom social justice end diet cycle

Bowls! The unsung hero of earthenware. If you’ve ever struggled with an eating disorder like I did, this vessel might be the miracle you’ve been waiting for.

I grew up in a privileged family of noshers. Like a good Jewish daughter, I inherited their penchant for snacking throughout the day. Mouthfuls of popcorn, a scoop of pistachios, a slice of cold pizza straight from the fridge.

I also loved cooking, especially “testing” my recipe during every step of the process. Usually by the time my creation was ready, I was too stuffed to eat it. But I did anyway. A nice, full, plate. Anything less would have been sacrilege at our table.

This nutrition plan worked just fine until my senior year of high school, when none of my clothes fit any longer. So I researched diets and found lots of options: cabbage soup, protein powder, cayenne/lemon/maple mix. Over the next 15 years I tried dozens of these. I would starve myself perfectly for a few weeks, praying that this time I would stay emaciated forever. But inevitably I would start noshing the good stuff again, and roar into a binge frenzy raiding everything in sight.

Finally, at age 30, I said “Genug iz Genug”, Enough is enough! I decided to invest in a holistic nutritionist, who gave me some great recipes to try. There was one problem though, I had literally no idea how much I was supposed to eat.

It took me weeks to garner up the courage to ask her, “Uh, how much should I eat?” She told me some earth shattering news. The universe gifted each of us with the perfect portion control: our hands.

Our stomach is about the size of our fist. Thus the ideal portion of food is a bowl the size of your two hands cupped together. Unless you’re eating something with a high water content, like raw vegetables or soup, in which case your bowl should be much larger.

WHAT??? That amount??? I couldn’t remember a time in the past decade when I had eaten that quantity of food. It was always less, or WAY more. Oh crap! Maybe that had something to do with my eating disorder.

I took the plunge and bought myself two beautiful bowls. It wasn’t easy, but over time I trained myself to stop noshing and start nourishing myself with a bowl of REAL food whenever I felt hungry.

It was magic. The binging stopped because I never let myself get starving. Over the next few months my weight gradually returned to my natural size where it’s stayed ever since. Mazel Tov!

If you’re ready to end the diet/binge cycle, I cannot recommend enough buying some beautiful, artisanal bowls. Try to resist buying the “drek”, the cheap crap. Invest in yourself, in your decision to heal.

And while you’re at it, support amazing black artists! I highly recommend purchasing a gorgeous creation by one black potters featured below. You and your stomach won’t regret it!

Love and blessings

Jenny

Links to amazing pottery hand made by black artisan goddesses