I went to two local health food stores over the weekend and they were both out of cauliflower! This seemed a little odd to me. When I told the cashier, she said since the beginning of the year they had been having a big rush on vegetables! “They are probably making cauliflower mashed potatoes,” she proclaimed, “for their new diet.”

While there is nothing wrong with people buying vegetables, it is indicative of the beginning of the year programs that people enroll in to lose weight, get in shape, and “make up” for the holidays. While I could spend a lot of time talking about the binge/restrict cycle that is represented by the months of December (binge) and January (restrict), this blog is really to help guide you to a wonderful program that offers a sane alternative—a middle path–to the extreme measures people often try and fail.

Instead of a short-term program, mindfulness and mindful eating offer you a long-term, life-long, every-day (even during the holidays) way of compassionate eating and living. Instead of being consumed by calories, a number on a scale, “good” food and “bad” food, or other diet culture/diet mentality obsessions, mindful eating suggests that you befriend your body and your food in order to re-learn the messages that each have to offer.

During the month of January, The Center for Mindful Eating has developed a program that you can participate in through Facebook. Sign up here. Then ask to join the 2020 World Mindful Eating Month group on Facebook. The discussion has been very rich, exciting, and illuminating. So far, over 400 people around the world are discussing the challenges and blessings of mindful eating.

Each day you will be offered reflections and practices developed by mindful eating teachers to help support you in the journey to wholeness and wellbeing. Through defining what mindful eating is and isn’t, by understanding the tools that mindful eating offers, by understanding your obstacles to mindful eating, and much more, you can take the journey to peace with food and your body. This year, the practice of self-compassion is the lens we are using as we grow and heal in our practice of mindful eating.

I hope to see you on Facebook for this exciting journey!