The season of Lent is a time of reflection and repentance for many people of faith. They often give up some type of food, comfort or pastime to practice self-control and learn through the struggle. Depending on their particular tradition, they may get to choose what they give up during Lent, or the whole community may make the same change for the 40 days leading up to Easter.

For those with a complicated relationship with food, however, fasting may produce more distractions from spiritual reflection than add to it. If you have a history of dieting or other food issues, the season of Lent may be a good time to develop more mindful eating strategies that put you in better control of your behavior.

Listen to Your Body

If you have tried to control your diet with an external set of rules that may have little to do with what your body actually needs, you may not even recognize subtle hunger cues when they occur. Often, it's only when chronic dieters' hunger pangs are so strong they can no longer ignore them that they notice them at all. Then, desperate for satiation, they eat not only too quickly but also too much, leaving them feeling bloated and uncomfortable afterwards. These negative consequences can send the message that your body's guidance isn't to be trusted when what is more likely to be true is that you just need to learn to listen to it more carefully.

One way to teach yourself to listen to your body is by practicing meditation. Start by sitting still in a quiet place. Notice the rhythm of your breath and the effect it has on your body. After spending a few minutes concentrating on your breathing, try cueing into other signals your body is giving you. This may be especially helpful when you practice first thing in the morning, when hunger cues tend to be strong. Once you start intentionally recognizing when your body wants sustenance, you can respond before your hunger gets too intense.

Trust the Signals You Receive

It's one thing to recognize hunger signals; it's quite another to trust what your body is telling you. Many people expect that self-control is going to be a constant struggle, but it doesn't have to be. Operating according to the Law of Least Effort may be more effective:

1. Acceptance - Start by accepting the signals your body is giving you as accurate. 
2. Responsibility - Respond to your body's signals by eating slowly and continuing to pay attention so that you can realize when you're full. It's also important not to be hard on yourself if you miss something, as retraining your brain to pay attention is a process.
3. Defenselessness - Fight the urge to defend your choices to well-meaning others who want to give advice. 

When you learn to eat more intuitively, you are more likely to be able to let go of the cycle of struggle and shame that is often present in diet culture. The more you learn to trust your body to tell you when and how much to eat, the easier it will get. You can free yourself from the burdens imposed by restrictive rules that have little to do with health or well-being.

The common Lenten practice of giving up a certain food may be spiritually helpful to some people, but for those who have tricky issues with food, it can do more harm than good. Instead, consider addressing your relationship to your body and food by learning to eat more mindfully. Through listening to your body's signals and honoring what it needs, you can go from following a set of rules to experiencing a deeper understanding, which ultimately is what the reflection of Lent promises.