I am often asked how a person will know when she is at peace with food, and my answer usually goes something like this: when you are in the presence of a food that, in the past would lead to excess eating, and in this moment you can take it or leave it, you are at peace with food – at least for the moment. And since all we have is the moment, you are at peace with food.
What’s interesting is that in the moment, when you can take or leave food, you mostly like can take it with little or no worry that you will overeat it. If, however, you are experiencing a tug-of-war with the food at that moment, then you are not at peace and at this moment, even one bite could be too many.
There is an expression I heard once that goes, “when one bite is too many, a thousand bites will never be enough.” Better to take a few minutes to meditate than to take that mindless bite.