"We are not born with a need for knowledge, but a HUNGER for it.  Eve bit the apple, and it has been GLUTTONY ever since." 

- Anthony Marais

© Lord Coltrane, Custom Confection Bustier

We often refer to gluttony as the pleasures of eating or drinking in excess, especially those delicacies that are "bad" for us.  Our society's need to label just about everything, turns even slightly overweight people into sinners unable to restrain themselves from overindulgence.  That's not a very productive or compassionate label.

In my opinion, weight and body image is a much more complicated subject than simply feasting. Emotional anxiety, holding on to anger, pain, and other stresses are huge contributors to the destruction of our health - there is no shame in this, we all experience it.

Let's turn around our relationship with food and promote gluttony as a deliberate state of pleasure, so indulgent that we are stuffed to the rim with bliss. No room for anything else but the delights that serve us. 

"In Love, as in Gluttony, Pleasure is a matter of the utmost precision" - Italo Calvino

© Lord Coltrane, Indulgent Self Portrait

How to Indulge in Gluttony without Guilt (and maybe even lose a few extra pounds!)

Before you sink your teeth into anything, you must learn to love and honor your body at every stage.  See "Booty is Back; How to Love Your Bum," and translate it to your other body parts.  Thank your body before each meal, for she is your temple.  A little mantra might help, "My body is my temple, I will treat her as she deserves to be treated - like a goddess."

Dress up for each meal - the more outrageous, the better. As you would dress up for a special dinner date, why not dress up for the most important person - yourself? Try treating every meal like being out on a date with someone exquisite. You might be tempted to keep your lipstick on by eating slowly and seductively.  You might make better meal choices if you drape yourself in an evening gown.  Cupcakes taste so much better while wearing lingerie.  Even if you don't go that far, putting on something special will remind you how special you are. 

Every meal should be fit for a queen. Take the time to make your meals look beautiful.  Even if it's a tuna fish sandwich, serve it up on a beautiful platter.  Barbeque flavored (my fave) potato chips should be displayed in a crystal goblet.  Your soda only touches your lips with a champagne glass.  Again, sweets are best wearing lingerie and eaten off your finest china. The more unhealthy the food (fast and highly processed), the more luxurious your setting should be.  You already know that junk food has that perfect addictive combination of salt, fat and zero nutritional value.  Because it is not a real food, your taste buds do not communicate with your brain receptors to tell your body it is full - until you feel sick. Taking the time to create luxury will make you think first.  And if you take the time to create such a lavish scene, you deserve the treat!

Seriously enjoy your food.  Each bite should be a sexual act. You might as well get as much pleasure in eating as you do with sex.  You will find that paying attention to the flavors, smells, and texture of the food is an erotic experience. When you are sensually fulfilled, you usually don't need to fill yourself up with non-nourishing foods.  It is impossible to really feel, taste, or smell your food if you eat too fast.  If a little sauce does make its way somewhere other than your lips, it is the perfect opportunity for a seductive lick of the tongue.

Finally, give yourself permission to be human.  Let go of all the rules and have a little fun with your meals.  If there is a food that has control over you, take it into the bedroom and figure out how to use it as a playful sex tool (don't knock it until you try it!).  You will soon find that you have greater control over it.

Indulge with me ladies. Let us feast, devour and enjoy life!

"Curiosity is gluttony. To See is to devour." - Victor Hugo