Eventually one will wonder about her food portions. Especially if she is coming from a dietetic background that engaged in counting, measuring, and weighing in order to calculate the correct proportion of food intake relative to her caloric needs. Ayurveda suggests a simple to remember but usually more difficult to master equation: Only eat until the stomach is one-third full; save one-third for liquid; and leave one-third for space, so that there is enough room to churn food contents in the stomach and properly digest them.

The measure of proper food proportion is self-guided, determined by when one feels appeased but not full from the amount of food she has consumed. This will vary according to individual digestive strength, season, and activity level. One must stop if there is any discomfort at all in the sides or low stomach. It should be comfortable to remain in conversation or to go for a walk. An athlete training for a marathon will need more food and should not fight herself to eat less. The amount of food should sustain her until the next meal, and she should avoid discomfort from hunger. If she does feel hunger chronically, it can contribute to disease and weaken her mind and her body.

Chronic hunger can indicate self-neglect, fear, or an inner struggle to control life through food. Because food is an expression of the divine, how we eat can reveal a great deal about how we feel about life. Food is frequently a form of self-reward and self-punishment. Some people eat excessively when they have accomplished a goal; others eat excessively to punish themselves when they think that they have failed. Those who struggle with giving and receiving often refuse food, deliberately eat small quantities of it, or purchase elaborate desserts only to leave them untouched in plain view for several days.
Abundant kapha types love to eat, share food, show love for others in feeding them, and feed their blues sweet things when they are sad or hurt. Kaphas with disordered eating punish themselves with food, become binge eaters, lose control, and divide into two personalities: one who punishes by forced feeding, and one who suffers in guilt as she eats it. These kapha types are often on diets, do not eat much in front of others, and verbally state they do not know why they are so overweight. Binging, nighttime eating when others are sleeping, and eating small amounts constantly throughout the day are common contributors of weight gain in these types. Kaphas with this distorted eating pattern primarily accumulate excess weight as a consequence of resentments held against the misdeeds of others. They store betrayals in their fat cells and in how they metabolize energy. They are literally weighted down by the past.

Kapha types who have disordered eating patterns like this often endured a significant betrayal from one or both of their parents as children. Because they are earth oriented, their emotional well being strongly influences the physical structure of their bodies. If they attempt to rectify these issues from the level of mind, they most likely will experience a merry go round of thoughts and confused feelings. Years of self-analysis only go so far. They chronically find themselves in similar situations, and confess an overall feeling of being ‘stuck.’ Kaphas like this benefit from ceremony, ritual, breathwork, and rites of passage that outwardly declare the release of patterns and traumas. For them, approaching release is most supported by involving the body. Dance, pottery, digging in the ground, writing, reading, stomping, breathing, rocking, massaging, burning totems of the past, are all mechanisms to get into the tissues and pull out the structural memories that bind self-negating patterns.

Pitta types who are hot with competitiveness, driven to succeed, and deny themselves rest and nurturance are prone to eat excessive amounts on the run or between appointments. These types barely chew, swallow whole pieces, and suffer from ulcerations, burning, and belching. They may be driven to give or succeed, but they are often in a hurry and struggle with receiving. Food is the divine gift of life, one of the most precious we have. Enjoying food requires the tongue, the mouth, the lips, and the taste buds to receive its tastes, textures, and gifts. Pitta types who feel uneasy with receiving from a source that is not themselves, or getting something that they did not ‘earn,’ eat fast to sidetrack the awareness of this uncomfortable and hard to understand feeling. Pitta types like this can benefit from acknowledging gifts that came at no price to them, meditating on the thank-yous, and withholding response aversions to indebtedness that ‘pay back’ the gift.

Pitta types who are concerned with perfectionism, ego, and appearance can deny food and fall into anorexia. Thinness is a trophy to these types, a characteristic of inner strength and outward discipline. They idolize the thinness they observe in others, and feel accomplished when they acquire it themselves. Thinness is a personality characteristic that represents success, beauty, control, and will. Obesity is viewed harshly as the epitome of gluttony, weakness, lack of self-control, disgust, and vileness. These pitta types have gone to great lengths to disown their natural freedom, pride themselves on their servitude, and of being the ‘perfect’ wife, daughter, mother, and employee. They live for an invisible eye, an idea of the ultimate person, who may or may not be an accurate expression of who they truly are.

Pitta types with disordered eating often have pleasing personalities and want to be accepted. They often had one or both parents try to control their behavior and inhibit natural growth stages of rebellion and/or independence. Often, they do not know what they truly want but strive for social conformity and status, because they believe it will bring them acceptance and public approval. It is most devastating for these types to have their public image tarnished in any way. The fear of such an outcome is one of the primary motivators in their decision-making. It would be helpful for these types to forgive their own imperfections, celebrate, and relish them. Identifying their personal needs and allowing them to come forth through their unique personality can also help align their identity with their lifestyle. Engaging in a rite of passage, regardless of their current age, can help reduce energetic binds that continue to drive life choices that may or may not be authentically theirs. The rite may acknowledge the entry into adulthood, the dissolution of parental ties, letting go of the desire for parental approval, or moving from a child into a self-actualizing person.

Vata types with disordered eating patterns frequently forget to eat, feel too nervous to eat, skip meals intentionally, and crave sugars for energy. When vatas are consumed with fear, they become prone to eating disorders, especially bulimia with long purgation durations that include excessive running, cardiovascular workouts, fasting, and laxative abuse. Vata types like this have often endured abuse as children, and were either forced or chose to adopt an externally happy personification in spite of it. They developed coping mechanisms to internalize the overwhelming fear of their own emotions, hurt, despair, and rage. In so doing, split in personality, they project a happy, pleasing face to the external world. Denying a great need for security, disguising their real needs, and disassociating from their own anxieties, they present to the world that they are okay. This causes a rift of inner conflict.

Nervousness, anxiety attacks, and social phobias are common and difficult for them to understand. Consequently, these patterns are often recreated through destructive relationships that perpetuate a state of insecurity. They may choose infidel life partners or create undue financial burdens. These types can also fall into patterns of chronic illness, where others must take care of them. This allows them to receive a distorted version of the nurturance and security that they desperately want but do not believe they can create for themselves. These types greatly benefit by developing self-confidence through completing tasks from start to finish, educating themselves on financial matters, and cultivating independence. It is important for these types to have a secure home, even if it is an area, a room, or a chair, and for them to know it is their own. This will empower them to continue to expand into wider spaces of who they truly are.

Female vata types with this disposition often fear their own femininity. In order to masculinize their body, they go to great lengths to stay thin, flat chested, and hipless. They refrain from food and fats in order to induce amenorrhea and avoid the cycle of menstruation—the ultimate symbol of all that is feminine. Many of these types feel disgusted by the menstruation process and idolize the male form. It is not uncommon for them to forcefully admit that they do not want to menstruate because they do not want children, and cannot see the point to it. They may wear boyish clothing and carry themselves in a masculinized manner. These types may exercise excessively, be very protective of and private about their diet and at the slightest indication, will separate themselves from anyone who challenges or questions them. These types are often extremely disconnected from their emotions, and skilled at avoiding anything or anyone who may bring their attention toward their real feelings and thoughts. For them, it will take receptivity to hear and value an outside perspective on their current state or an awareness of their place, and a desire to change. Because of the level of self-rejection and renouncing of their own identity, this type can be the most difficult to restore.

In ayurveda, it is generally advised to eat twice during the day, and to not snack. One morning meal and one late afternoon meal should be physically sufficient. Most of us have been entrained quite differently than this dietary pattern. America encourages three large meals a day with one or two snacks between. The idea of going from this standard to two meals a day and no snacks can be daunting at best. Do not force yourself to go to two meals. Forcing oneself to eat this way will only last as long as willpower does, and it will feel like chronic self-suppression. Instead, begin by eating three healthy meals and a snack. Avoid eating before the previous meal has been digested because it can create systemic toxicity. One should eat with confidence that her food will nourish her. She should avoid condemning, speaking, or thinking poorly about her food when she eats it.

Learn about ayurveda, the seasons, enhancing digestion, and regular detoxification. The desire to eat will naturally balance itself over time. Your body will let you know when and how much. Trust yourself. And enjoy. You are already perfect.