Do you try to eat mindfully yet frustrated with the times you don't? You know eating with distractions bring relief, pleasure, and relaxation. Does every eating experience need to happen when we are hungry? Is emotional eating ever ok? Julie and her guest Michelle Kuster RD discuss. Listen now for insight. Subscribe and leave a review here in just seconds. Key Points: Reunited and it feels so good ? ? ? ? Is all mindless eating bad? Some within the mindful eating industry forget to incorporate compassion and unintentionally encourage all or nothing thinking. Eating for pleasure and emotional eating are normal parts of eating. They are universal human experiences. If emotional eating is the only way to cope then it can become something that is not health promoting. Notice your eating without judgement with compassionate curiosity. What would it be like to experiment with relaxation without eating? Could perfectionism be getting in the way of healing the letter writer's relationship with food? Examine expectations and shoulds. As noticing distracted eating ask self: "What are you feeling? What do you need?" Show Notes: Mindful Eating Summit 2.0 with Dr. Susan Albers Michelle Kuster RD, LDN  Calm App Stop, Breathe, Think App Hy-vee Grocery Store dietitians Geneen Roth Eating Disorder Dietitians Julie Dillon RD blog Do you have a complicated relationship with food? I want to help! Send your Dear Food letter to LoveFoodPodcast@gmail.com.  Click here to leave me a review in iTunes and subscribe. This type of kindness helps the show continue! Thank you for listening to the Love, Food series. Give me feedback via Twitter @EatingPermitRD.