3 Tips to Practice Eating Intuitively
Intuitive eatings has been an instrumental way that I have changed and shaped my relationship with food. I’m no longer following diet plans and though I love to look up healthy recipes, I also have enjoyed looking up just yummy recipes in general and eating those as well. There is a peaceful harmony that is created when you take back the power from the diet industry and instead listen to your bodies natural cravings and hunger/fullness signals. Food and our eating habits were not meant to take up our daily thoughts and worries. We were not meant to dwell on calories and macros every meal. We were created to be so much more than what is just on our plate and what the scale says.
Freeing myself from the damaging philosophies around food and my hunger has taken a lot of time and work and some days I am still finding new hills to climb. However, I have learned that my security and worth does not come from being a healthy eater or thin, but from so many other things. So many much more, important things!
Today I wanted to share with you three tips to help you better practice intuitive eating in hopes that you too, will soon have the freedom that I have found when it comes to food.
If you are unfamiliar with what intuitive eating is and want more tips beyond this post, check out my previous post What You Need To Know About Intuitive Eating!
Tips to Practice Intuitive Eating:
Make Peace With Food: Food is not your enemy and unless you are allergic, sensitive or just plain don’t like something, ALL food should be on the table. Many of us are used to fearing foods because of diet culture. We fear bread because of the carbs, bananas because of the sugar, white potatoes because of the starch, pizza because of the fat, ice cream because of the calories and the list goes on and on. We are taught to fear food and often that makes us hyper aware and fixated on these foods when we would otherwise not be. Many programs will talk about moderation and cheats/treats but if you have not already made peace with food and stopped fearing your weight fluctuating you will always be worried about what eating those foods will do. Even in moderation those foods will rarely bring you peace. The truth is, when all food becomes available you realize that half your cravings were driven solely by the fact that those things were off limits. When you can eat those things at any time, you start to realize, you don’t want them as often as you used too. It’s no longer this secret splurge but rather just part of your intuitive eating lifestyle. The main reason you should be not eating something is how it makes you feel and if you like the taste. Everything else is not near as important as we’ve been led to believe.
Challenge The Food Police: We all have thoughts or even people in our lives that are very “food policey”. Commenting on how much you’ve eaten, what you’ve eaten and so on. These comments a lot of the time are thoughts we say to ourselves in judgement because we have created a morality around food. We have decided we are “good” if we’ve eaten only salads or less than X number of calories, and “bad” if we had too much cake or not enough water. These critical thoughts and judgements are not helpful when it comes to making peace with food and practicing intuitive eating. Challenge these thoughts. Challenge these people. Be honest about your journey and let them know that though they are trying to be helpful, they are not. That though this is how you used to think about food and your lifestyle, it is not how you wish to moving forward. It should not bother us what others choose to put on their plate, that is their own choice, so if you tend to make comments, even to loved ones, I encourage you to stop. Shame is a powerful and destructive feeling and being shamed for your food will not encourage you or those around you to change their habits in a sustainable and healthy way. Choose to ignore the food police and keeping working on enjoying your food and learning what works for you!
Respect Your Body: For some, the idea of practicing intuitive eating can bring about a lot of fear because you fear gaining weight as a result. It has been so ingrained in us that we should strive to be skinny that the concept of letting go of that goal and choosing body acceptance instead feels like we are giving up. But if you had a size 8 shoe, would you shame yourself for not being a 6? If you are 5’6”, would you shame yourself for not being 5’9”? Weight fluctuates but it doesn’t mean it’s something we are supposed to actively work on controlling. Each of us are built and created differently. Each of our bodies will look different as a result of intuitive eating. There should be no shame or fear in that. There only is because of the narrative our society has written about what is attractive and what is not. Choosing to respect your body and respect your personal journey is not giving up, it is brave. It is a powerful thing to do the opposite of what society is telling you to do. It is a freeing thing to realize that diet culture no longer has control over you and you are free from their expectations. Do not be trapped in the narrow mindset that there is only one idea of healthy, beautiful or happy. You can be all of these things in a variety of bodies so it’s time to start respecting the body you have.
These 3 simple tips will make the process smoother as you journey and practice intuitive eating. Remember, food is an inanimate object and you have the power to shift out of fear and obsession into enjoyment and peace.
What else would you like to learn about intuitive eating? Want to start the process to ditch dieting habits and mindsets? Grab my free PDF below now and get started!
xx
Kami
