Intuitive Eating 10 TIPS (PART 2)
WHAT IS INTUITIVE EATING?
We’ve been talking about the fact that many of us have been impacted by diet culture so much that we’ve lost grip on our body’s natural cues. Intuitive eating presents several ideas to consider in challenging the noise from diet culture and bringing you back to a place of peace with eating and your body. Let’s look at the last five principles of intuitive eating.
THE INTUITIVE EATING PRINCIPLES
Discover the satisfaction factor: One of the greatest parts of eating is the joy that it can bring. Have you ever wanted chocolate, but opted to eat an apple instead? Only to go back for the chocolate later? By intentionally incorporating enjoyable food, you are less likely to experience over-eating or bingeing later.
Cope with your emotions with kindness: Find ways to handle your emotions without always using food as a way to solve a problem. Key word is “always.” Sometimes, your favorite takeout is exactly what you need to decompress after a long workday. We enter tricky territory when food becomes our only way of coping with emotions. When we use food as a coping skill, the problem always outlasts the food. Seek other ways to take care of your emotional health.
Respect your body: This means accepting and honoring the body that you’ve been given. People come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and it’s diet culture that has led to the idealization of certain body types. Tribole and Resche say, “Just as a person with a shoe size of eight would not expect to realistically squeeze into a size six, it is equally futile to have a similar expectation about your body size.”
Movement – feel the difference: Incorporate exercise in a way that feels positive and enjoyable versus a form of punishment. If you don’t like running but have chosen that as the activity you do regularly, that’s an easy way to get burnt out and start to dread exercise. There are plenty of options to choose from for activity - find one you enjoy! The goal is to move away from activity that is militant and rigid with the sole purpose of shrinking your body.
Honor your health – gentle nutrition: Make food choices that honor both your health and your preferences. Understand that one meal or one day of eating will not be the end-all, be-all of your health status. Consider how your food choices make your body feel in addition to how satisfying and delicious they are to you. Remember, a “perfect” diet does not exist.
So, how do you feel after reading through these principles? Do any of them resonate with you? Do any leave you feeling frustrated? Take some time to evaluate where you’re at and what you’d like to change. Here’s a reminder: there is no such thing as a perfect eating pattern. Through incorporating these principles, we can learn to honor our bodies and move toward a place of both peace and health.
- Gabby
