Are you the kind of eater who eats unconsciously: while driving, or working, or standing, while bossing some kids around and having intense discussions with your partner? Are you the kind of eater who can easily plow their way through an entire bag of cheezies or crackers or malt balls or somehow find your way to your kids leftover halloween candy and put back 10 or 15 candies and not realize what’s happening until the deed is done?
If you struggle with over-eating or binge eating episodes, yo-yoing with your weight, or frequently find your belly hurts because you over did it at a party or potluck, if you have lost your sense of eating due to hunger signals and stopping because of satiation signals, or if you just can’t seem to connect to food in a positive way anymore, KEEP READING!!!
Have you ever thought about what’s it’s like to eat like a toddler? They tend to ask for food when they’re hungry, don’t often finish what’s on their plate, don’t eat things they don’t like, don’t eat when they don’t feel well, eat small portions frequently throughout the day, often play with their food, make faces when food is too sour, and smear chocolate cake all over their face during birthday parties. They are eating innately, unaffected yet by social norms & expectations, by the pressures of advertising and social media, they haven’t yet developed table manners or are considering acceptable behaviours around food. They listen to the signals they receive from their bodies, unconsciously perhaps, but they are more in tune with the needs, wants, & desires of the body with regards to food, than the average North American.
Not that we should all start eating like toddlers again (although this could be a fun experiment 😆), but what if we begun to revert back to being more in tune with the body with regards to food; to let our innate needs come forward and guide us; to eat from a place of intuitive wisdom as opposed to unconscious disconnect? What might happen?
On a personal note: becoming an intuitive eater has helped me develop a much more peaceful relationship with food. Because I have a long history with an Eating Disorder, the shift into compassionate eating, forgiveness, and presence with food was critical for my healing. Rather than denying myself foods I want or fearing certain foods, I listen to my body’s needs now and eat the foods that I know will nourish me, give me energy, calm my mind and help me to feel grounded. If I want to have a sweet, I do. If I know something bothers my belly, I steer clear. It is a more balanced, loving way to be in a relationship with food. I want to share it with you.
Let me introduce to you:
The Intuitive Eater
Acknowledges hunger signal
Acknowledges satiation signals
Eats without guilt or ethical dilemma
Is an unaffected eater
Is in touch with innate wisdom of food
Listens to the body’s needs
Uses other coping strategies when upset
Eats in a calm manner
There are 10 Principles to Intuitive Eating. Some will resonate with certain individuals, some will not. I teach about these 10 Principles in my workshops and classes, and use them when working one on one with clients. Applying a principle can be very challenging, but it is that which feels like the toughest challenge, that calls you to do the work. Read through these principles a few times and think about them. Which areas do you feel really need some work? Explore.
The 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating:
Reject the Diet Mentality: Back away from the social pressures to keep up with dieting trends and begin to recognize & acknowledge the damage that dieting causes: regained weight, stress, anxiety, disappointment, feelings of failure, loneliness, regret. Rejecting the diet mentality is about cultivating awareness with regards to diet mentality traits & letting go of the self sabotage: forget willpower, forget being obedient, forget about failure. Becoming compassionate towards yourself involves busting through diet myths, prioritizing organization and a moral code to live by that feels good, and also cultivating community & togetherness with other women in a way that doesn’t involve dieting.
Honour Your Hunger: No more skipping meals or denying yourself food, even though your tummy grumbles. Honouring your hunger is about keeping the body biologically fed and meeting it’s needs with regards to food and caloric intake. Increase your awareness around listening and responding when hunger signals arise and rebuild trust with yourself and food.
Make Peace with Food: Think about what it might look like and feel like to give yourself unconditional permission to eat: to throw out the notion that some foods are “good” and others are “bad”; to eat what you really want, to eat without guilt or fear, and allow ALL foods. Making peace with food involves developing self-trust and a calmness within with regards to food & meal choices. I wrote an entire blog on making peace with food, read it here.
Challenge the Food Police: OMG does society have so many rules around food! Your damned if you do and damned if you don’t! This principle is about challenging the unreasonable rules that dieting has created: sugar is bad, carbs are bad, fasting is good, eat avocados, don’t eat avocados, no to oil, no to grains….it’s endless and so confusing!! Tune inwards, listen to your inner guidance and learn to recognize those irrational rules and the negative self-talk that comes with them. Challenge that negative voice and offer it compassionate alternatives and reasonable solutions.
Feel Your Fullness: Listen to your body’s signals. She knows. Begin to observe your body’s signs and subtle cues. EAT SLOWLY! Learn to take a pause while eating to tune inwards and check in with the body. Place your hands on your belly, take a deep breath, and ask yourself: “do I need more food or does my body feel satisfied with what it’s had so far?” The more frequently you practice tuning inward, the less and less often you will miss those cues.
Give Yourself Permission to Enjoy Food: Exploring pleasure & satisfaction while eating elicits and excites the pleasure centres in the brain - cultivating feelings of joy and happiness and a calmer nervous system around food. Make your eating experiences as enjoyable as possible: eat what you want to eat, sit down, slow down, light a candle, enjoy the colours on your plate, smell your food, engage all of your senses, and relax into the experience of eating.
Cope with Your Emotions without Using Food: Deep breaths here. If we are eating from an emotional place and not one of biological hunger, we are choosing to ignore the needs/asks of the emotions and, instead, are stuffing them down deeper with the act of eating (numbing out). May I remind you gently: this gets us no where. Exploring the emotions that turn you towards coping with food is a must to move away from this habit. Listen to those deeper needs and asks, start talking and journaling, and aim to find other coping strategies to turn to.
Respect Your Body: This principle is about working to accept the concept of a natural healthy weight – the weight your body will maintain with normal/intuitive eating and normal movement. This is a practice of letting go of any unrealistic expectations that your weight needs to be different than it is & opening the door to being at peace with your body & other areas of your life.
Exercise – Feel the Difference: Shift your focus to tune inwards and bring awareness to how it feels to move your body, rather than exercising in order to burn calories or lose weight. Focus on how it feels to move your body parts, to stretch them, to strengthen them, to get your heart pumping harder and increase the oxygen in your lungs. Notice how this kind of exercising can positively affect your stress & energy levels, your general sense of well being & empowerment, and how you sleep and cope. This is a practice to step away from weight loss focused exercise and move the body because it feels good and has a positive effect.
Honour Your Health – Gentle Nutrition: We have all kinds of current wellness trends that dictate what we should eat and what we shouldn’t. It’s an uphill battle. How about making food choices that honour your health & your taste buds while making you feel well and good about the foods that you eat? How about eating for your health, your mind, your body, your soul, your heart, and focusing on nourishment & nurturing, instead of trying to adhere to the latest rules? This is a practice that I advocate for daily: to truly FEEL GOOD about the food that you are eating.
If you have found that some, or all, of these principles resonate with you, but you’re not sure how to start applying them, reach out! A little bit of guidance and a helping hand can truly go a LONG way. Contact me if you’d like to work together.
Reference: Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program that Works, Evelyn Tribole M.S. R.D, Elyse Resch M.S. R.D