I have been hearing a lot of people talk about "after this quarantine stuff, I am going to have to diet". I am here to propose something different, maybe even something completely foreign to you. Do not start a diet...in fact NEVER diet again. AND you can be even start right now with something called intuitive eating.
Intuitive Eating is a philosophy that rejects traditional weight-loss diets that promote restriction and deprivation of any type and encourages you to get truly in touch with how hungry or how satisfied you are in a given moment, and then use that information to inform how, what, and when you eat.
If this sounds great to you or you're just curious to learn more– that is amazing! Your are in the right place, my friend. Following these principles hav wonderful benefits from healing your relationship with food, to saying goodbye to diets forever.
Here are some things to understand before you get started...
You Can’t Focus on Intuitive Eating and Weight Loss at the Same Time
This is one of the most important things to understand about intuitive eating. It is NOT a diet, nor is it a way to learn how to control your portions to help you lose weight. If you have a goal of weight loss, intuitive eating will not work for you. You have to come to a place of body acceptance, where you fully accept that your body may not get smaller, and might even get a little bigger before everything balances out. If you can’t do that, you won’t be able to fully embrace eating intuitively.
This is Not a Linear Process
Intuitive is not linear, like most things in life. There are ebbs and flows, good days and bad days. One day, you might feel like you have a handle on it and your appetite is getting back to normal, and the next day you feel ravenous and out of control with food. This is all normal and part of the process. Don’t give up! Just keep going and learning. Trust your body, follow your cravings, and understand that it will all lead you toward a life free of diets.
You Won’t Feel Out of Control Forever
That feeling of being out of control around certain types of food if you aren’t tracking, won’t last forever. It can cause a lot of fear and anxiety in the beginning, especially if you feel like you have a history of food addiction and overeating. If you are used to restricting food and writing down every single calorie and carb, it feels scary to suddenly let all that go.
But the feeling of being out of control doesn’t last forever. You just have to learn how to follow your body’s cues and trust it to guide you in the right direction.
Finding a Good Support System is Crucial
From the very beginning of your intuitive eating journey, you need to have people who will support you. You don’t have to tell everyone what you are doing, but find at least one person you trust who you can talk to about it. Someone who won’t judge you, who won’t throw diet talk in your face, and who isn’t going to trigger you in any way. On the opposite end, you may need to distance yourself from people who are deep in diet culture.
If you are curious to learn even more... do not hesitate to reach out.
PS Check my facebook page to learn how to download an entire mini book on intuitive eating for free.