Ditch Diet Culture and Start Intuitive Eating
Intuitive eating is a non-diet approach to food that focuses on listening to your body's hunger and fullness cues, rather than following strict meal plans or calorie counting. This guide will help you understand the principles of intuitive eating and how to incorporate them into your daily life for a healthier relationship with food.
Understand the principles of intuitive eating
Intuitive eating is based on 10 principles, including rejecting the diet mentality, honoring your hunger and fullness, making peace with food, and respecting your body. By following these principles, you can learn to trust your body's signals and make food choices that nourish and satisfy you. It's important to note that intuitive eating is not a weight loss program, but rather a way to improve your overall health and well-being.
Focus on overall health and well-being, not just weight loss
Intuitive eating is not a weight loss program, but rather a way of nourishing your body and improving your overall health and well-being. When you focus on listening to your body and giving it what it needs, weight loss may or may not be a side effect. However, the goal is not to achieve a certain number on the scale, but rather to feel good in your body and have a healthy relationship with food. By ditching diet culture and embracing intuitive eating, you can break free from the cycle of restrictive diets and finally find peace with food. Once I released expectations and the overall stress around weight loss I was able to see improvements in my food choices and relationship with my body. I don’t own a scale because it’s not about the number.
Learn to recognize and honor your hunger and fullness cues
One of the key principles of intuitive eating is learning to recognize and honor your hunger and fullness cues. This means tuning in to your body and eating when you're hungry, and stopping when you're comfortably full. It's important to remember that everyone's hunger and fullness cues are different, so it may take some time to figure out what works best for you. Some people find it helpful to rate their hunger and fullness on a scale of 1-10, while others simply listen to their body's signals. Whatever method you choose, the goal is to eat in a way that feels satisfying and nourishing for your body. Once you develop this relationship with your body, you’ll be able to discern when you’re full and eating on autopilot - it very well might be the stress and anxiety doing the eating for you!
Practice mindful eating
A way to tune into your hunger cues while eating is by practicing mindful eating. It involves paying attention to your food and the experience of eating, without distractions like TV or your phone. Take time to savor each bite, notice the flavors and textures, and check in with your body to see if you're still hungry or full. This can help you make more intentional food choices and prevent overeating. Try to eat in a calm and relaxed environment, and take breaks between bites to give your body time to register fullness. Explore what works best for you!
Give yourself permission to eat all foods
Intuitive eating is all about letting go of restrictive diets and giving yourself permission to eat all foods. This means no more labeling foods as "good" or "bad" and no more guilt or shame around eating. Instead, focus on honoring your hunger and fullness cues, and choosing foods that make you feel good both physically and emotionally. Remember, all foods can fit into a balanced and healthy diet, and there's no need to deprive yourself of the foods you love. Release the shame, and release the guilt!
