Intuitive Eating: A Beginner’s Guide
Let's talk about diets. It’s no secret that they’re problematic for many reasons. To name a few: they're not actually healthy, they’re rarely sustainable, and they don’t offer lasting results. Well, maybe not everyone knows this, but it is becoming more commonly talked about, and one of the reasons why, is the introduction of a new kind of relationship with food and our bodies, aka, intuitive eating.
Intuitive eating is just that, intuitive. Exactly like it sounds, the entire point of intuitive eating is getting your body to listen to its natural hunger cues. That means eating until you are satisfied, listening to your bodies' cravings, and creating a more honest relationship with your body and food. Introducing intuitive eating into your life may prove more successful in your overall happiness than you would have anticipated.
Think about it like this: you wake up and feel hungry, although nothing "breakfast"-like is calling your name. Instead, you're sort of craving some pasta. Here is where intuitive eating comes into play. Eat the pasta.
Intuitive eating is all about listening to your body and giving it what it is asking for. Of course, this doesn't mean that you should eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But, it is a way of releasing stigmas around certain foods at certain meals and the sort of stereotypes that society has placed on them.
Another essential part of eating intuitively is erasing any negative connotations of certain foods. A key element of intuitive eating is to eliminate any labels. Removing labels can be incredibly freeing and is quite beneficial to your relationship with food. Everyone knows that specific foods, like fast food, for example, have the label "junk." So, with intuitive eating, there is no such thing as "junk food" or "bad" food. Like, there is no such thing as "better" foods, or "good" foods, as one might have previously thought.
Taking away these labels is the first step in allowing your body to listen to itself and ask for what it wants truly. Now, this is just the intro to intuitive eating, and if you haven't guessed by now, it's a lot deeper than this. But, with these tidbits of information, you can allow yourself to start listening to what your body wants and needs.
The gist of it is listening to your body and trusting its cues. The key is to not restrict anything out of your diet or limit your food intake. Of course, that doesn't go for avoiding foods you're allergic to.
What makes intuitive eating so special is the bond you create between your brain and your body. They are each listening to one another and effectively communicating, giving your body precisely what it requires, fueling you to live your best life, free of any judgment surrounding food and your body.
By Rebecca Maloof
Intuitive eating is just that, intuitive. Exactly like it sounds, the entire point of intuitive eating is getting your body to listen to its natural hunger cues. That means eating until you are satisfied, listening to your bodies' cravings, and creating a more honest relationship with your body and food. Introducing intuitive eating into your life may prove more successful in your overall happiness than you would have anticipated.
Think about it like this: you wake up and feel hungry, although nothing "breakfast"-like is calling your name. Instead, you're sort of craving some pasta. Here is where intuitive eating comes into play. Eat the pasta.
Intuitive eating is all about listening to your body and giving it what it is asking for. Of course, this doesn't mean that you should eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But, it is a way of releasing stigmas around certain foods at certain meals and the sort of stereotypes that society has placed on them.
Another essential part of eating intuitively is erasing any negative connotations of certain foods. A key element of intuitive eating is to eliminate any labels. Removing labels can be incredibly freeing and is quite beneficial to your relationship with food. Everyone knows that specific foods, like fast food, for example, have the label "junk." So, with intuitive eating, there is no such thing as "junk food" or "bad" food. Like, there is no such thing as "better" foods, or "good" foods, as one might have previously thought.
Taking away these labels is the first step in allowing your body to listen to itself and ask for what it wants truly. Now, this is just the intro to intuitive eating, and if you haven't guessed by now, it's a lot deeper than this. But, with these tidbits of information, you can allow yourself to start listening to what your body wants and needs.
The gist of it is listening to your body and trusting its cues. The key is to not restrict anything out of your diet or limit your food intake. Of course, that doesn't go for avoiding foods you're allergic to.
What makes intuitive eating so special is the bond you create between your brain and your body. They are each listening to one another and effectively communicating, giving your body precisely what it requires, fueling you to live your best life, free of any judgment surrounding food and your body.
By Rebecca Maloof
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