In light of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, I have decided to write this week's post on intuitive eating. It is essentially based on the fact that our bodies have their own mechanisms to alert us when we are hungry or when we are satisfied, and if we listen carefully, we can become more in tune with what our bodies are trying to tell us. Imagine a baby, it cries when it’s hungry and it stops eating when it’s full. We are innately intuitive eaters, but begin to neglect intuitive eating when we place restrictions or rules on the food. When we eat intuitively, we allow our bodies to gauge when, what, and how much to eat, rather than our emotions, external influences, or our thoughts. In their best selling book, Intuitive Eating, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch outline several principles to making peace with food.
10 Principles of Intuitive Eating:
Reject the Diet Mentality: The phrase “yo-yo dieting”, is used to describe the act of repeatedly going on and off a diet. However, this seems to be dieting in general. How many times have you or someone you love been on a diet only to “cheat”, restart, quit, restart, “cheat”, and continue the cycle? This tends to cause guilt surrounding food choices and shame toward what is attributed to “lack of willpower” (which is false, by the way). When you realize that diets do not benefit you long-term, you may find that your thoughts and emotions surrounding food will begin to serve you rather than control you.
Honor Your Hunger: Begin to recognize hunger as your body’s way of telling you that it needs fuel for energy. Respect that request.
Make Peace with Food: Food is nourishment for the body that is meant to be enjoyed and savored.
Respect your body: Rid your mind of judgement calls that accompany rules when it comes to food. Fill your plates with mostly whole foods and as few processed foods as possible. However, sometimes a pizza is the move. Learn how to love your brain, mind, and body and allow yourself to enjoy nourishing foods often and indulgent foods more sparingly.
Respect Your Fullness: In the same way that you recognize and respect your feelings of hunger, do the same with satiety.
Discover the Satisfaction Factor: When you eat, take the time to be mindful of the various aspects of your food: it’s origin, the preparation behind it, the smell, taste, texture, etc. Food is meant to nourish and eating is meant to bring satisfaction and pleasure. When you’ve realized that you’re satisfied, you may begin to become more in tune with your satiety meter.
Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food: Allow your emotions to come and go as they do throughout the day. Instead of mindlessly eating when you’re stressed, sad, or even elated, be mindful of your emotions and your triggers. This will encourage you to become more aware of the difference between hunger, appetite, and emotional cravings.
Respect Your Mind: Let any overly critical or unrealistic expectations or thoughts dissipate from your mind and accept your body as it is. It’s okay to have goals, but remember that “healthy is an outfit that looks different on every body”.
Exercise - Feel the Difference: Exercise is beneficial to many functions of the body and we are more likely to exercise when doing activities that we enjoy. Not only does movement affect our aesthetic, but it also impacts our organs and mental health. Exercise with the intent of feeling (accomplished, energized, etc) rather than looking (ripped, skinny, etc).
Honor Your Health: Keep your health in mind, as your physical, mental and emotional health are all directly connected and should not be compartmentalized. When you become more mindful of your emotions, of how your food tastes and how your body feels when you eat, you may start to notice how certain foods make you feel better than others. Find what works for you, every body is different.
I know the depths of the emotions and the immense battles that are eating disorders and do not claim that these ideals and principles will get someone through recovery. However, I do believe that this may help to interrupt some disordered eating patterns or deter some from developing unhealthy patterns.
If you or someone you know suffers from an eating disorder, please, (encourage them to) seek professional help. Hold on to hope, you can heal.
Click here to visit the National Eating Disorder Awareness help page
NEDA Helpline: 1(800)931.2237