How to embrace NO DIETS or FOOD RESTRICTIONS, and create a HEALTHY, LASTING RELATIONSHIP with food.
First things first: Diets don’t work. The last thing our world needs is another diet. Diet culture leaves us feeling unworthy of experiences because of our weight, body shame, or lack of food control. We’re constantly surrounded by poor body messages that tells us to restrict ourselves to feel happy, worthy, and even loved.
That needs to change. With intuitive eating principles and a shifted mindset you’ll have the opportunity to feel free when it comes to your relationship with food and truly feel like yourself again.
If you’re like me, you’ve tried every diet with little success. I’ve gone from diet to diet, restricting myself from certain foods or taking unnatural supplements to see results. But the truth is, when
I finally reached my “goal” weight, I still felt disappointed, unfulfilled and starved, both mentally and physically.
I’m here to tell you that freedom is out there and it’s called “intuitive eating.”
WHAT IS INTUITIVE EATING?
Intuitive eating is an approach that was created by two registered dieticians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, in 1995. It’s a blissful food experience that helps you to have a positive and healthy relationship with the foods you love.
It recognizes that there’s a place for all foods in your diet and allows you to kick guilt to the curb and fully enjoy that piece of double chocolate cake.
Intuitive eating helps you become in tune with your body and its daily needs. We’re constantly changing and there’s no “diet” that will work to achieve the ultimate level of health. This approach evolves with what you need on a daily basis. It focusses on hunger cues versus a caloric need. We were naturally born intuitive eaters. As babies, we cried when we were hungry. There was no particular time schedule or approach needed. We ate when we felt the urge for nutrients, and not emotional comfort, for example.
INTUITIVE EATING FOLLOWS 10 PRINCIPLES:
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One: Reject the diet mentality
When was the last time diet culture left you feeling energized and satisfied? When was the last time you approached a new eating plan without focussing on the foods that were off limits? It’s time to focus on your body’s needs, not the standards of society.
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Two: Honour your hunger
Most diets we face tackles hunger the satisfaction, which leads to binging before it even happens. They set you up with snacks and meals that control your hunger. If you get hungry, you’re setting to yourself up for risk of failing. Intuitive
eating embraces hunger because it’s the alarm that your body is in need of nutrients, not an emotional band-aid.
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Three: Make peace with food
When you restrict foods, you’re setting yourself up for deprivation. When you feel deprived, you’re more likely to binge when you finally give into your cravings. Restrictions create deeper food cravings, which lead to overeating, guilt, and shame. It’s time to break the cycle and make peace with the foods you enjoy.
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Four: Challenge the food police
The food police are the thoughts in your head that declare you as “good” for eating a salad for lunch and “bad” because you ate dessert. It’s time to learn that there’s no such thing as “bad food.” Intuitive eating embraces all foods in your diet. We’ve been taught these principles from a young age— broccoli is good, and bread is bad, but that’s not the case with intuitive eating.
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Five: Discover the satisfaction factor
It’s normal to eat and feel full without the satisfaction, which leads to binging later. With this plan you eat what you want, which means you’re more likely to enjoy your food, feel more satisfied and less likely to overeat.
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Six: Cope with your emotions without using food
One of the biggest focuses of intuitive eating is overcoming the emotional attachment to food. This plan works to help you shift your emotional focus from food to other activities including journalling, meditation, fitness, or quality time with family and friends.
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Seven: Respect your body
Through the process, you’ll learn to love your body for how amazing it truly is. You’ll want to fuel your body with the best food possible, because you respect your body and want it to thrive with all of the healthy vitamins and nutrients you will provide it.
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Eight: Feel the difference
With intuitive e8ating, we focus on food first, but movement is the perfect complement to a healthy lifestyle. Exercise because you love your body and you want to celebrate all that it is capable of, not because you’re trying certain body image or weight.
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Nine: Honour your health with general nutrition
There is no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to your health. Change happens with what you do consistently, not occasionally. So eat healthy whole foods, but don’t be afraid to eat a chocolate bar every once in a while. By eating intuitively, you will notice a shift in your energy levels and your mood. Intuitive eating allows you to taste real food and feel great, exactly as you are.
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Ten: How can you apply it to your lifestyle? How could throwing diet standards give you an overall better life?
Our whole lives revolve around food. We celebrate with food, overcome emotions with food, and fuel our body with food. How could your life be better if you overcame your eep cravings with a positive relations with food? You’ll have the opportunity to freely celebrate without the feeling of guilt.
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Now this is not an invitation to eat fries and have a glass of chardonnay for every meal, but this is an opportunity to teach yourself a healthy eating pattern. Intuitive eating is the epitome of freedom and inspiration to those around us.
*For more information on intuitive eating and the lifestyle it creates, please see Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program that Works by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch.
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