Z. Johnson
Intuitive eating is not new. As a matter fact, many people started embracing this healthy eating lifestyle in the 80’s.The thing about intuitive eating, however, is that it breaks all the barriers and concepts about dieting, healthy eating and weight loss. The intuitive eating principles are all about tuning into your body in a natural way that doesn’t create anxiety or obsessions around food. Because modern dieting culture promotes people to follow “food rules”, people still question whether or not intuitive eating is a safe way to live a healthy life and keep a steady weight. If you’re still inquiring about how this lifestyle can help you stay healthy, keep reading. I’ll share how intuitive eating principles helped me stay in shape.
I stayed in shape by ditching the “dieting mentality”
If you’ve ever heard about the concept that “dieting” can make you unhealthy, it really is. The reason I say this is because there’s a lot of misinformation related to proper nutrition. Fad diets, promoting rapid weight loss, skipping meals, starving, or even avoiding entire food groups, only causes the opposite effect of a healthy journey. When you don’t nourish your body properly, it starts going into starvation mode, making you crave more unhealthy food, causing you to hold onto body fat and gain weight. This is the infamous yo-yo effect. So, believe it or not, I’ve been able to maintain a healthy weight and wellness without dieting. As a matter of fact, as a dietitian, I do not recommend following the popular diet that you see in the media. If you’re trying to lose weight and improve your metabolism, always look for a certified professional.
Read more: Eat smart for weight loss! The approach that works
Intuitive eating principles defined my relationship with food
How important it is to make peace with food! One of the major things I learned with intuitive eating is how to have a healthier relationship with food. When you’re at peace, you make more sound choices in terms of food and exercise. Not only that, but you can experience freedom when eating! This doesn’t mean that you have to binge eat, but at least you find that balance that allows you to eat varieties of foods according to what your body needs. Another major win with intuitive eating principles is that I got rid of food obsessions and anxiety.
Read more: Embracing flexible eating for fitness/ mental health
Intuitive eating principles made me honor my health with gentle nutrition
Learning how to eat the right foods on a regular basis is the key to nourishing your body and keeping you healthy. Ditching the food rules and food anxiety helped not only to keep in mind the basics of healthy nutrition but also to teach my clients. Bearing in mind which are the major sources of protein, healthy fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals is the most important thing here. You need to build a solid eating lifestyle around eating enough protein at every meal. Apart from that, getting that extra fiber and swapping for healthier fats is the go for a healthy nutrition. The key here is to maintain your metabolism in fat burning mode, reduce those unnecessary cravings, and to keep your gut healthy.
Being nourished has helped me to honor my hunger and satisfy signals in my body. Anytime I eat, I make sure it is because I’m hungry and not because of simple cravings. Besides that, I listen to my body to stop whenever I’m full. Trust me, 90% of the problems with food anxiety and cravings can be solved if we only learn to listen to our body and honor those hunger/ fullness signals.
Read more: How to tone your body with these 20 nutrition hacks
With the intuitive eating principles, I didn’t need to count calories
Even though this may sound strange to you, as a nutritionist, I don’t recommend you count calories when trying to lose weight. But, wait, isn’t that the way to learn how to eat healthy and control my calories? If you keep wondering how this is possible, let me clarify a few things. We were all taught that counting calories is the only effective way to lose weight. We were told that counting calories is the way to go to track our portions and control what we eat. But here’s the harsh truth: calories are very imprecise! I’m not saying that as a nutritionist we shouldn’t keep calories into account, they are important, yes, but not the measuring aspect to lose weight. Why? Well, because our bodies are more than simple math equations.
The ancient theory that calories in vs calories out is the only way to track metabolism is long gone and ineffective. Our bodies are complex science projects. Which means that our weight is deeply influenced by not only the amount of food we eat, but also, our hormones, movement, sleeping patterns, stress levels, etc. Apart from that, the food industry has altered food labels so much that now it’s hard to tell whether the calories in those products is accurate or not. Another thing about calories is that it rarely works with our busy lifestyles. We are always on the go, our eating patterns are not perfect, therefore, it is not sustainable to count calories all the time. By following a balanced eating lifestyle in which I kept my protein, healthy fats and fiber in place, I was able to have more food freedom and stay in shape.
Read more: Why counting calories doesn’t work to lose weight
Intuitive eating principles helped me to stay grounded
Believe it or not, intuitive eating principles allowed me to be in the present moment. Basically, I’ve been able to enjoy all varieties of foods while savoring every bite. If you’ve done any type of crazy diet in which you felt guilty after having a piece of cake, then it’s time to reconsider your efforts. Eating healthy should not make you feel like you have to start over or beat yourself up with restrictions. Embrace what you have before you, make conscious but free choices, keeping in mind that life is all about balance. At the end of the day, your weight will not change because you had a salad or because you ate a slice of pizza.
I also make sure I take my vitamins everyday, to stay healthy. I personally take Whole Food Women’s Multivitamin on a daily basis, since they help to boost my energy, support my immunity, as well as keep my metabolism in check. My go-to vitamins are plant-based, and high quality, which include all the vitamins and minerals my body needs. Learn more about this vitamin supplement and get it at discount here:
Read more: The ultimate guide to lose body fat and bloating
Intuitive eating principles allowed me to honor and love my body
When you learn to eat intuitively, you embrace your body and love yourself while on your journey. I needed to point this out because it’s one of the most powerful things I’ve ever experienced in my wellness journey. Honor your body in the present moment. Appreciate where you are in your journey and never compare yourself to nobody else. As the saying goes
Eat and train your body because you love it, not because you hate it!
This is the key to be successful in your weight loss/ fitness process. You have to enjoy the ride and embrace it with grace.
Comparison is the steal of joy!
Especially on social media, you see all these “fitness gurus” and gram models that promote enhanced bodies. This is a dangerous temptation to compare yourself to them and think that you need to do more… It is actually, more unhealthy. You need to follow your own path and remember that everybody is different. Focus on creating lasting habits. That’s how you will truly transform your body, the healthy way.
Read more: How to balance your hormones naturally in 15 ways
Coping with emotions with kindness was a big win!
Also, negative emotions such as grief, pain, stress, anxiety and others can make us look for food for comfort. But, never fall for this! Make sure that you acknowledge your emotions, and cope with them in a healthy way. When I allowed myself to feel all the emotions without relying on food, I felt at ease. I usually talk with my loved ones, a close friend or vent by practicing movement and meditation. Using food as comfort when you are anxious can make you overeat and gain weight. So, one of the best things to do is cope with your emotions by staying close to your loved ones, stay active, go outside, vent. Be kind to yourself at all times and don’t judge.
Read more: 40 high protein low calorie snacks that beat cravings
Intuitive eating principles also helped me to embrace different types of movement
More than doing military type of exercises, focus on getting some movement in. What I mean by this is you can push your body to be fit but don’t go overlimit. Sometimes, we do more harm to our body by over exercising. Also, being extremely hard on ourselves because we can’t achieve a certain level of fitness is damaging to the body and soul. Be gentle and compassionate, prioritize getting active, celebrate small wins. Progress takes time and it is not linear. Wellness is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s better to be consistent at a level of exercise you can handle than to try to be perfect at an athlete level performance. Embrace every improvement with grace.
Finally,
Intuitive eating principles should be part of your daily living, if you want to be successful in the long term. Ditching the diet mentality, making peace with food, staying consistent with a balanced eating lifestyle are just a few of the most important things to do. Be patient and get rid of the food anxiety.
If you need help with achieving a healthy weight and wellness, without food obsessions, from a place of comfort and freedom, I can help! How are you currently embracing a healthy eating lifestyle? Comment below. Sharing is caring.
Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Please note that I’ve linked to these products purely because I recommend them and they are from companies I trust. There is no additional cost to you.
