I was introduced to the concept of intuitive eating a few months ago when I attended a nutrition course. An intuitive eater is defined as a person who makes food choices without experiencing guilt or an ethical dilemma, a person who honours hunger, respects fullness and enjoys the pleasure of eating. This intuitive eating means considering your hunger, your fullness, your satisfaction. No matter what you eat or why you eat it, nothing is good, and nothing is bad. So, we don’t need to be afraid of food or eating.

I was so excited! This seemed so easy! This seemed so cool!  I could manage this. I had this whole thing waxed. I could make changes quickly and without further ado.

Very quickly I realized that I could not and that this was going to be very very very hard.

I thought I was the absolute bee’s knees when I “intuitively” chose the green side salad over the chips, when actually what I was really wanting were the chips. I convinced myself that my lemon water was what I really desired because I was thirsty when in actual fact I was so hungry that you could hear my tummy rumbling a kilometre away. I made the healthy smoothie, instead of having the bran muffin, because I made myself believe that I was definitely craving the tasty fruit in my smoothie. Absolute nonsense! That Sunday afternoon, when I had the full box of chocolates, was a direct result of my inner voice telling me that that was what I needed, when in reality I should have had 2 chocolates, enjoyed them enormously and then put the box away. Needless to say, I felt awfully sick and yuk and guilt-ridden afterward.

The truth is I did not know how to eat anymore. Years of binge eating followed by periods of starving had made me mistrustful of my body. I had distorted thoughts about food.in my mind, I thought it was good or bad. I feared it and struggled to eat without guilt and with pleasure. However, this is definitely changing. One week, two, three, four and very very slowly I am making progress. I am striving to listen to and take cognisance of the messages that my body and my inner wisdom are providing for me. Two steps forward and then sometimes one step back, but progress nonetheless. I wish I could tell you that I now eat with intuition all the time. I cannot. Not even most of the time. I wish I could tell you that I don’t ever feel guilty after a tasty treat. I cannot. I wish I could tell you that I eat a balanced meal all the time. I cannot.

What I can say is that I feel less guilt, I eat a lot more balanced meals and I definitely listen to my body a great deal more.  Baby steps are now reasons to celebrate. When I can have that bar of chocolate and enjoy it and eat it with love and without guilt, that’s a success. When I can sit quietly and look at a buffet of food and make slow choices based on what I actually feel like, that is a win. When I can have that big glass of fruit juice and do not beat myself up over the fact that I should only be eating my fruit that is a reason to smile and pat myself on the back.

I am becoming aware of how hungry I am and what foods I want to eat. I am definitely trusting my body more. I am pausing between mouthfuls to assess when I am satisfied and have had enough. I am teaching myself that food is neutral and I am definitely nourishing my body much more than I did. What makes me contented, is knowing there are so many more meals ahead of me. Practice makes perfect and when I mess up my choices or make silly decisions, there is the next meal where I can do better. I feel so much more comfortable around food and I am so much more relaxed around food. I understand now that what I do every day is what is important, not what I do now and again. It does not have to be perfect. Balance, variety, and moderation are coming more easily. I am trying to vary my food, balance it and moderate it. It is a very slow process, pretty challenging at times but the end goal makes it so worth it. If this resonates with you, please message me. A problem shared is a problem halved. I would love to be part of your journey to more contented eating.

Wishing you a very happy and guilt-free day.

Tip number 5. I have always strived for, but struggled with, balance. Those scales are forever tipping one way, then the other. However, since embarking on my journey with food and living to eat, I find it is getting easier for me to maintain balance more often than I used to. I try to follow the 80/20 rule. So when I think of the week, the 20 is almost 1 and 1/2 days. So I usually have a tasty treat once during the week and that I consider my 1/2. Then Sundays are my days to really enjoy the foods that might not nourish my body, but certainly, nourish my mind and soul. This way, I don’t feel like I can never have a choc or a piece of cake or white bread with butter and strawberry jam, just not every day. This does not always work, but often it does. Just remember it’s how we consistently live that impacts our health, not what we do every now and again. I really hope that this is helpful for you. See you next week.