Intuitive eating is an up and down journey that is not linear and not a step by step process. Even Evelyn Tribole who spearheaded this concept states this in her book.
So it is totally normal if you go from dieting for years, even decades, to just simply eating everything and anything because Intuitive Eating means eat whatever you want right?
Yes and no.
Once you learn all foods fit, and diets don’t work, and you are able to listen to your hunger and fullness cues, it doesn’t stop there.
You need to add gentle nutrition.
Are donuts ok to eat? Yup. All foods fit remember? There are no such thing as “good” or “bad” foods. But after eating them oh I don’t know, 2-3 days in a row, do you really want to? Probably not. Your body will tell you, it will say hey, kinda feel not so great eating this all the time, let’s add something else to this-maybe some yogurt or something to give me energy.
Let’s take pizza for example. As a true Chicagoan, I LOVE pizza. I can maybe eat it two days in a row tops, but after the 3rd of fourth day, not really.
Recently, I wanted to take a break from working at my desk at home on a Friday Morning and stop by the coffee shop down the street to snag a Boston creme donut. They just recently started selling them there which was so exciting to me as they stopped selling donuts right after the pandemic ended. I got myself the last one (it was waiting for me). I then decided since the weather was so nice that day, to eat it on the bench by the lake.
I went to that same coffee shop again that weekend and only aimed for a pumpkin spiced latte, even though they had an abundant supply of those donuts. It just didn’t appeal to me, and I had a hearty breakfast before I went there. But I do know that I can have that Boston Creme donut anytime since I believe now that all foods fit. But I wanted to make sure I incorporated something a little more nutrient dense to power through my projects for the day.
You are definitely not perpetuating diet culture if your body is telling you it wants a salad today, or to lay off the donuts for a few days. Your body is always communicating with you, listen to that. And yes, this takes practice.
It’s totally normal to go from one extreme to other when trying to stop dieting at the beginning and rid yourself of the diet mentality. But true Intuitive Eating is listening to your body whether it is telling you it wants a donut for comfort and satisfaction or a salad and some eggs for energy and nutrients. Of course, there is so much more to this too, and I go deeper on this topic and more in my 1:1 Private Coaching program. If interested, apply at the link here to see if it would be a good fit. Click this link to Apply.
Deanna Kozarov LLC 