Three Ways Intuitive Eating Has Changed My Life
Three Ways Intuitive Eating Has Changed My Life
A little over three years ago I found Intuitive Eating and it has turned my world upside down, in the best way possible. (If you aren’t familiar with my disordered eating past, I wrote a blog “Why I Don’t Do Diets” that gives a brief history.) Unlike the false promises that diets make you, the Intuitive Eating concept is very realistic that it is not a quick fix and I can definitely attest to the ups and downs I have had on my own journey to a healthier relationship with food and body image. But here I am, a happier human for it with a much better head space around eating and moving my body and I just want to shout from the rooftops how Intuitive Eating has changed my life!
1.) Food Has No Moral Value. Pre I.E., I definitely subscribed to the idea that there was “good” food and there was “bad” food. And I made it my mission in life to avoid the “bad” foods at all cost. But after a few years of practicing I.E through reading, coaching and extracting as many aspects of diet culture from my life that I could, I realized food has no moral value! All foods have a purpose, whether it is nutritional, emotional or both! The good that the vitamins from leafy greens does to our bodies is just has important as the good a homemade cookie does to our emotional and mental state. Our bodies need carbohydrates, calories and fats to function properly, which all foods consist of. A peach is just has beneficial as a slice of peach pie. When I was able to wrap my head around this concept, it was mind blowing I tell ya!
2.) Food Freedom. Ever heard of the Food Police? During my lowest point of my disordered eating and body image issues, they were governing every decision and thought I had. They controlled what I ate, when I ate and how much I ate. Every aspect of my life was controlled by food. Throughout my Intuitive Eating journey, I have learned to trust my body to lead me to what it needs to survive. No foods are off limit. No rules on when I should eat. I eat when I am hungry and I stop when I am full. I have no more food guilt. I can now enjoy social events, vacations and holidays without being consumed with thoughts about food!
3.) Movement With No Agenda. Before I had made peace with my body (which is a continuous process, it’s definitely not a one and done thing. We are humans with emotions and hormones at the end of the day), I was obsessed with exercise in a very unhealthy way. If I wasn’t able to get my workout in first thing in the morning, I felt like my day was ruined. Now though, I have no more guilt or anxiety about getting a workout in at the start of my day, or at any point at all. I listen to my body and allow it to tell me when and what movement it needs, instead of what diet culture tells me I need. Gone are the days of multiple long, rigorous workout sessions a day. I now go days at a time without a “typical” workout if my body is telling me to rest. And instead of feeling guilty over it or stressing about what it will do to my physique, I embrace the benefits that rest provides my body both physically and mentally.
It’s never too late to trust your body, it took me more than 30 years! Diet culture and society wants to tell you that you can’t trust yourself and you need outside voices to tell you what to eat, when to eat and how to move. But I am here to tell you they are dead wrong. You can find freedom and peace with food and it will change your life. It sure did mine!
Want to learn more about Intuitive Eating? Start here!
Cheers,
Heather McCreight