Conflicting health advice being passed around the internet is overwhelming and likely stopping you from pursuing Intuitive Eating. If you only knew the facts, you could finally make peace with food. Read on to find out more.
Myth #1: Intuitive Eating is about eating pizza and ice cream all the time
Rejecting the diet mentality feels so liberating. At the beginning of becoming an intuitive eater, the foods that were previously off-limits are naturally going to be the most exciting. We’ve been chronically hungry, so of course, they taste especially good. It’s our body’s way of protecting us from the perceived famine we’ve endured. But as the process goes, once we habituate ourselves to the former ‘forbidden fruits’, they start to lose their appeal. When our bodies and brains understand that these foods can be enjoyed anytime anywhere, they become neutral. After the honeymoon phase wears off, the variety of foods we desire expands.
If this all sounds logical but impossible to experience for yourself, it’s likely that you still have some mental restriction going on. Labeling foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ will keep you stuck in a cycle of cravings followed by guilt. Without forcing the process, you can eventually get to the final principle, gentle nutrition, where you’re eating foods that you enjoy and make you feel good.
Myth #2: Intuitive Eating is as easy as eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full
Hunger is one of many valid reasons why we eat. Sometimes we eat for the taste of something that looks or smells delicious. Other times we eat as a coping mechanism for uncomfortable emotions. Sometimes we eat for practicality like fueling up for a long, busy day.
When we’ve chronically dieted, we only know the extreme ends of the hunger and fullness scale. We’ve become desensitized to the subtle cues of hunger and fullness. This is why it’s common to eat to the point of discomfort. With practice, however, we eventually eat from an embodied place, rather than overthinking the experience.
Myth #3: Weight loss is a part of Intuitive Eating
Tons of diets are now promoting weight loss while co-opting Intuitive Eating. Every person who begins Intuitive Eating after years of dieting will have a different outcome – some lose, some gain, some stay the same. Not one is better than the other. Learning to trust your body will change the relationship from being chaotic to peaceful.
Myth#4: People with health conditions can’t practice Intuitive Eating
Intuitive Eating can be a great complement to medical nutrition therapy. For example, people with diabetes may find themselves in a binge-restrict cycle with carbs since they’re so demonized by wellness culture. Intuitive Eating would help these people honor their hunger, make peace with carbs, and encourage them to observe how foods make them feel, giving them autonomy over how to manage their condition. Having autonomy makes people more likely to sustain self-care habits since they don’t feel so restricted.
If diets worked, Americans wouldn’t be spending $58 billion dollars a year to lose weight. It’s time for a new way of engaging with food. One that is free of rules and promotes body respect. If you are tired of chasing health through diet after diet, you’ll want to grab a free copy of my guide to wellness culture.
