How to Eat Intuitively

It’s extremely important to have a healthy relationship with food, especially in this day and age.

However, this is easier said than done when the whole world seems to be body obsessed, with every magazine telling us how we should look in order to feel attractive and acceptable.

This is unfortunately, the case for both men and women and the extreme pressure that is felt is unnecessary.

How many hours have you spent regretting what you have eaten? Only to feel overwhelmed with guilt and convincing yourself you are worthless in the process? Well, you aren’t alone, as I myself must have wasted thousands of hours, if not more on this.

But one day I said to myself, “no more!” I choose to live a happy and healthy life and absolutely refused to let the “food police” run my thoughts anymore.

How did I do this? Well, through Intuitively eating. This process was not easy, even though the name suggests it.

How difficult could it be to listen to ourselves and take our own advice? Well, this advice is usually blocked out already or being screamed over by the countless amount of diet books you’ve read.

So that little intuitive voice we have needs to be dug up!

Below are a few ways in which you can begin to do this right now, and yes, they are all free because they come from within.

 

You worth is not in what you eat

 

Crazy right? Isn’t what determines how we feel on a day-to-day basis depends on how much food we consume? Wrong, even though this is exactly what a lot of us do. You need to start screaming a loud NO to those thoughts in your head. Simply do not allow yourself to feel bad if you have eaten a slice of cake. It is not worth it.

And quite frankly, by beating yourself up about it, you will probably just end up eating more- if not the entire cake itself, which leads to more guilt. You are worth more than this, and you deserve better. Life is not about being thin and your values definitely should not be placed on that concept.

Having values that are easy to obtain will make you feel great every day. Perhaps you would enjoy helping out at your local charity center or dog shelter. This will make you feel good, and if you do train your mind to have deep values based upon this, you will live a happy life.

So let yourself off the hook, and get realistic about what creates happiness, as that surely is not obsessing over food every day. This also means that it is best to not judge certain foods- meaning to not name some “good” or “bad”. Just aim to consume nutritious foods all of your life.

 

Don’t use food to avoid emotions

 

We have all done it. As soon as we get stressed out, reaching for those high carb foods seems a much better option, than actually feeling and dealing with the emotional pain, that is currently going through our mind and bodies. But what will the packet of crisps do? Just make you feel worse in the long term.

This doesn’t only lead to you gaining weight- but the crisps will also change the chemical balance in your brain, and cause you to feel sluggish after you’ve eaten them. This will obviously affect your mood, thus making the situation you are in much worse.

Is it really worth sacrificing today for tomorrow? Well if your reading this article, then you’re probably on the verge of reeling it in, or are absolutely sure that it is not.

However this is easier said than done, and what you will need to do is find another activity that can give you the same satisfaction that eating does. Such as reading, painting, swimming, jogging or even taking a relaxing hot bubble bath. As long as you are not eating to distract yourself from anxiety, loneliness, anger or boredom, then you are on the right path.

 

Exercise

 

One of the main mistakes that people make while exercising is focusing on how many calories they are burning. Let’s be honest, if you want to exercise to lose weight, you might as well not even bother. For instance, it takes 8 hours of cycling to burn off approx. 3 doughnuts, I mean, really?

You might be shocked while reading this, perhaps even thinking well while else would I exercise? Well, exercise brings so much more benefits to your life both physically and emotionally, in a number of ways. For starters not only does it increase your mood but it also reduces your risk of developing diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer by up to 50%.

From now on exercise at your own pace, whether you are just starting out for the first time in your life or have been at it for 20 years. Whether going for a brisk walk in the morning or getting up and putting on your running shoes for a 5-mile jog, just remember to enjoy it, really feel your body and how much it appreciates moving comfortably.

Don’t allow yourself to feel intimated by the three methods we provided you with above. Take them step by step if you like, easing yourself into each one. Then once you get the hang of it then you can move to the next until you are intuitively eating with no help at all.