A reader e-mailed and asked me the question, "How does the concept of Intuitive Eating go along with the gospel principles of putting off the natural man and resisting temptation?" I want to answer this question in a post because it is a question I have asked myself A LOT.
So there were times throughout my recovery journey where I was skeptical of Intuitive Eating and even times where I was convinced it wasn't the way to go and went back to "dieting". But that never worked so I always found myself back at Intuitive Eating. Throughout my recovery experiences I have come to the point where I 100% agree with MOST of the concepts of Intuitive Eating. Here's what I agree with:
*Eat when you are gently hungry and stop when you are comfortably full. (of course there is no such thing as perfect eating, its okay to indulge a little on Sunday dinners and once in a while opportunities for extra delicious food)
*obviously I agree with the Hunger/ Fullness scale
*Eat mindfully, enjoy your meals and make them pleasurable. Try to achieve satisfaction at every meal.
*Fad Diets DON'T work and they are definitely NOT good for your body.
*Make peace with food, Don't make food the enemy, its okay to LOVE and ENJOY your food!
*Listen to your body and how it feels.
Okay so that is the Gist of it and I 100% agree with all of these things. Here's what I don't agree with:
* Gentle Nutrition. I think it needs to be a little LESS gentle. We DO need to have self discipline and be smart about the nutrients, vitamins, minerals, whole grains, fruits and veggies we are putting into our bodies. Our bodies NEED healthy nutrients to function at their BEST. That being said, I think its still important to love the food we eat and ENJOY the food we eat, so I think its all about BALANCE and finding healthy foods that taste good to us. We don't need to be rigid or obsessive about our diets but we do need to be mindful about our health. So yea lets be smart about what we eat but also enjoy a treat when we truly want it. Remember to keep balance and moderation in mind and pay attention to how our bodies feel. A good healthy meal feels good in your body but I'm pretty sure a cookie is good for the soul :)
Hey, I am not completely disagreeing with Intuitive Eating, it saved my life. There was a point when that was what I really really needed to get over my fear, obsession and rigidity with food. My relationship with food got to the point it is now by working on Intuitive Eating for 4 years and truly deciding that I love eating healthy. I don't feel restricted by dieting rules, instead I feel like I CHOOSE to eat healthy. I honestly can have a cookie when I want it, and I thoroughly enjoy it, but sometimes my body is saying I really would rather have some strawberries or something. So maybe I do completely agree with Intuitive Eating because the process got me to where I am now. I'm not obsessed with food anymore, food is in its place. I enjoy food, I LOVE IT! But its just food and I my relationship with it is healthier than ever! I never feel out of control with food anymore and I don't fear it. WOWZER never thought I would say that one. Of course I do have my bad body image days but SERIOUSLY in this world who freaking wouldn't! ha ha But my body image isn't connected to my self-esteem or how I feel about myself as a person anymore and THAT is AMAZING!
In the newly updated "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet that just came out it says:
"To care for your body eat nutritious foods, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. Practice BALANCE and MODERATION in all aspects of your physical health. Also, avoid extremes in diet that could lead to eating disorders." - I was SO HAPPY when I read that! I think that's KEY- BALANCE and MODERATION in all aspects of your physical health.
So to answer the question YES I do think we need to put off the natural man and apply some self discipline to our food choices. But we also need to avoid rigidity, obsession and extremes that lead to Eating Disorders. So keep it BALANCED and enjoy your chocolate. Because life is meant to be enjoyed people, not just endured! :)
TIPS:
*When treating yourself to a treat resist thinking the thought "I shouldn't be having this" the whole time you are eating it. That just ruins the satisfaction factor. ENJOY it, SAVOR it! yummy treats are part of a balanced, healthy diet.
*When choosing or fixing a meal keep two things in mind: health AND satisfaction. It is possible to achieve both!
*When fixing a meal think what can I do to make this meal healthier? (Like tonight I mashed cauliflower into our mashed potatoes and my husband doesn't even know it. AND they were SOOOOO good!)
*It's all about making small little changes :)
Tune into my next post where I will talk about the sacredness of our bodies and WHY it is SO important for us to take care of them...
Thank you thank you thank you!
ReplyDeleteI love it meg!!! Excellent!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post. I am a huge fan of intuitive eating and intuitive exercising and intuitive pretty much everything else.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have an eating disorder but I have applied the principles to my life in nearly every area and I have found more happiness than ever before. Balance and moderation based on what we feel is best for us is the key. We need to make sure to listen to our bodies and not to what others tell us. They are not us and they don't know what we need yet many times we give them ear when we shouldn't. So basically what is right for one person is right for them and may not be right for anybody else. We all need to take the time to listen to ourselves and find out what is right for us. Like you said in your post, we need to "pay attention to how our bodies feel." That is HUGE!
I was introduced to intuitive eating through my best friend when she was at the Center for Change as well. It literally saved her life as well. What a blessing intuitive eating has been to many people that I know.
Thanks for sharing. I am really impressed that you are putting yourself out there and sharing your journey with the world. Keep posting because you are making a difference!!
This is one hurdle I just cannot get over in my recovery :( In fact it's pretty much the one thing I need to be brave enough to do so that I can break out of this ED nonsense! Yet I keep myself 'safe' by counting every calorie I eat so that I can be sure I haven't 'overeaten' and gone over the set amount my dietician told me was right for me. It's just too scary to trust my body! How do you stop worrying that you truly haven't overdone it? I hear the balance and moderation thing but I just can't tell what is balanced or moderate for me as an individual. I just freak out not following a meal plan with a set calorie limit. Grrr! Lol.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your comments! :) Kate- I think you hit it head on when you said "I need to be BRAVE" In recovery you are making the most progress when you feel uncomfortable, vulnerable, and unsafe. That is why its so gosh dang hard! I remember when I started Intuitive Eating I thought I was going to gain SOOOO much weight, I felt out of control, and it was really really scary. But its what you HAVE to do in order to recover. And over time it gets easier and less scary and you realize your biggest fears of LETTING GO don't come true but instead you find FREEDOM from ED! Which is so so worth the uncomfortablness let me tell you. But I know how hard it is. IT IS SO HARD. It helped me to change my mind set about my body...Our bodies NEED food, we are taking care of them when we are feeding them. AND God made our bodies to have hunger and fullness cues. Our bodies are AMAZING! They really do take care of themselves when we are in tune with them and treat them with respect. Hopefully this helps. Dare to take that leap of faith and put both of your feet in recovery. you HAVE to do the hard part if its ever going to get better. And also you have to be willing to love your body at its natural set point. With Intuitive Eating if you need to gain weight you will, if you need to lose it you will, if you need to stay the same you will. It all depends on where your body wants to be for its optimal TRUE health. Make healing your relationship with food your main goal instead of obsessing over the number on the scale. So if that is a road block it could help to work on that too. But sometimes we have to take the leap of faith and go for it before we know everything is going to be okay. Good luck! "Punch fear in the face!" :)
ReplyDeleteYou've just given me a much-needed reality check - thank you! In amongst all the mind-filling struggles that take over every minute of every day it's so easy to forget about being a child of God, about the fact that he created me, and there is no way he intended me to control my body in such an unnatural way :( The thing you said about Him creating us with hunger cues is something I never even thought of! If He wanted us to be obsessive and rigid over something that is intended to be natural then He'd have made it known to us! It's basic Word of Wisdom :) But still scary when you've got years of a mental disorder ingrained like an eating disorder, as you know too well.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to print what you wrote - so I can remind myself of your sensible and incredibly helpful words :) Thank you again!
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This really is an awesome post. It sounds to me like you have done Intuitive Eating exactly as it is meant to be. It's hard, though, like you said. It's hard to believe after years of either following or breaking diet rules, that I really can trust my body. But I'm trying!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog. It is so great!