What Is Intuitive Eating And Why Am I Doing It?
Every time I post on Instagram about quitting Weight Watchers and adapting the intuitive eating lifestyle, I ALWAYS get DMs asking me what the hell intuitive eating is. OK, let me preface by saying I am not a registered dietitian, I am not an expert, and I am simply sharing my experience.
Why I quit Weight Watchers:
SIGH Here we go. Whenever I bring this up, I get a lot of support which is amazing, but I also get a lot of WW lovers yelling at me in comments or DMs saying WW didn’t give me an eating disorder. Ultimately, here’s my beliefs: Anyone is entitled to do whatever they want and make whatever lifestyle choices they desire. But for me, any sort of eating program where you are rigorously controlling what you eat, is a diet. WW was once in the cards for me, and of course it worked, but it came at a horrible price. I lost so much weight within a year, and the endless comments of support and validation made me feel worthy as a person. I wanted more.
Two years in, I did nothing but think about points and low carb recipes. I worked out until I got injured. I stopped hanging out with my friends because I was so consumed with eating healthy and I didn’t want to risk breaking my streak. I wanted to constantly be in control, and recovery taught me that we are NOT in control — our bodies and mental health need food from us. Restricting it isn’t going to help. After seeing a registered dietitian, she worked with me to adopt an intuitive eating lifestyle.
What is Intuitive Eating?
The idea of intuitive eating is that you trust your body and no food is off limits (unless medically necessary). That means you eat when you’re hungry and you stop when you’re full. That’s…pretty much it. Revolutionary, right? It’s all about listening to your body and understanding what it needs in that moment. Sometimes it’s water, sometimes it’s a salad, and sometimes it’s pizza. No food is off the table (unless for medical reasons) and the point is to be more in tune with your body.
but what if i gain weight back?
Now, anyone joining this lifestyle after getting off the diet train has pretty much the same thought:
But HOW will I stop myself from eating everything in sight?!
I’ll be honest, it was really hard at first. I ate a lot. I still binged. But I finally allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted. That’s the key. After some time, foods I fantasized about stuffing in my mouth in copious amounts (peanut butter, grapes, bagels, etc) held less and less power over me. The more we tell ourselves we can’t have something, the more we want it. When I focused on living my life and traveling, reconnecting with my friends, and dating (hey Jason 😘), the eating disorder quieted. It wasn’t as loud. And I found food freedom. It’s a truly empowering feeling.
The Intuitive Eating book:
My dietitian recommended I read this book and I swear it changed my life. I actually got the audiobook, and I related so hard it was scary. I just kept hearing bits and pieces of my behaviors, and it was alarming. The book really puts things into perspective and I recommend it more than anything. If you find yourself obsessing about food and points or calories, it might be time to pick this up.