If I Were an Intuitive Eater, I Would Never Stop Eating   by Sandy Rutherforde

in Health / Weight Loss    (submitted 2011-03-18)

"If I ate intuitively, I would never quit eating!"

As an intuitive eater, I have heard this countless times and right now, I would like to set the record straight. The view that we might not ever stop eating if we ate intuitively is really rooted in the diet mentality. For a number of people, going on a diet program begins a cycle of on again, off again that contributes to overeating, making poor selections and even binging. It causes us to assume our bodies aren't effective at making good choices without the assistance of a point counter, a calorie record or a list of "good" and "bad" food items. And I'm right here to tell you, that just isn't the case.

I devoted a majority of my life on the diet and binge roller coaster and also struggling with a wealth of digestive issues. At the highest, I was 220 pounds of unhappiness and had no idea the damage that dieting was doing. Ultimately, I gave up the continuous approach of counting calories, points and fat grams and swapped them for paying attention to my system's inborn wisdom though intuitive eating.

While in the process, I have done my fair share of binging, eating foods that haven't been kind to my body and I also added some pounds. A part of the process is learning to legalize food and drilling it into my head that absolutely no food is against the rules and I CAN consume anything I would like. I consumed jars of Nutella, pounds of cheese, a great deal of pizza, and a lot of sweets since they were not anymore banned. I ate at restaurants and ordered anything I desired from the menu and I even binged just because I could. And if you, dear reader, made a decision to quit going on a diet right now and start this wonderful journey of eating intuitively, you probably would as well.

But you would stop.

At some point in this process, you'd intuitively know that intuitive eating isn't really about "eating whatever you choose;" intuitive eating concerns honoring health. It's about listening to your body and figuring out that certain foods don't allow you to feel so good. And that particular exercise drives you bananas even while others make you feel totally free.

Finding your way through the eating whatever you want phase is 100% perfectly normal, but I can tell you right now that if your intentions are serious and you wish to heal your relationship with food and also your body, you are going to quit eating in that rebellious, quick and furious manner. You'll no more hunger for "cheat days" and "meals that do not count" since you are going to be free to make that decision each time your body tells you "I'm hungry right now." You are going to instinctively quit once you are full since it will be perfectly obvious to you that yet another meal is only a couple of hours away. You'll honor your spirit by taking care of yourself and food won't have that elusive draw any longer. You'll be intuitive.

Have patience, give it time and trust in the process, have faith in yourself and you will stop.

I did.

About the Author

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive a free mindful eating worksheet, visit http://www.nourishingcircle.com and sign up for the free bi-weekly newsletter. Nourishing Circle is run by Christie Inge, board certified holistic health practitioner who provides her insights about intuitive eating, general well-being and plenty of self-care tips.