Intuitive Eating Questions: Do I Really Want To Eat This?
Disclaimer: This blog is for informational and educational purposes only and aren’t a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.
I thought it would be fun to share some of the top questions I've struggled with while on my intuitive eating journey and what I've learned about them!
1. Do I really want to eat that? Am I just eating this out of habit? Am I eating this as a big F you to diet culture?
Learning to trust your body, especially at the start or early stages of your intuitive eating journey is going to be one of the hardest parts. There's so much curiosity and exploration that happens during your entire journey but especially at the start. We are used to our diets being complex and having tons of rules to follow and we aren't used to eating without those rules. It's super normal to wish there were rules to follow because it's what we're used to. It takes time to develop trust in your body's innate wisdom.
Our whole lives, diet culture has taught us not to trust our body's wisdom, to live by rules and ignore all cues from our body so, naturally, tuning in, listening, and trusting is going to take time. This conditioning has taught us that there is a right answer to should I eat this. However, intuitive eating is learning that there is no arbitrary right answer, just a "right for me, right now" answer, and only you can answer that.
I found that early on in my journey I would often overthink a lot. For me the biggest thing has been learning to be present in my body more and less in my head. This journey should be playful and exploratory, there is no right and wrong, just a lot of curiosity towards "how does this feel."
Experimentation with food is one of the most important aspects for learning what you like/want/need and when you like/want/need it. Just because a certain food feels a specific way right now, doesn't mean it will always feel that way. Trust takes time to earn. Your body needs to trust that you aren't going to deprive it again.
So, how do you know if you really want to eat that or if you're just eating it because it's a habit, or an F U to diet culture, or if you're eating it because it was something you’ve always been deprived of and now that you have no restrictions you want it all the time?
Experiment! Try things out. You'll learn to discern what your different feelings and cravings are. You'll be thrilled and mess up and it'll be messy and weird and fun, but it's the only way to learn.
Let me know if this was helpful or if you have questions you'd like me to answer in the comments below!
Ps. Don't miss out on my FREE MASTERCLASS ON INTUITIVE EATING!!! I'm so thrilled to have this offering to share and introduce people to this incredible and healing journey that has transformed my life. Join me on Oct 20 from 6-8pm MT.