Trusting Your Body

Do you remember a time in your life when you simply ate when you were hungry and stopped when you were full? When you didn't have to put any thought into it, you just showed up to the meal, enjoyed what you were eating, and left the table satisfied to go and do something else? Many people have to think back to childhood to remember this effortless relationship with food. 

You may feel sad, discouraged or even resentful that you lost this intuitive, natural ability to feed yourself, but, the good news is, no matter how long it's been (or if you were ever able), you can learn to eat intuitively again. It is innate in humans to be able to listen to their hunger and fullness and let their body guide their choices. 

With consistent, reliable eating patterns supporting you, you can start tuning into, and eventually rely on, your hunger & fullness.

This process includes:

• Practicing permission with food

• Habituation to trigger foods

• Allowing preference as well as nutrition/health to be part of your choices

• Using gentle menu planning to support intuitive eating

• Normal social eating

• Mindful comfort eating.

Becoming an intuitive eater means you never have to follow a prescriptive diet. You never have to measure your food. You have no need to monitor your weight because your body maintains it without you trying to control it. You can trust your appetite. You can enjoy food without guilt or external limitations. 

And, maybe most importantly, food is just one aspect of your life. It exists in proper perspective with all the other things that are important to you. For those who've struggled with food and weight, the attention paid is out of proportion. Learning to reconnect with your body's ability to regulate your appetite and weight frees up a lot of space in your head and in your life. It's like breathing a big sigh of relief.