I just realized this past month, that those of us trying to make intuitive eating a way of life, can never really take a break from being in tune with what we’re nourishing our bodies with. 🙁 This realization brought me to a lightbulb moment…losing weight and keeping it off via intuitive eating is as demanding and needy as anyone you are in a relationship with (family, friends, lovers, pets).
Intuitive eating demands that you always “check-in” with yourself before you take a bite of anything…to determine whether you are “really” hungry or are just trying to keep yourself from being: sad, concerned, bored, lonely, tired, fill in the blank.
If it turns out that you are “truly” hungry and are eating, you have to “check-in” again and decide when you’re satisfied enough to stop eating (for me its just about reminding myself that we’re fortunate enough not to live in a third world country and I will always have access to food the next time I’m hungry, so there is no need to scarf down all the food around me). 😛 It seems like a silly thing to have to remind myself of, but it does keep me from over eating…when I truly “check in” with myself. Unfortunately, my life, as I’m sure everyone elses is, is not always “quiet” enough for me to “check-in” with myself at the times I need to. So what I’ve come to realize is that I have to work at it, much like we all work at maintaining any relationship. It just so happens this relationship is with food.
I don’t know about you, but my relationship with food has gotten me through so much…the good, the bad and the ugly 😉
It’s never been just about what food is truly meant for – nourishment. So ignoring my “check-in” points, and returning to food as a soothing comfort is second nature for me…heck, I’ve been doing it for most of my adult life.
However, because my body had time to get used to functioning at a lower weight, ignoring my body cues for a month has left me feeling discomfort from over eating and that discomfort has led me to become self aware again and I’m now willing to begin to listen to my “check-in” points again.
I never said my weight loss, nor any weight loss journey was easy, but I’ve found intuitive eating is a great tool for me when I’m willing to be tuned in and not so much when I let life take me over. As I started to analyze this, I realized that the same thing can be said for any failing relationship. When things are good, it seems nothing can derail you from enjoying your great relationship, however when life throws curve balls, we tend to close ourselves off and return to comforts, what ever that may be. It just so happens that for me it’s food, but I’m back in tune to seeing food for what it is…nourishment, and not my long lost BFF 🙂
What comforts you when life isn’t going “well”? What is your relationship with food…friend or foe?
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When I first started losing weight doing these little check-ins were key. I found myself eating a lot when I was bored, especially if the TV was on in front of me. Now what I typically do instead is grab some fruit or a bottle of water if I feel that urge. Much healthier! 🙂
I’m getting there Katie…its a work in progress, but love hearing success stories – Thanks for sharing 🙂