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Learning the Basics of Intuitive Eating

Learning the Basics of Intuitive Eating
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Everyone says that you should always listen to your body in order to understand what’s going on, but what happens if you and your body don’t speak the same language? Believe it or not, this happens quite often, so make sure to keep on reading if you want to learn how to act accordingly in a similar situation. Just check out our tips and get down to business!

Learn the basics of intuitive eating

In case you weren’t aware of it, intuitive eating is basically a way of eating that has nothing to do with diets, discipline, meal plans, or willpower. It’s actually about getting back to your roots and learning to trust your body again by tuning into your body signals, breaking the cycle of dieting, and healing your relationship with food. But just we’re listening, does it mean we’re understanding it correctly? Are we actually listening to our body, or using it as an excuse to give in to our cravings?

Let’s make this a bit clearer: have you ever heard of the term ‘pica’? Doctors use it to describe craving and chewing substances that have no nutritional value, such as ice or paper. Chewing ice is often associated with iron deficiency – with or without anemia – as well as with emotional problems such as stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

However, you craving ice while having iron deficiency obviously doesn’t mean you’ll heal your iron deficiency with ice since it contains zero nutrients. Eating spinach with a side of lemonade, taking magnesium supplements, or tucking into leafy greens are far better ways to do it, but that’s not what you’re craving, is it?

So, even if we ditch the diet mentality completely and fine-tune our ears to our gut, how do we actually interpret its signals?

The difference between intentional and indulgent eating

Years of intentional eating have taught me that food equals medicine, which means that you can significantly improve your overall health condition if you start paying more attention to what you’re eating. As simple as that! This means that you should stay away from processed foods and switch to whole foods instead so that you completely change your eating habits for the better. For example, intermittent fasting is a great way to eat healthily and maintain a healthy weight, and a lot of people, including me, will say that it’s a better way to eat.

It also means that you should be more mindful of your food choices in order to put your body to the test and analyze your reactions when you’re really hungry. Intermittent fasting will help you realize that eating is all about feeding your body with nutrients it needs to function properly, instead of just eating for pleasure and for the sake of enjoyment. So, if you decide to commit to intermittent fasting in order to heal your body and nourish it properly, but you still want to lose some weight at the same time, you should definitely try out some natural appetite suppressants to outsmart the incessant feelings of hunger and see what’s actually happening when you’re craving.

Eat seasonally and listen to your gut

Eating seasonal foods should be your top priority if you want to stay as healthy and energized as possible, so do your research and look for quality foods that will nourish your whole body. Trust me when I say that it’s not that challenging at all, even though it takes some time and goodwill at first.

Did you know that eating seasonally applies only to fruits and vegetables, whereas other foods such as meats and fish are always in season? We bet you didn’t, so bear that in mind before you start your research. Your main goal is to identify the foods and ingredients that don’t make you feel good once you eat them – not because they aren’t fresh or because they aren’t seasonal, but only because your body doesn’t respond to them in the right way.

Of course, everyone knows that eating seasonally can be a bit tricky, so be sure to stick to it just for a couple of months, until you figure out which ingredients should be eliminated from your diet. On the other hand, you should listen to your gut as well, so do your best to take notes on your needs and requirements about food.

Do that at least for a week, but make sure to forget about all the prejudices you may have about particular kinds of food for whatever reason. This means that you should pay attention to every single part of your body before a meal, immediately after it, and a couple of hours after it, without drawing any conclusions right away. When that’s done, you’ll be able to tell what types of food you should eat and which ones you should avoid.

As you can see, there are a lot of things you have to take into consideration once you realize that you and your body don’t speak the same language. If that’s the case with you, all you need to do is to stick to our tips and guidelines and you won’t make a mistake. You’ll see a huge difference once you embrace intuitive eating, so make that happen and success is guaranteed, without a shadow of a doubt!
Written by Lauren Laporte
Lauren Laporte is a regular health and wellness blogger at ripped.me, as well as a survivor of many restrictive dietary regimes. She loves writing about her journey of renouncing the prescriptive approach to nutrition and advocating for mindful and observation practice when it comes to eating. Your body is speaking to you. Your job is to listen quietly, not force interpretations. It’s her life-goal to spread this wisdom to as many people as possible so that they can tune out of restrictions, and tune in to their own bodies.
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