10 Tips for “Mastering” Your Intuitive Eating Journey

EPISODE 156: You may have noticed that in the past year, I haven't discussed intuitive eating or body image - the premise of this show for about two and a half years. That's because I made a conscious decision in mid-2016 to talk more about spirituality, mindset, abundance, fears, love, relationships and other things which I realized were underlying factors of most food and body issues. When our relationships are spinning out of control, we try to gain back control through our food choices. When we're in the middle of making a big decision and we're afraid of making the wrong one, we turn to our food and our body all over again to gain some sort of control. Once you start to get a better grasp of a sense of control when you can and surrender control when you cannot control things, the body image becomes more apparent to your life. Today, I'm going to share with you a chapter of the book I've worked on for two months. The title of the book is The Weight of Intuitive Eating (as of right now) and it contains TONSSSS of tips and principles that I collected through my personal intuitive eating journey. I hope you enjoy this episode- please do let me know your thoughts by commenting below! Show notes: Want to have a taste of the Hot Cacao Mushroom mix and the Viking mix that I just can't have enough of? Go to foursigmatic.com and use the code "maddy" to get 10% off your purchase. If you're tired from hustling and want to regain freedom and control over your life, listen to my podcast with Taylor Conroy. Intuitive Eating is the nutrition philosophy where one learns to make food choices based on their body's natural signals. Learn more about the definition of intuitive eating in the book Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program that Works (Evelyn Tribole, Elyse Resch) Eating lunch at Whole Foods, I broke down as I stressed to my mom how guilty I felt over eating "too much" and consuming "too many" calories in just one meal. I was letting an uneducated comparison ruin a perfectly decent and beautiful meal. I had no information about the people sitting around me but I was obsessively comparing the meal I just ate to what they were eating. Food is just food. It's not life, not our identity! Do not compare your intuitive journey to others. The more you get away from technology during this process the better! Intuitive eating isn't a flawless process. There are at least 100 other examples from where that came from. Principle #1: Neutralize All Food. When you neutralize your food, you will no longer begin to see food as good or bad. Principle #2: Separate Morality From Food Choices. Our society is setting us up to think that our character relies on our dietary habits because of all the recent media focused on food morality. Principle #3: Let Go Of Intentions/Expectations. Instead of expecting to compensate for food by doing a workout or eating extra light, let go of these assumptions or intentions.  Principle #4: Ask Yourself "What Sounds Good To Eat?" Intuition is based on a feeling, a desire, a sensation, a gut instinct. Your body knows way more than you think it does, and in order to learn from it, you must ask. The simple act of asking yourself what you want shows a great deal of respect for your intuition. Principle #5: Ask Yourself "How Do I Want To Feel After This Meal?" Don't ask yourself what is this going to do to me but instead ask what is this going to do for me? Principle #6: Accept Imperfections. One part of intuitive eating is listening to your hunger and fullness cues. Gain what you can from each eating experience but don't dwell on it. Principle #7: Eat When You're NOT Hungry. Chances are, you're going to be in a situation where you are offered something you want but you're not hungry. Don't stress about it and just eat what you want. Life happens so eat when you're not hungry but be mindful ...