Re: What intuitive eating is NOT

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much.  I needed to hear this and get back on course.  I have returned to " level one " and just been eating whatever I wanted, no forbidden foods, but I have also added the eat whenever I want instead of when I am hungry. It's way past time for me to re-read the book but I seem to be having some very strong resistance to that even. I know what I am doing is not working because I feel so awful.  I guess that's good because at least I am listening to my body if not always following it's lead. I did not get into the Easter candy or the Birthday cake  except to have one piece of candy and found I did not even like it that much.  And I had one small piece of the cake and a little ice cream but then didn't want more.  And it was a decadent chocolate cake too. I even went to the store where I almost end up buying 2 candy bars and made it out the door without buying any.  I told myself I could come back if I really still wanted the candy. And often the craving will pass. I am having a hard time right now though and am glad for your sharing this information.  I am making a copy of it so I can read it every day.  Thanks. Sandy

 

Hi all,

Just wanted to share something that came in my inbox today. I thought it really hit the nail on the head, both in terms of my own IE struggles as well as some of the struggles I have seen others post here.

http://www.nourishingcircle.com/what-intuitive-eating-is-not/

A few quotes that resonated with me:

" If you find that you are using intuitive eating as permission to binge, it can be a sign that you have more work in the emotional eating arena to do. "

" Yes, part of intuitive eating is about legalizing foods but it isn't permission to eat whatever you want, whenever you want. It is about listening to your body, not your mind. "

" Being an intuitive eater doesn't mean you can't be gluten free, dairy free, vegan, high raw, whatever. Intuitive eating is about banishing those rules that surround the " hard core " way of thinking about such lifestyles. "

How many of you, like me, have gotten away from the crucial " listening to your body's hunger/satiety signals " part and focused more on the " no dieting rules! eat eat eat! " part?

Sara

[Guest guest]

If you have decided to never, ever eat X,

how can you not have some hard core rules?

I would say that it's a mental thing.

On the one hand...

If you decide not to eat X because you are scared of putting on

weight, then you are making your decision out of fear. Back to the

old diet mentality!

On the other hand...

If you make an informed decision not to eat X for a medical reason

(e.g. a nut allergy), a health reason (because it's not good for

you), or a moral reason ("I don't eat animals"), then it is entirely

different. You are making a reasoned, thoughtful decision, not from

fear but from self-care or care of others.

Paddy

[Guest guest]

I wasn't thinking so much of food allergies or intolerances as things like " high raw " or any other food lifestyle, for that matter, where it's a choice and not a necessity. i don't think the rules of IE are relevant with things like nut allergies, where of course you MUST have hard core rules about them. (as a medical provider who has treated patients in anaphylactic shock, allergies are not something people are willing to mess around with, and after a bad experience, they generally NEVER want to eat their trigger foods. likewise, patients with gluten intolerance and wheat products.) i'm also leaving out food aversions for other reasons -- animal products for vegans who avoid them for ethical reasons, people who had food poisoning, etc. after all, it's easy to avoid those foods.

my feeling, again, is that the author was referring to foods that people CHOOSE not to eat. it's obvious to me that it's easy to avoid foods that make you sick, physically or morally. 

 

 

I don't have a grip on this one either. What exactly does " banishing those rules that surround the 'hard core' way of thinking about such lifestyles " ???That's a lot of words without actually saying anything! 

If you have decided to never, ever eat X, how can you not have some hard core rules??? I think it depends on why. You could be vegetarian for moral or religious reasons, meat may repulse you as a result, and then it's not a punishment to avoid it. Over the holidays I ate a lot of wintergreen lifesavers. I got food poisoning and I will not eat them now.  The smell makes me ill. That is not setting me up for a binge and it's not a losing weight rule. 

I do have to be careful about health rules. Orthorexia runs in my family and I can see myself going down that road. It's a fight for me. I do sometimes consider trying not eating something temporarily, but it's a slippery slope. 

[Guest guest]

I wasn't thinking so much of food allergies or intolerances as things like " high raw " or any other food lifestyle, for that matter, where it's a choice and not a necessity. i don't think the rules of IE are relevant with things like nut allergies, where of course you MUST have hard core rules about them. (as a medical provider who has treated patients in anaphylactic shock, allergies are not something people are willing to mess around with, and after a bad experience, they generally NEVER want to eat their trigger foods. likewise, patients with gluten intolerance and wheat products.) i'm also leaving out food aversions for other reasons -- animal products for vegans who avoid them for ethical reasons, people who had food poisoning, etc. after all, it's easy to avoid those foods.

my feeling, again, is that the author was referring to foods that people CHOOSE not to eat. it's obvious to me that it's easy to avoid foods that make you sick, physically or morally. 

 

 

I don't have a grip on this one either. What exactly does " banishing those rules that surround the 'hard core' way of thinking about such lifestyles " ???That's a lot of words without actually saying anything! 

If you have decided to never, ever eat X, how can you not have some hard core rules??? I think it depends on why. You could be vegetarian for moral or religious reasons, meat may repulse you as a result, and then it's not a punishment to avoid it. Over the holidays I ate a lot of wintergreen lifesavers. I got food poisoning and I will not eat them now.  The smell makes me ill. That is not setting me up for a binge and it's not a losing weight rule. 

I do have to be careful about health rules. Orthorexia runs in my family and I can see myself going down that road. It's a fight for me. I do sometimes consider trying not eating something temporarily, but it's a slippery slope. 

[Guest guest]

I wasn't thinking so much of food allergies or intolerances as things like " high raw " or any other food lifestyle, for that matter, where it's a choice and not a necessity. i don't think the rules of IE are relevant with things like nut allergies, where of course you MUST have hard core rules about them. (as a medical provider who has treated patients in anaphylactic shock, allergies are not something people are willing to mess around with, and after a bad experience, they generally NEVER want to eat their trigger foods. likewise, patients with gluten intolerance and wheat products.) i'm also leaving out food aversions for other reasons -- animal products for vegans who avoid them for ethical reasons, people who had food poisoning, etc. after all, it's easy to avoid those foods.

my feeling, again, is that the author was referring to foods that people CHOOSE not to eat. it's obvious to me that it's easy to avoid foods that make you sick, physically or morally. 

 

 

I don't have a grip on this one either. What exactly does " banishing those rules that surround the 'hard core' way of thinking about such lifestyles " ???That's a lot of words without actually saying anything! 

If you have decided to never, ever eat X, how can you not have some hard core rules??? I think it depends on why. You could be vegetarian for moral or religious reasons, meat may repulse you as a result, and then it's not a punishment to avoid it. Over the holidays I ate a lot of wintergreen lifesavers. I got food poisoning and I will not eat them now.  The smell makes me ill. That is not setting me up for a binge and it's not a losing weight rule. 

I do have to be careful about health rules. Orthorexia runs in my family and I can see myself going down that road. It's a fight for me. I do sometimes consider trying not eating something temporarily, but it's a slippery slope.