What Intuitive Eating Looks Like For Me
Learning to eat intuitively has been essential to making peace with my body and food. So what does intuitive eating look like for me? Well, you're in luck because today I'm going to go through each thing I eat throughout the day and show you exactly what it looks like for me to eat intuitively.
I want to start this off by quickly mentioning that me sharing with you what I ate on this particular day is not supposed to be a plan for you or tell you what you need to eat. I'm sharing my eats to only help you see how intuitive eating guides me through the day.
Also, if you're new to the whole concept or idea of intuitive eating, let me give you the rundown.
Intuitive eating is simply eating intuitively. It's listening to your body and inner signals to help you determine what and when and how to eat. Where oftentimes in society we're told to let calorie count or specific times dictate what and when to eat, intuitive eating means eating when you're hungry or wanting food and letting your fullness and satiety guide you to stop eating. It's an archaic concept, I know, but each of you have this ability to eat intuitively...you just have to push aside what society tells you with this regard.
Ok, so without further adieu, here's what intuitive eating looks like for me.
6:00 AM- I had my alarm set for 4:30 this morning, but the windy breeze blowing in the window and cozy covers kept me in bed. Also, I've just been really exhausted lately, so maybe sleeping in until 6:00 was really needed. Anyways, I woke up and made my "special" coffee that I've been into lately, adding a teaspoon of coconut oil and dash of cinnamon to it, then blending it on high for a few seconds before pouring the frothy goodness in my cup. This coconut oil coffee seems to do wonders for waking up my brain and getting the juices flowing when I'm not quite ready for a meal, but still wanting some substance. I drank this cup slowly while doing a little quiet time, reading and journaling prayers before starting the day.
8:00 AM- I've been a little less interested in exercising lately, but knew that my body craved some movement. So I chose to stay indoors and did a 30 kettlebell workout which seemed to do the trick of being intense, but not too intense. I always choose how I want to move based on #1 how I'm feeling physically (tired, energized, strong, weak) and #2 what I want to do (be outside, do something strength related). This workout seemed to do the trick for how I was feeling this morning.
8:45 AM- I made myself a smoothie this morning, and I will say, most of the time I can't just do a smoothie for breakfast, but this morning I really wasn't feeling 100%, so a smoothie really sounded good. I always try to add in some type of green leafy veggie as well as protein, fat, and carbs for a nourishing and energy-lasting meal. My favorite, and what I chose today, was 1 banana, frozen blueberries, Tbs of flaxseed (fat/protein), Tbs of peanut butter (fat/protein), handful of frozen spinach (leafy veggie), and almond milk. I topped the smoothie with some vanilla granola for an extra crunch because breakfast just needs some consistency to be satisfying in my opinion. This smoothie was #1 satisfying, #2 filling, #3 nourishing. It was just what I needed to start the day.
11:00 AM- About to make some soup for dinner because on this particular day I go in late to work and then work late. Prepping for dinner on these days makes dinner so much easier because I know that at 7:30 tonight I'm not going to want to start making dinner. That being said, I was a little hungry and I'm a grouchy cook when I'm hungry, so some carrots and snap peas with hummus held me over until I wanted to eat lunch.
11:45 AM- Now I'm feeling a meal. I warmed up a leftover mini white bean pot pie that I made for dinner the night before as well as threw together a salad of arugula, roasted delicata squash, and gorgonzola drizzled with balsamic glaze...one of my favorite salads lately! I love a seltzer with lunch when we have it, and today I was in luck and had a grapefruit seltzer as I ate lunch. I ate most of the lunch, but realized when I was almost done that I really wasn't hungry anymore and the food didn't taste as good (something that occurs when you near satisfaction). I left a little on my plate and bowl, which is something that I never used to have done. But honoring my body means eating until I'm satisfied, so I stopped.
3:00 PM- It's snack time. I was feeling a little sluggish and some mild hunger, so I decided to have a snack I packed of almonds and chocolate. I love the nut/chocolate combo because I feel it meets my hunger as well as satisfaction so perfectly! And good thing, because I was at work until 7:30 almost so having a snack prepared was crucial!
7:45- Thankful for dinner at this point. I was almost to a place of famished-ness, but thank goodness I already had dinner prepped. Tonight we had a soup from Faring-Well that was super hearty and delish on this rainy day in NY. It hit the spot, especially with the bread and butter on the side and a glass of white wine. Ended the meal feeling satisfied and just full, which is where I like to be after dinner.
Alright, so that was it! Eating intuitively is so freeing because there's not a day that ends with guilt or "hoping to do better next time". Each day is guided by what my body needs, and that feels right to me.