Intuitive Eating in Real Life + Talk on Intuitive Eating Not Being Anti-Health

Happy weekend! It's Saturday morning as I write this...just finished breakfast sitting on the couch while hubs and I watched an episode of The Good Place, a show we've been into on Netflix lately. We love watching a show on Saturday mornings over breakfast. We call it "Saturday morning cartoons :) ".

Sharing a day of intuitive eating (sharing from yesterday's eats) as well as talking about a topic that can be misunderstood...Is Intuitive Eating Anti-Health? If you've thought this before, or want some clarity on where health fits in with intuitive eating, read on friend!

So yesterday started with me teaching a Barre3 class in the morning. I've been teaching a new class this week which has been so fun! I got home from that around 7:45 and then made some breakfast. Breakfast this morning was two slices of sourdough bread with peanut butter and my new favorite...Trader Joe's low sugar cherry preserves! It's the perfect combo of tart and sweet! I also had one fried egg because I was pretty hungry, I like to start the morning with a big breakfast because I've found I feel better when I do that, and also thought the combo of sweet and salty sounded super satisfying! After breakfast, I did some reading on the couch. My favorite way to start the day is by sitting on the couch, drinking coffee, and reading. Lately I've been reading a new bible study book by She Reads Truth called Men & Women in the Word. A friend and I were getting together to talk about it later in the day too. Also, I love this devotional by Paul David Trip called New Morning Mercies. If you follow me on Instagram, this is the one I share with you sometimes!

After this I took a shower, bathed our dog Sadie, and then got ready for the day. I had a haircut at 11, so I didn't do my hair...just left it wet.Before my haircut, I wanted to do some work, but ended calling my mom instead. We talked for a bit. I've been working at my RN job a lot the last 2 weeks so I wanted to catch up with her. Before heading for the haircut, I knew I'd get hungry and lately have had some salty cravings, so don't laugh, but I snacked on a pickle and half a can of these Trader Joe’s beans in tomato sauce. However weird it sounds...both really hit the spot! LOL.

So had my haircut at 11, and I loved how it turned out! It had gotten to where it all felt the same length and just wasn't working with me. And after working a lot lately, this was the perfect thing for me!

After the haircut I came home and made lunch. I don't know about you, but I struggle most with figuring out what to eat for lunch...any lunch suggestions let me know! I made some orzo pasta salad with pesto, mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, parsley, and chickpeas.

At 1 I met my friend at her place and we had a little bible study that we decided to do together. She made some chocolate chip cookies and coffee. I sadly didn't get a pic of the cookies and coffee, but they were DELICIOUS!

When I got home I had a coaching call with one of my 1:1 clients. Ah, this was such a good session! I love being a part of helping my clients make shifts in their mentality around food, their body, and movement! So powerful!For dinner we ordered from an Indian place down the street that has amazing chicken tikka masala and palak paneer! We also got a side of Naan bread. I turned my phone off, shut my computer for the night and just enjoyed hanging out with Paul. We watched this movie called Murder Mystery and ate Indian food. After the movie, we decided to go for a walk with Sadie. I love taking lateish night walks in our little town in the summer! The breeze is warm, it's a little quieter and just nice. We walked down to the river where we could look out and see New York City in the distance. It was so peaceful.

So I had a great question come up yesterday all about whether intuitive eating is anti-health. The thought was that Intuitive Eating Counselors are only concerned about helping you eat all foods and that you have to take on this belief that all foods are equal. And while there is truth to this, there's more to it. Everyone's needs are different, and therefore what you may need and the things we would talk about in coaching would be different from someone else. But, generally speaking, I help women first work through any places in their mental space where they are held captive. Meaning, anything that preoccupies their mind, or any places where there may be discord that is leading to them having a poor relationship with food. This may mean helping someone figure out why they continue to binge on weekends...maybe they're restricting during the week.

Maybe they're lonely and using food for comfort. We may be working through helping you break free from constantly feeling like you have to count calories so working on changing your view of food for more than just a number or quota to meet and not exceed would be what we would maybe start with. Maybe we're working through fear of certain food groups such as carbs or sugar.But, that's not where it stops. Gentle Nutrition is included as a principle of intuitive eating. And it's important! Nutrition is important and health is really the primary goal of intuitive eating. Studies show that having a healthy relationship with food ultimately leads to healthier lifestyles. So the goal is always to get to this place where we can talk about health and what that means truly and how to approach it in a way that feels good for you. But also knowing that health is so much more than just food and exercise. It's having peace in your body (aka keeping stress down), it's sleeping well, it's relationships and friendships and social interactions.

So no, intuitive eating is definitely NOT anti-health! It's very much about health! But it's about the big picture of health rather than a myopic view. What do you think? Have you struggled with thinking intuitive eating is all donuts, and ice cream, and french fries? Have you found yourself believing that it's anti-health? I'd love to hear your thoughts!