WELLNESS AUTHOR
Stephanie Thomas
TUNING IN TO THE BODY n Kick the fad diets and instead learn to listen to your body through intuitive eating.
I
’m sure many of you could agree that diets always seem to overpromise and under-deliver. Plus, all the rules that accompany these diet plans can cause a lot of stress and frustration. If you’ve been thinking it’s time for a different approach, allow me to introduce you to intuitive eating. It entails no calorie-counting and no forbidden foods. Yes, really! If you’re ready to break up with dieting for good, read on to learn what intuitive eating is and how it can benefit you.
We’re told to finish everything on our plates whether we’re hungry or not. We learn that dessert is a reward that can be taken away if we misbehave. We’re told that certain foods are good and others are bad, leading you to feel guilty when you eat something on the “bad” list. Over time, we adopt these rules and follow them without questioning how they’re making us feel, physically and mentally.
We’re all born as intuitive eaters
Intuitive eating is essentially the opposite of a traditional diet. It doesn’t impose rules, tell you to count points or calories or label foods as “good” or “bad.” Instead, it encourages you to re-learn how to eat outside the diet mentality, putting the focus on your natural internal cues like hunger, fullness, energy and satisfaction.
What is intuitive eating?
Babies are naturally intuitive eaters. They cry to signal hunger, eat until they’re satisfied and then stop eating. As we grow up, however, rules and restrictions are set around food, causing us to lose touch with our inner intuition.
NOVEMBER 2021
52
