Today we are continuing our Intuitive Eating series with Intuitive Eating Principle 2 – Honor Your Hunger.
In case you missed it:
- What is Intuitive Eating?
- Intuitive Eating Principle 1: Reject the Diet Mentality
- Intuitive Eating In Real Life: Principle 1
Intuitive Eating Principle 2 – Honor Your Hunger
The snapshot of Intuitive Eating Principle 2 – Honor Your Hunger is: “Keep your body biologically fed with adequate energy and carbohydrates. Otherwise you can trigger a primal drive to overeat. Once you reach the moment of excessive hunger, all intentions of moderate, conscious eating are fleeting and irrelevant. Learning to honor this first biological signal sets the stage for rebuilding trust with yourself and food.”
This is one of my favorite Intuitive Eating principles because, I believe, it helps people to understand the real reason WHY restricting (dieting) doesn’t work. The book gives a lot of good information and examples about how the body physiologically compensates when it doesn’t get enough food.
What People Are Saying About Intuitive Eating Principle 2 – Honor Your Hunger
Here is what some of the individuals in my online Intuitive Eating Focus Group are saying about Intuitive Eating Principle 2 – Honor Your Hunger:
“I had a lightbulb moment. I had never considered that a diet didn’t work, I ALWAYS assumed it was my fault for not following it perfectly.”
“I highlighted the section about the different voices of hunger. Going into Intuitive Eating, I always thought I could only eat according to my physical hunger so it was shocking to read that Intuitive Eating can also mean eating when you are not hungry (in the case of planning ahead, if something just looks good, etc.).”
“That absolutely makes sense why we feel like failures for going over calories. We feel like starving ourselves essentially means that we’re successful and that when we go over 1200 calories in a day, we feel like absolute failures. It’s so strange that apps like MyFitnessPal recommend such a low caloric deficit, but I used to track calories on that like a mad-woman. Since I’ve started Intuitive Eating, I have honestly never felt more free, yet more in control of my eating habits! It feels like getting out of a toxic relationship.”
“I’ve read so many books on the subject of dieting and weight loss but this is the first time I’ve ever read about the issue of willpower, or lack thereof, is considered a biological drive.”
WOW! I loved hearing this feedback from people. The choice to eat or not eat is always ours, regardless of the reason. And with Intuitive Eating, there is no right or wrong. That tends to be the hard part about dieting – sticking to the “rules” and feeling like a failure when you’re unable to.
Did You Know that the arbitrary 1200 calories most weight-loss diets recommend is completely insane? That is the amount of calories a sedentary 4-5 year old needs! For most adults, 1200 calories is going to be VERY hard to sustain long-term. Your body needs food!
And, yes, too many diet books and social media influencers, etc. try to make you feel like you are a failure because that is what keeps the weight loss industry going round! The CEO of Weight Watchers has been reported to have said that they know their program doesn’t work long-term, and that is the beauty of it (from a business standpoint) is that most people continue to come back time and time again.
Again, it’s important to remember that Intuitive Eating is a PROCESS. And it is not necessarily a linear process. There will likely be ups and downs, ebbs and flows, moments of doubt and uncertainty; but it IS possible to give up dieting and get to a way of eating that feels good for you without the worry, guilt, shame, and stress that often accompanies dieting.
This blog and Instagram series I am doing is not meant to be a replacement for reading the Intuitive Eating book or working through the Intuitive Eating Workbook. Rather it’s to provide an overview of the Intuitive Eating concept and principles to bring more awareness to the fact that there is an alternative to dieting and restricting.
INTUITIVE EATING SUPPORT GROUP FOR WOMEN
If you have been following along on this Intuitive Eating journey with me or hearing about Intuitive Eating elsewhere and wanting to learn more, or you’ve been doing some learning on your own and are ready to have the support of others on the journey with you, I have the perfect resource for you:
A 12-week small group coaching experience to help you heal your relationship with food and your body, ditch dieting for good, get back to trusting yourself around food AND enjoying the foods you actually like!
Group will be held live via online video >> Thursdays at 6:00pm CST (recordings will be sent out if you are unable to attend live). The group runs once per quarter. FULL DETAILS HERE.
FOLLOW ALONG ON THIS JOURNEY
Stay tuned as I continue this series on the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating here on this website and also on my Instagram page. You can follow along and comment with your thoughts that way as well.
As always, if you need additional guidance and support via individual nutrition coaching or counseling, please reach out or join the waitlist to be notified about my upcoming Intuitive Eating support group for women.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks