I just started reading “Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach” by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, two registered dietitian nutritionists. For someone who has had a hard time breaking free of restrictive eating behaviors in the past and restrictive eating thoughts (even now – that shit’s hard to unlearn), this is quite the eye-opening read. I’m only a couple of chapters in and, while I don’t 100 percent align with every single word, the principles of the intuitive eating approach are sucking me in.
The first two principles (and the first chapters I’ve read):
- Reject the diet mentality
- Honor your hunger
These steps might sound simple, but if they’re not something you’ve actually worked on before, they’re anything but.
What I love about “reject the diet mentality” is that this principle asks you to let go of food rules, restrictive thinking and the desire to shrink your body, among other aspects. There’s no need to call a food “good” or “bad” when there aren’t rules. Which also helps you let go of any shame or guilt around the way you eat or want to eat.
As for “honor your hunger,” an exercise I pulled from this principle to play with over the next week is rating your hunger level and noting how hungry you let yourself get before eating, and the foods you selected when you do eat. It’s meant to help you notice any patterns in your behavior. Do I let myself get too hungry and then overeat? Do I honor hunger cues in my body and allow myself to satisfy them in a reasonable way? It’s all in the self-awareness, the noticing.
More thoughts to come as I plod onward.
