What is the goal of Intuitive Eating?
I know I know, I blabber on about Intuitive Eating all the time but why? What is the goal?
Simply put - to tune into your hunger and fullness cues so that you can eat when you feel hungry and stop eating when you feel satiated.
Below are three key questions / areas I often get questions about…
Food Freedom - what’s that
Food Freedom is feeding your body intuitively. Moving away from what you “should” eat, and not feeling guilty for what you eat. You trust your body to guide your choices.
True freedom to eat what you want means you can’t make a mistake. It is the disconnection of your self-worth from your food choices. Food is part of your life, not the controlling factor.
Food freedom will look different to everyone.
It might mean going out to dinner with friends without guilt
It might mean eating a salad not because you “should” but because you fancy the taste
It might mean leaving some food on your plate because you’ve decide you’re full
Maybe it’s body neutrality rather than loving your body
Maybe it’s asking friends that you don’t talk about food at all when you’re out and about
The Intuitive Eater, nice to meet you
When on your Intutiive Eating journey you might try and find out what type of eater you are. And eventually you want to become an Intuitive Eater. Hallmarks of this eating type include:
Listening to your inner hunger signals
Eating what you want in a way that causes satisfaction
Not experiencing any guilt / shame / ethical dilemmas around food
“An unaffected eater” not affected by others’ views and opinions around food
We are all for the most part, natural Intuitive Eaters - we’re just tuning back in with this.
Does it ever really end?
“It’s a journey, not a destination” etc. imagine it’s a year in the future and you’re out to dinner with friends and between bites of pizza you blink and realise. Look how far I’ve come. Or maybe it’s even a week from now, and you notice you’ve stopped calling food ‘good’ and ‘bad’. At the start the idea of a lifelong journey etc. seems overwhelming but it becomes a part of your life and not the focus.
A sort of hyper consciousness sometimes occurs before you can zoom back out and see everything as a whole.
So in some ways it does end, eating and moving intuitively becomes a way of life.
But it becomes a way of life so it doesn't end. It’s not a diet with a set end date.
These are just a couple of the main takeaways from Intuitive Eating, with the benefits being far and wide. But the goal in some ways is to not have a goal in mind - to move to a point that it is no longer the focus.
If it helps you to work through the principles in order and tick them off as it were, or revisit them as needed. But maybe have becoming an intuitive eater or experience food freedom as the overall goal.
And if you want some support - reach out to me