A Day of Eating Intuitively

Several of you are practicing intuitive eating, something that always seemed to be an oxymoron because if eating was so intuitive, how come I was fat?  But I do understand the concept and it really does require thought and care to do after years of slicing and dicing every nutritional value and then overeating anyway.

Andrea K. has links to intuitive eating resources that have been helpful, as has her blog itself.  She has what I want for myself – a calmness and serenity about where she is in her life right now and the way she relates to food.  Since a nutritionist had previously suggested IE to me, and I’m rebelling against counting things anyway, I’m motivated to pay closer attention.  It’s different to know someone living this and not just reading a dry article.

Today I woke up and decided to listen to my body about food.  This is a change, since usually I react to seeing things or wanting a flavor or taste, or to a time of day or a location associated with eating.  But today I paid attention, just for today.

I had some wonderful Fage 2% yogurt with blueberries – and then stopped and decided I was full.  A few hours later I had a Fiber One peanut butter bar.  Lunch was a good salad with greens, edamame salad, freshly roasted vegetables, and chicken, with a nectarine.  I had hot, salty 94% popcorn for a snack, as well as more yogurt later.  And for dinner, crockpot roasted chicken and vegetables, with a WW ice cream sandwich about an hour later.

Reasonable food, isn’t it? Oh, I ate gingersnaps that I bought at the store – but I really didn’t want them in my stomach, just in my mouth – the bright spicy taste.  When I had some of that, I was able to throw away most of the package and not feel guilty.  I’ve been sitting here watching TV and before going automatically to the kitchen to get something to snack on, just asked myself if I wanted anything. The answer is no; my tummy is full but not stuffed and adding more just isn’t needed.

I feel good about my food today.  It didn’t control me, I felt satisfied with what I ate, and I had a nice variety of flavors and textures.  I managed to have all of the basic food groups, even salty stuff, although salt isn’t one of the basic foods.   I feel pretty comfortable in my body tonight.

Thanks, Andrea, for sharing those IE resources.  I want to keep reading to understand better how to apply IE regularly and not just sort of as an experiment.