Have you tried Intuitive Eating and it didn't work for you? Here's what could be stopping Intuitive Eating from working properly for you.
Many times our clients come to us after trying Intuitive Eating on their own and they either feel it went horribly wrong (their words: they only wanted to over eat junky food and never felt FREE FROM food) OR they feel are enjoying the new freedom BUT there seems to be something missing. Here's why intuitive eating may not be working for you and what to do if you've tried intuitive eating and it didn't work - the first time!
The answer here is the over eating drivers have not been repaired fully. Or another way to say it, the diet rule Band-Aid was removed but the proper intuitive eating skills were not learned or honed.
Pretend you had a bucket with a hole in it - you put tape over it. It's leaky, you can't really depend on it. When you remove the tape (the diet rules) the water flows right through it (your over eating drivers flowing, affecting your true appetite). But when you repair the bucket (repair the over eating drivers) and TURN OFF THE TAP (learn intuitive eating skills) then you are left with a happy healthy bucket (body).
Let's make one thing clear - learning proper Intuitive Eating skills - can be tough mental effort. Food Freedom is much more than permission to eat, "but mindfully". We like to say it's the opposite of a diet in every way - So it's a lot of mental effort, thinking, reflecting and then becomes your new norm, your new autopilot. You effortlessly stop eating when you're truly full, treat foods no longer call you and you have a "meh" feeling towards all foods when it's just not time to eat. This is proper Food Freedom achieved with proper Intuitive Eating skills.
Caution on "Doing IT Right": So we've talked about how Intuitive Eating isn't just hedonistic permission and how we need to take time to learn the skills of reconnecting to our body's wisdom so that everything becomes truly effortless - pinch me food dreams :). One thing we can see our clients do if they have a restrictive background is try TOO hard to get it right - or try TOO hard to hone the skills we teach them. Often we discuss how eating makes us feel better in all ways - some of our clients can over think this (again getting in their heads instead of dropping into their bodies) and THIS can actually hault their full journey from unfolding to TRUE Food Freedom. They can essentially land in a zone where all foods are "allowed" BUT they are filtering if they let themselves have them depending on how they predict if the food will "make them feel better". I argue that for these clients, individuals with a tight restriction background such as myself - that really leaning into the permission to have what your body is craving "ALL IN" - paired with proper Intuitive Eating skills (which allow you to discern and decode and eliminate FASLE cravings) - then THIS IS THE SWEET SPOT.
We hope you loved this topic and you can watch the full discussion below!
xx,
- Shayna