Four Strategies to Naturally Return to Intuitive Eating

Are you stuck in a dieting, bingeing or imbalanced eating cycle and desire to return to more natural, intuitive eating?

At this time of year, many people turn to a crash diet or trendy cleanse in a desperate attempt to shed holiday weight or get fit fast. You may find this regimented, strict and restrictive dieting pattern just sets you up for desperation and suffering, without the long-term results you desire. As you get further and further away from intuitive eating, you get more and more confused, unhealthy, frustrated and unbalanced.

An alternative to these doomed diet regimens is an approach that appreciates the body’s natural wisdomand helps you get in touch with your nourishment needs. This personalized approach of tuning into our own instincts helps us avoid the classic dieting pitfalls ranging from ravenous hunger to outright boredom to the starvation-binge cycle.

In the Simple Pure Whole Wellness solution, Step 1 of rebuilding lifelong health focuses on truly nourishing our bodies with real, whole foods. To do so, it is important to respect and appreciate the body’s intuition.

Intuitive eating may seem counterintuitive to the traditional diet mentality, but studies show that intuitive eaters have lower cholesterol, less diabetes, healthier hearts, higher fitness levels and lower body mass indexes (BMI), without the psychological stress that chronic dieting can bring.

l provide some powerful ways to enhance your understanding of your true nutritional needs in my ecouse What to Eat? An Eater’s Guide to Conquering Cravings and Reconnecting to an Instinctual Way of Eating and when working with my health coaching clients.

Start by incorporating some of these tips below into your day and see how your mindfulness around food, nutrition and balance improves!

We are each unique and have varying nutritional needs throughout our lives. No two people have identical nutritional demands. Your food choices and needs reflect your values, lifestyle, activity level, age, genetics, climate and other individual factors. Therefore, this information is for educational purposes and is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. What may work great for you at one point of your life may not work as you age, grow and change. Similarly, a diet that makes your best friend feel fantastic may make you feel grumpy, lethargic or anxious.

Slow down and listen to your body. Trust its wisdom, and modify your nourishment based on the messages your body is sending. Listening to and supporting your unique nourishment needs will help you find greater balance and prevent chronic disease. Food provides energy and vitality when we use it wisely to balance our true nutritional needs.

Here are four powerful Simple | Pure | Whole Tips for Naturally Returning to Intuitive Eating:

1. Keep it Simple: Experiment with simple meals and snacks made up of whole, real foods. Notice how you feel when you choose foods in their natural state as opposed to heavily processed, manufactured or artificial food.
2. Focus on Quality: Similarly, remember that the quality of your food impacts your well-being. Focus on eating natural, fresh, high-quality foods. Consume organic, non-GMO foods as often as possible.
3. Slow down at Mealtime: We are all busy and often rush from one activity to the next. Instead of eating on the run, take some time to sit down in a pleasant, calm setting to really notice and savor your meal. This will enhance your pleasure and digestion.
4. Vary Your Food Choices with the Seasons: Our nourishment needs vary with the seasons, location and climate. Create meals around locally-available, seasonal foods. Notice what your body naturally craves at different times of the year.