Does intuitive eating REALLY work, and HOW??? This question came from one of our listeners, and we thought it was so good that we had to share it with everyone.
The listener proceeded to further explain by sharing that most people she knew who had tried it for at least 6-8 months failed miserably. And that is where the question got really interesting.
First, know that you can’t fail at Intuitive Eating…
Most people who have the perception that you can fail at eating intuitively misunderstand what Intuitive Eating is designed for. They often approach it with the same mindset they had when starting any past diet.
Intuitive eating is a process to undo the damage that diet culture has on our relationship with food. It only exists because food restriction was introduced by diet culture.
Intuitive Eating Misunderstandings
Intuitive eating is not a diet, and therefore, you can’t approach it with the same mindset. It’s not just about food, but when we make it just about food, that is when it won’t work.
Intuitive Eating is 80% mindset and 20% nutrition. It’s much more about your belief about yourself, your body, and your health than it is food. You can’t be successful with eating intuitively if you believe that certain foods are bad and others are good, or that weight equals health. Judgment of food and your body will keep you in the binge and restrict cycle, ultimately making you feel like you are failing.
This is why Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch designed the first principle of Intuitive Eating about mindset.
Powerful Questions to Ask to Discover Why Intuitive Eating Isn’t Working
If you think Intuitive Eating isn’t working for you, ask yourself these powerful questions:
- What are you making that mean? What is your definition of failure?
- Why?
- What is your thought about that?
- How do you feel about that?
- Why do you feel that way?
- What action do you take when you feel that way?
The bottom line is that Intuitive Eating is beyond the food and requires a highly conscious commitment. The moment you decide to detangle your worth from your body and health behaviors, Intuitive Eating will work for you.
What you’ll learn listening to this episode:
- The misunderstanding about Intuitive Eating that leads to it not working
- Questions to ask to discover why intuitive eating may not be working for you
- 10 case studies of real women from Undiet Your Life about why IE didn’t work when they tried it on their own
Mentioned in the show:
Undieted Health Habits Checklist
Undiet Your Life Coaching Program
