"If I Ate Intuitively, I'd Never Stop Eating"

“If I ate intuitively, I would never stop eating” - This is one of the most common fears I hear and is completely valid. If you come from a background of dieting, restriction or food rules, when you allow yourself to have those “bad” or off-limit foods, it is likely you feel out of control around them. Many people seem to think they have a problem with control or that they lack willpower; that somehow this type of food holds power over them.

I remember feeling this way too. For me, peanut butter would set me off into a spiral. One bite of the nutty deliciousness would spiral into eating half the jar or more. It felt like I was under a peanut butter spell. What many (and what I didn’t) don’t realize is that deprivation is often the biggest driver for this out-of-control eating. I had been dieting for years and competing in the bodybuilding industry - I was extremely undernourished. Cravings, binges and excessive food thoughts are all side effects of starvation (which is what your body sees dieting as). The Minnesota Starvation Study (CW: calories) shows how dieting impacts our drive to eat and is often responsible for that “out of control” feeling around food.

Many people also have rules around food or label it as good or bad. Perhaps in an effort to lose weight or "be healthy” one might swear off sugar or dessert; they may cut out carbs; or they promise they’ll be “better” tomorrow. When we think this way, not only do we feel guilt and shame around our choices, but we approach food with a “last supper mentality” aka “better eat it all now, because this is the last time I’ll have it.” Perhaps you get (as my client would call them) the “F*ck It’s!” Due to labeling certain foods as “bad”, perhaps you feel guilty for “blowing your diet” for eating, let’s say, a cookie. At this point you might think to yourself, “F*ck it! I already messed up, might as well keep eating!” and you continue to eat the remainder of the box, the whole time promising to be better tomorrow.

Do you see how deprivation and food rules set us up for feeling out of control around food? Here’s what really happens as you go through the intuitive Eating process. As you give yourself unconditional permission to eat you will likely initially see an uptick in your consumption of previously off-limit foods. You may also see an increase in the volume of food you are consuming. This is completely normal and an important part of the process. By giving yourself this permission, you are able to learn first hand what feels good in your body. You’ll learn what amounts of food feel good in your body and what amount may feel a bit uncomfortable. Soon you will be able to trust that your body will tell you what it needs - it craves variety from all types of foods.

You go through a process known as habituation which is essentially ‘exposure therapy’. You expose yourself to the food until it is eventually not a big deal (note: the point is not to burn out on the food). You have permission to eat it whenever you want, so you can choose to eat that food in a way that brings you satisfaction and feels good in your body. By going through this process you learn to trust your body, rather than trusting external rules or suggestions.

As you contemplate giving Intuitive Eating a shot, many fears may come up for you and this is normal. I promise this process is 1000x easier though with support. If you are looking to start your own Intuitive Eating journey, click here to apply for 1-on-1 coaching.

**If you experience depression, have a mood disorder or any other mental illness, I would highly recommend working with a mental health professional. Mental illness will directly impact our eating behaviors and Intuitive Eating and habituation alone will likely not be enough to change your eating behaviors. If you are actively struggling with an eating disorder, please reach out to a qualified professional to get individualized help.