Intuitive Eating: So Far So Good

So I've started reading (and practicing) the concepts in Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works. So far, I like it and I can agree with its early premise.

According to the authors, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, we are all so weighed down by mixed messages about food, that we no longer can recognize our instincts about what and how much to eat. Some of us were told when we were children to finish our plates, regardless of whether we were still hungry or not. Others of us were berated for eating too much, or taking in too much sugar. Most of us have learned to listen to outside opinions about food rather than our own inclinations.

So one of the first steps to reclaiming our 'eating intuition' is to just eat what we want to eat. The reasoning behind it: Often we binge on foods because we've been forbidding ourselves from partaking. As a result, when we get a taste of the forbidden foods, we can't stop eating. The book suggests that we keep the forbidden foods around because that shows us that we can have those foods whenever we want. Eventually the allure of the forbidden foods diminishes. And even more importantly, eventually we'll get in touch with our eating impulses, which will lean toward foods that are life-preserving once we correct the imbalance we've set up through years of ignoring our natural food urges.

I told you about my Reese's Peanut Butter Cup craze - particularly the miniature cups. The other day, I bought some and consumed them within a couple of days. So in the spirit of Intuitive Eating, I went right back out and bought some more of the candy. Logically, it made no sense and I wondered if I was being ridiculous to buy more candy, but I did it anyway. This time around, I haven't been as interested in the candy. Yes, I've had a couple of pieces, but I haven't gobbled the candy up as if it were my last supper.

More on Intuitive Eating...

So as I’m on this food kick, trying to eat more intuitively without restricting myself, I did a Web search on intuitive eating and came up with some helpful information. Since I know there are a lot of people out there trying to lose weight or eat more healthy, I thought I’d share.

A lot of what I read talked about paying attention to the way foods make you feel. Also, notice what you’re craving because there may be something your body really needs (and a healthier substitution you can make). For example, if you’re craving a hamburger, it may simply be your body’s way of craving protein. A piece of cheese may do the trick.

This weekend, I'm also going to pick up a copy of Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. I'll let you know how it works for me.

Here are some sites around the Web that deal with the topic of intuitive eating. Eat Up!

About.com Alternative Medicine Guide to Intuitive Eating

Intuitive Eating Blog

Intuitive Body Blog

IntuitiveEating.org

My Intuitive Diet Plan

Yesterday, I was listening to a friend talk about all of the foods she was cutting out of her diet for the new year. She was frustrated because she’d been wanting to lose weight and improve her health for years and could never seem to do it. As she rattled off about the latest diet plan she was trying, I couldn’t help but think that her approach seemed counter-intuitive.

Diets are so focused on what we’re not going to do. They’re restrictive and all about contraction. I think of intuition as a form of expansion. It helps me to determine what step I’m going to take. It helps me to move closer to what feels good. In fact, one of the ways I know my intuition is speaking to me is that the choice makes me feel good – I feel lighter and a little more clear.

I wondered if she would have more success if she placed her focus on what she was going to eat, rather than what she was not going to eat. If she made a plan to eat an extra serving of fruits and vegetables each day, rather than worrying about cutting out sweets and carbs.

I thought about it so much that I decided I would try it. After all, if I’m going to live intuitively, I need to follow through on my own ideas, rather than looking for the best diet plan somebody else came up with. Like most people, I have that handful of pounds I’m trying to lose every year, and I could stand to eat more fruits and veges and drink more water. My weakness is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and whenever I go on a health kick, I vow to cut them out of my life. So I decided this year, I will allow myself to eat as many Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups as I want AFTER I’ve fulfilled my daily fruit and vegetable requirement (five servings) and my daily water allotment. Yesterday, I was so focused on meeting those healthy-eating requirements that by the time I’d finished, I left the peanut butter cups alone.

Intuitive Action Item: Think back to a time when you knew someone’s approach would be all wrong for you. Were you right? Did you act on your intuition? Next that it happens, you’ll know what that feels like.

Willing to Be Wrong

A few months ago, I met a woman who is a professional psychic or intuitive reader. She told me about a few things that would happen in the next few months, and some of them have, in fact, happened. But her predictions weren’t what stood out most to me about our conversation.

I told her that I wanted to strengthen my intuition and do a better job of trusting it and she encouraged me, telling me that we all have the capability to improve the accuracy of our intuition.

She said, “Why don’t you trust your intuition?”

I said, “Because I’m afraid I might be wrong.”

She said, “So what if you’re wrong?”

When she posed that question to me, I didn’t have an answer. Even if I don’t use my intuition to solve day-to-day dilemmas, there’s a chance I may be wrong.

I thought about what that woman said a lot in the last few months. Sometimes we have so many options that we become stuck, as we try to figure out which path to take. A common piece of advice is to just take a step – any step – and see where it leads. Sure, we may decide to take a step back and go in a different direction, but at least we ruled out one option and made some progress. And if we’re making progress, are we ever really wrong?

Intuitive Action Item: Think back to a time when you made what you believe to be a wrong decision. Has anything good come of it? The fact that you know it was the ‘wrong’ decision means you’ve achieved some level of growth as a result of it. By making peace with the times that you were wrong, you’re more open to trying new paths that your intuition will bring you to in the future.

An Intuition Missed

One of the best motivations for listening to intuition is regretting a time that we didn’t. I received this emailed story from B. Jordan:

Over the holidays, I went home to Michigan to visit with family. While I was there, I kept thinking about one of my old friends who had long since moved away from Michigan and I hadn’t seen her or spoken to her for years. I mentioned it to my mother and she told me that this friend’s aunt still lived in town and mentioned that the aunt had been sick. I didn’t think anything more of it and after our visit, I returned home. The day after the new year, my mother called to tell me that she had run into my friend’s aunt. The aunt told my mom that my friend had been there for the holidays and she had mentioned getting in touch with me. I wish that I had contacted my friend’s aunt when I was home because then I would have seen my friend. We each thought about each other but neither of us acted on it. I realize now that my constantly thinking about her was really my intuition.

Thanks for the story, B. What we can learn from this is that intuition isn’t really that complicated. The key is taking note of those things that weigh on your mind unexpectedly. For example, if money is a concern right now, it’s probably not your intuition if you’re thinking heavily about money. But if your finances are great and you feel a sudden twinge of anxiety about money, there might be something for you to consider.

Intuitive Action Item: Next time something weighs unexpectedly on your mind, ask yourself if there’s a step you can take that’s related to that concern. Most of your thoughts are fleeting and passing. The ones that stick around tend to be there for a reason.

Engaging Intuition: Cultivating Your Silence

The first Monday after New Year's Day always has a busy feel to it. Look around you. Everyone's back at work, back to their routines and back to the distractions of day-to-day life. All of that is definitely not conducive to intuition, which flourishes in silence, stillness and tranquility.

If intuition is going to play a conscious part of your life in 2011 (and by conscious, I mean you're going to engage your intuition rather than merely waiting for it to make an appearance every now and then) you've got to build silence, stillness and tranquility into your routine. You can do that by simply taking five to ten minutes a day to turn off all noisy distractions and listen to your thoughts. One of my favorite ways to invite stillness into my life is to do so each morning over coffee before the obligations of the day start to call me. Not surprisingly, I've come up with some of my most creative ideas and resolved many a problem while satisfying my daily caffeine fix.

But what you can't do is wing it. You have to plan your silences just as you'd plan the time you're going to spend in the gym. If you don't, your desire to live a more self-motivated, intuitive life will be just another unfulfilled goal this time next year.

Intuitive Action Item: Make time for silence. Pick a part of your day that will remain free from noise and distractions, even if you combine it with another private activity such as using the bathroom or showering. It can be five minutes or twenty, though the more you do it, the more creative you'll get at stealing silent moments throughout the day. During this time, the only thing you have to do is pay attention to what you're thinking about. What you hear may very well surprise you.

Teena Marie Premonition of Death?

Last week, the entertainment world lost Teena Marie, a singer fondly known as “the Ivory Queen of Soul.” Though Teena reportedly died in her sleep, a peek into her twitter account found that the singer had tweeted earlier that night. One of her tweets was a quote of Sarah Vaughan, which read, "May You never grow old, and may I never die"…
Did that quote just happen to pop into her mind hours before her death, or could Teena have had a premonition that she was about to die?