When you really look at the culture that surrounds how most people view food, it’s really surprising that more people don’t have difficulties with it. These societal standards that are imposed on people culturally around the world have had a damaging effect on how many view food, and how they interact with it on a daily basis. It’s important to get back to what’s natural and learn how to intuitively eat.
In the next few paragraphs, you’ll read about a few intuitive eating habits to learn in relation to eating real foods. You can practice intuitive eating as a vegan, pescetarian, or whichever type of eater you are.
You Used to Know
When you’re first born, the only thing that you know are the things that drive you, and much of the time that’s hunger and comfort.
All children are born with an automatic sense of when they’re hungry and then done eating. In order to get back to natural, there will be a few points for you to try to re-learn.
One of the Principles of Intuitive Eating is Don’t Ignore Your Hunger
Some people think that feeling hungry is a shameful thing. It isn’t.
It’s how your body tells you that you require nourishment, but it’s important to be able to tell the difference between boredom hunger and real hunger, which means you need food.
If you try drinking water and remain hungry, then it’s likely that it’s real hunger. If you eat on a schedule your body will thank you.
Another tool you can use is the intuitive eating hunger scale.
This scale shows the different kinds of hunger, from ‘very hungry’ to ‘very full.’ It’s helpful for learning more about the different types of hunger cues your body may give.
Allow Yourself Some Latitude
When you eat good foods you probably feel pretty good, but how do you feel when you eat certain foods that many people consider to be “bad?”
It’s important to give yourself some space in these situations. Negative feelings will only create more problems with how you feel about yourself, which can drive you to destructive behaviors.
Don’t deny yourself to the point that you go on a food binge of the foods you’re trying to avoid. Instead, give yourself a chance to make it up to your body by having a list of real foods and trying your best to make it a habit to eat them.
Correct and Control Your Inner Critic
When you begin to feel negative things about yourself or your choices in a day, resist to the desire to berate yourself.
This destroys your ability to enjoy meals by yourself or with anyone else.
Get Acquainted with Feeling Full
Self-awareness takes practice, but if you sit quietly and eat with fewer distractions, you may find that your body has already been producing cues to let you know that you’ve eaten enough.
Learn Some More Real Food Recipes
It ultimately boils down to the food you feed our body. If you will learn more real food recipes, learning how to intuitively eat may be easier to achieve. It’s because you’re aware that you eat nutritious foods.
You may be wondering, what is the definition of real food? These are foods that have no additives, are unprocessed, or have just a little processing.
Learning How to Intuitively Eat Also Includes Getting Exercise
A lot of people might groan when they read this one, but it’s an important part of life.
Every action that you take from the time that you get out of bed until you are back in bed is recorded by your body.
It takes a reading of how many calories you need to function and dispenses energy based on that reading. Working out optimizes your energy level in a day. Start out small, and keep listening to your body.