How to actually do Intuitive Eating, not the BS version you see on Tik Tok

Intuitive eating will only work if you take the time to get your body and your emotions regulated before you start eating intuitively.

There are many types of false hunger that we don't realize aren't true hunger, not only do you need to understand them, but you need to know how to recognize them in your body. One of the biggest false hunger signals is emotional hunger.

Emotions are the thing that makes eating intuitively the hardest, because when I am sad or angry, or low in any way I want something sweet and something salty, I want foods that my brain has learned will give me an immediate hit of serotonin and dopamine, because it knows I will feel better for a short time after. I have relied on food for most of my life to manage my emotions.

The problem is that as someone who was insulin resistant and 300 lbs, my body did not need another donut or super-size french fries. What my serotonin-deficient brain needed was good fats and proteins, and for me to get my blood sugar under control.

I knew how to feed my body long before I was able to be consistent and finally get healthy. I had to find new ways to manage my emotions and work through some junk before I could truly get to a place where intuitive eating was possible for me.

And even now there are some days I have to default back to the “rules” because I am not regulated enough to make intuitive choices.

But most of us are experiencing a different kind of hunger and that is hunger from blood sugar imbalances sending you seeking sugar and carbs.

The vast majority of us have been taught to eat foods that increase our blood sugar quickly and to dangerously high levels, as the normal way to eat. Over time our bodies have started to struggle to manage our blood sugar, with it going back and forth between being too high and too low, multiple times a day.

When it’s high you might feel anxious or excitable, and when it's low you feel hangry and irritable, leaving your moods as stable as my college coffee table.

So if you want to know what hunger is supposed to feel like, instead of the nasty blood sugar crash hunger you usually get, you have to stabilize your blood sugar.

If you can write a laundry list of things you are unhappy with in how your body looks or feels then you are eating foods that are not making your body happy.

These are just the things you can touch and feel, there are things happening under the surface that you can not identify without blood work and a much deeper look, but ultimately how you feel is the most important marker for you to connect with if your goals are to be healthy and happy.

What Food is Healthy?

A food that is healthy is any whole or minimally processed food that meets these three criteria.

It is nutrient-dense and full of the things your body needs in order to do all the things it was designed to do. Your body needs enough proteins, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals to ensure your cells and hormones can operate at optimal levels. Those nutrients are what your body is looking for when its hunger signals are normalized.

It supports healthy blood sugar levels and does not quickly raise and drop your blood sugar leading to false hunger and unnecessary stress on your body.

And lastly, your body likes it, meaning it can digest the food without stress. You know you are getting this right when your body feels good after eating.

What Should I Eat?

Everybody and every BODY has different needs and this is why it is so important that you learn to listen to your body. That doesn’t mean you can’t try keto or carnivore, or even vegan if you think it might work for you, but never be dogmatic and take what works for you from each, and build out a plan based on how your body responds. Common health foods are not healthy for everyone.

You need to eat enough of the foods your body likes to meet your nutritional needs. Even carb and sugar tolerance is going to be different from person to person so pay attention to when you start feeling more hungry and less emotionally stable, and you will know you need to dial it back.

What Should I Eat for Fat Loss?

If you want to lose weight all of the same rules apply, you need to eat to make sure you are getting enough of what your body needs in order to do all of the amazing things it is designed to do for you every day.

Cut back on the things that are not essential to your ability to be healthy and happy. For many people, they get the best weight loss and health results from reducing carbs and keeping fat and protein moderate to high. This will keep your hunger levels down, and your body and mind feeling good.

What Should I Eat During My Menstrual Cycle?

As a woman, I can’t talk about intuitive eating without helping you understand your body a bit because the types of food your body is asking for change with your hormones

• Follicular Phase – Include proteins, fibre-rich carbs, and greens. Your body is happy to be low carb or keto, it actually supports healthy ovulation.
• Luteal Phase – Add magnesium-rich foods like nuts, and seeds. Add a few whole-food carbs like sweet potato or rice in moderation to combat PMS symptoms. This is why chocolate is a common craving, it has magnesium and carbs. Progesterone likes a few carbs, but not too many.
• Menstrual Phase – Iron-rich foods like red meat replenish iron levels, fruits and veggies can help decrease inflammation, fish and seafood are also great choices!

When you put all this information together intuitive eating is simply this, eating foods that are healthy for your body and allow it to thrive, when it is truly hungry.

You may never have considered working with someone to help you get your food choices and habits to a place where you can finally have some freedom and relax around food.

As someone who spent over 15 years on yo-yo diets, it took finding the right support for me to start understanding why I quit every diet I started, why I never got healthy, and why I never made it to my goals.

The question is how many years do you want to keep yo-yoing?

On my journey to figuring this all out, I learned something else, the thing that was keeping me from getting to my health goals was the same thing that was interfering with my ability to show up for myself in every other aspect of my life. It was the same self-sabotage patterns that kept me stuck in my relationships, in my business and in my health.

The biggest takeaway from my journey so far is this, when you become healthy and happy, anything is possible.

Are you ready to discover what's possible for you? Find out more