Hello lovely humans!
I’m excited to chat about this topic today, because it’s something I’ve been thinking about. Often when we talk about intuitive eating, we talk about letting go of diet culture and the pressure to lose weight. This makes sense, because a lot of what motivates us to want to lose weight is external pressure (like the media), which means that even if you lose the weight, if you don’t deal with those external motivators, you’ll never really feel happy.
One facet of intuitive eating is to simply let go of this idea that your body has to be any one size to be happy. That you can, starting today—this very second, no matter where you are in your journey—start practicing body acceptance. I think that’s really beautiful, and something I am very much about.
But what about if you still want to lose weight. Maybe this is health related (although, to be clear, thin doesn’t not equate to healthy), or maybe you’re actually doing this for you: you want to feel your best, and to you, that means losing weight.
Can intuitive eating be part of the puzzle?
In a word, no (don’t close the window just yet!). Intuitive eaters would tell you that if your goal is to lose weight, it is directly in opposition to intuitive eating, because at the end of the day you’re eating what you think you should eat, vs. what you want to be eating. Intuitive eating is not a weight loss diet. It’s a mental framework to help you develop a healthy relationship with food and your body.
However, I really do think there’s some nuance here, and room for both.
Because weight loss can be a form of self-care. Just like gaining weight can be an act of self-care. It all depends on what’s motivating you to make changes to your body. We treat people wanting to lose weight as people who don’t love themselves, and to me, this is yet another way to police bodies. In the same we don’t have a right to judge people on changing their hair, getting tattoos or getting cosmetic surgery, we don’t have a right to tell people what to do with their weight.
So if you are trying to lose weight, but maybe you like the concept of intuitive eating, and want to put some of the ideas in the practice, keep reading!
HOW TO USE INTUITIVE EATING WHILE TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT
1. Figure out why you want to lose weight.
Write down some motivators that are encouraging you to make changes to your body. Ask yourself where these motivators are coming from: is it out of love? Is it out of fear? Be gentle with yourself. I know right now there’s a lot of talk about accepting your body just the way it is, but it’s also fair to recognize that we live in a world that glorifies being thin, and makes it harder to live in a bigger body (ex. finding your size at a store, having people comment on your body).
Nobody can tell you what’s right for you, but you. But, if you’re currently chasing those last 5, 10 or even 15 lbs, ask yourself where that’s coming from. If your goal is to get rid of your love handles, you may have to accept that your body composition may not change, no matter how much weight you lose. Can you still accept your body even if it’s never “perfect”?
Which brings me to my next point:
2. Practice body acceptance today.
You can still want to change things about your body, while practicing body acceptance. For example, part of what motivates me to work out is gaining strength and flexibility—and I definitely get pleased when I can see that physically reflected on my body. However, no matter how strong or thin I am, I always have cellulite, dimples and thick thighs. My body composition is set, and I might build muscle, but I can’t lose weight off my butt/thighs without it impacting my health (and to be honest, I don’t want to!).
If you’re trying to lose weight to achieve some fantastical version of yourself, you won’t ever find it. I promise. There will always be something about your body that you won’t like. Even if you do the lose weight, you might find new things to dislike (loose skin, smaller boobs).
So can you start practicing body acceptance today? Can you appreciate what your body has given you and what it allows you to do? When you’re thinking of why you want to lose weight, can you think of what it will give you beyond how you look? And if you lose the weight, can you love your body even if it’s not “perfect”?
Because you are so much more than your body.
3. Think of the two-dial analogy.
Imagine you have a radio with two dials: one is intuitive eating, and one is nutrition knowledge. To find balance, and achieve your goals, sometimes you have to adjust the knobs. For example, if you know you want to lose weight, maybe the first step is balancing your hunger and getting rid of your cravings. You might have to turn up the nutrition knowledge dial and practice gentle nutrition: opt to eat more protein, fat and fibre with every meal so you can balance your hunger hormones.
Once you have a hold on that, maybe now you can turn up the intuitive eating dial: trust your body to eat a cupcake without going off the deep end; let go of any food policing that’s happening in the back of your brain; and know that you still have to eat enough food to have energy. Let go of things that don’t work, like calorie counting. Trust your body.
4. Ditch the scale.
There are plenty of ways to check your progress without checking a scale. Honestly, I think scales do more harm than good: they don’t account for the natural weight fluctuations that happen daily and with your cycle. As a friendly reminder: you are more than a number on the scale. So get rid of it.
Instead focus on how you feel: do you have more energy? Do you like the way your clothes fit you? Do you feel stronger or less bloated? Find wins that don’t have anything to do with a number on the scale (and if you can’t find any, it may be worth digging deeper as to why you want to lose weight in the first place).
5. Try adding, not subtracting.
Again, one of the biggest mindset shifts you can make is deciding you’re losing weight (or making other health changes) because you’re worth it, not so you can become worth. You’re already worthy! Yeah? Yeah.
One way to reiterate that, is to practice adding things to your diet instead of taking things away. For example, instead of telling yourself from now on you don’t eat grains, sugar, dairy, carbs or whatever else, ask yourself what can you add at every meal. Things like quality protein (chicken, fish, tempeh, etc), healthy fats (avocados, olive oil, butter, coconut oil), fibre-rich foods (veggies, lentils, beans, etc) and lots of vibrant produce.
Be sure to include those foods that you know make a difference. And then be kind to yourself if you’re craving something sweet and eat it.
6. Focus on what makes you feel good.
If you hate going to the gym, if you hate eating a paleo diet, you will never stick to it long-term, which means that you will find yourself back on the yo-yo dieting train.
So that’s where we need to focus on what feels good: physically and mentally.
There is definitely a time and place for therapeutic diets like keto or an elimination diet—if you’re trying to address food intolerances, balance blood sugar and improve gut health, for example—but these are meant to be short-term. If you struggle with disordered eating, you may need to work with a health professional to try these diets, because you might need someone in your corner reminding you it’s okay to reintroduce these foods. Sometimes we get in our own heads, and feel like failures for eating dairy or gluten again, when the reality is, unless you specifically cannot eat these foods (if you have Celiac, for example) then you want to get to a place where they reenter your diet!
But maybe you have to acknowledge that large amounts of dairy make you feel bloated and break out your skin. Having that knowledge is so powerful, because it puts you in the driver’s seat of your own health. Maybe you end up in a place where you are mostly dairy-free, but, if you go out to dinner and are craving cheese, you can eat it, and understand there might be some consequences. You don’t have to feel guilty about it, you can just accept this is how your body feels.
If you find losing weight makes you feel lethargic, irritable, anxious or comes at the cost of your mental or physical health, you need to be honest with yourself. Is it worth it? Is it sustainable?
7. The real goal should be food freedom.
Even if you’re trying to lose weight, the end goal should always be to get to a place where you don’t think or obsess about what you’re eating. And that’s true no matter what your weight is. Restrictive dieting, calorie counting, and obsessing over food is a terrible way to live (trust me, I know).
Your goal should be to enjoy food, without derailing or spiraling. Again, sometimes (often), this requires the help of a health expert. For me, years ago, I actually worked with a cognitive behavioural therapist to help me let go of certain beliefs I had around food, so I could eventually chill the f*ck out.
I hope you found this post helpful and I hope it inspires you to give your body a little love and a little self-care—whatever that looks like for you. If this resonated, and you want to work together to take control of your health, feel free to email me at tisha@thenourishedmind.ca .
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With love,
PS. If you’re looking for healthy recipes and meal planning tips, make sure you check out my Healthy At Home 4-Week Meal Plan. It’s filled with recipe “formulas” so you can mix and match to create your own unique recipes, or use the ones I’ve provided for you! It’s meant to make meal prep an absolute breeze, so be sure to get your copy!
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