Unfortunately, we live in a society that does not favor intuitive eating. From the morality of food to the emphasis on productivity, there are many messages that act as roadblocks in developing as intuitive eaters. ⠀
When I read “Intuitive Eating” for the first time, one of the principles that really struck me was “honoring your hunger.” One day while working at a part-time job, I caught myself thinking, “I’m so hungry, but I have to finish going through these files.” It was a thought that came to mind in some form quite often- being productive was more important than meeting my physical needs. But this time, I had knowledge of intuitive eating to challenge this. “What rule says that I have to wait to eat? What would be the harm in pausing what I’m doing, eating lunch, and then continuing?” Intuitive eating stresses the importance of honoring your physical cues. Hunger is our body’s way of communicating a need. In that moment, while working at my part-time job, I made the choice to honor my body. A rare choice at the time, but a choice that I now strive to make regularly. ⠀
Now don’t get me wrong, intuitive eating is a process that I am constantly working to make progress in. Some days are better than others. As I said earlier, there are many roadblocks to eating intuitively. My hope is that we all continue to embrace learning experiences that will lead us to honoring our bodies more and more. ⠀
