How to Eat Intuitively: Five Simple Tips

Learn to eat intuitively, and stop the cycle of dieting and deprivation!

Eating intuitively comes so naturally to me because I’ve been doing it for so long. I’m also super in tune with myself given all my years of practicing yoga.

But there was a time when I was in dieting and deprivation mode, worrying about what I ate, how I would “work it off” and other unhealthy mindsets around food.

One of the most common questions I get from clients, students and friends is, how to break this mindset, and how to eat intuitively… Or simply, what does intuitive eating even mean?!

One main thing so different about life in Italy vs. the U.S. is our way of eating and how we see food.

Italians eat intuitively by nature! They eat the food that is local, eat what they enjoy, and truly get pleasure out of it. They eat carbs without stress and always love their gelato...walking through the streets licking a cone. Ahhh it really is the best!

While in the U.S. there is the excessive diet industry, which has really become a business. Everywhere you look it's "try this" or "try that" to lose weight the "easy" way!

How about just looking back to the Europeans who eat what's in season and local...and eat intuitively.

Here are 5 tips to start eating intuitively and to release the “diet” mindset:

1. Before just grabbing food when you’re hungry, take a few moments to pause, breathe, tune in to your body, and really feel what would be nourishing for you at that moment.
2. Eat mindfully - mindful eating and intuitive eating go together. Eat slowly, chew your food really well, avoid watching tv or looking at your phone while eating. Stop eating when you’re 80% full, rather than 100%!
3. Take time to journal after you eat…simply take some notes about how you feel, physically, emotionally, mentally and energetically. This is also a great tool if you think you may have food sensitivities. For example: Physically: very full, stomach is uncomfortable. Mentally: I ate more than I needed to. Emotionally: I’m frustrated at myself for not stopping before I was full. Energetically: I feel tired and sleepy. OR Physically: My body feels great and I’m digesting easily. Mentally: I ate just what my body needed. Emotionally: I feel satisfied with my food choice. Energetically: I’m fulfilled, alert and ready to continue with my day! By reflecting over time on your journal, you’ll be able to see a pattern between your food choices and how you feel, which will help you make more intuitively beneficial choices.
4. Eat what makes you feel good in every way… rather than what you think you “should” eat. We fluctuate everyday. Some days one type of food may feel amazing in your body, while another day it may not. The more intuitive you become, the easier it will be to cultivate balance in your food choices.
5. Trust that your body knows! And always be patient with yourself. There is no perfect! Food is meant to be enjoyed. That’s why it’s so important to release a “dieting” mindset, and instead go by what feels really good and nourishing for your body, mind and heart! Change your mindset to eating to fuel your body, and really enjoy the food you eat! This will physically help you absorb the nutrients better, digest more easily, and feel satisfied all the time.

Release the deprivation, stress around food and eating, and thinking of foods as “good” or “bad.”

Instead love yourself, and feed yourself based on intuition and self-care.

Hope this helps!

Leave a comment below on what your biggest nutrition struggle is, or if you already eat intuitively!

For more information or details to work with me 1:1, contact me here.

Con tanto amore,

xo Jenny