Intuitive Eating

What is Intuitive eating or conscious eating? And how can you learn to eat that way?

This kind of eating is a way to get rid of the "mindless" eating that you do. It is designed to help you focus on what and why you are eating.

1. Be Relaxed

   You need to be in a relaxed state before you eat. This ensures that you are not eating because of emotions. And that you are truly in a peaceful state of mind.

   If you are coming from a stressful situation and you begin to eat it is not going to be intuitive eating. You will eat as fast as you can to get rid of your stress or emotions.

   Come to the dinner table (or whatever meal it is) in a relaxed state of mind so that you can truly enjoy your food.

2. Chew Slowly

   The second thing is to make sure you chew slowly. Really enjoy the food you are eating. Taste it and feel the texture.

   Be present with your food. Give yourself that time to be, not only physically nourished, but psychologically nourished also. If you don't have that while your eating, you will want more food.

   This will also allow your body to tell you when you are full. It takes 20 minutes for your body to send you that signal after you've begun eating.

   Chewing slowly helps you enjoy your food and gives your body a chance to tell you when you should stop eating.

3. Eat Foods You Enjoy

   If you're forcing down cooked spinach; you're more likely to binge later. (Unless you like cooked spinach... and more power to you if you do.)

   When you make yourself eat food you don't enjoy you will not be psychologically satisfied. You will miss out on the nurturing affect it will have.

   I do not care for a lot of vegetables. But I do enjoy; corn, peas, green beans, and broccoli. I don't like the taste or bitter feeling other veggies leave in my mouth. So I just eat the ones I enjoy.

   Find the nutritious food that you will eat and take the time to enjoy them.

4. Drink Water

   Drink a glass of water before your meals. Maybe a half an hour to an hour before; whatever feels right to you.

   The point of this is to make sure you are eating in response to hunger rather than thirst.

   Keep a glass of water at your meal. Take the time to take drinks in between bites. This helps you to slow down and cleanse your mouth of your previous bite. When you take your next bite you will be ready to enjoy it.

   This will help you learn to listen to your hunger cues.

5. Set Aside Time for Eating

   You may sit down to the computer/TV and grab a bag of chips or a plate of pizza rolls. Before you realize it the plate of food is gone. You didn't take the time to enjoy the food.

   When this happens you haven't been psychologically satisfied. Your mind still wants to enjoy the sensation of eating.

   If you are too busy doing something else or too busy thinking about a problem you'll eat with out being "present" with your food. This leads to a lot of overeating.

6. Take Your Focus off of Food

   When it isn't meal time; do something else. Stay out of the kitchen... you don't need to be in there.

   Emotional eaters tend to eat when food comes into their line of sight. Keep it "out of sight and out of mind".

   For a binge eater this is hard because your always in the stage of planning what you're going to eat next. Even after you've eaten a meal, you're planning another "binge".

   In order to create intuitive eating you need to find something you enjoy doing.

   If you eat emotionally, you may also tend to be displeased with yourself. You don't think you are valuable. Find something that you like about yourself and spend time developing it. It could be a hobby, a talent, work, reading, anything that supports you in a healthy way.

   When its not meal time, truly focus on yourself and your own personal development.

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