Tag Archive for: intuitive eating

How Do I Know if Intuitive Eating is Working?

One of the most common questions I am asked from my clients after weeks, if not months, of workshops and sessions, is, “How do I know if Intuitive Eating is Working?” This is a seemingly straightforward question that you think would have a yes or no answer, however, it is not that simple. First, to get to the root of the question one must define what “working” is. In the dieting world, you know that a diet is working when weight loss occurs, however, the goal of Intuitive Eating is not to lose weight.

 

The goal of Intuitive Eating is to restore a healthy relationship with your food and your body. I often think of Intuitive Eating as a lifelong journey with little bumps and divergence along the way. And these bumps are so important for your growth. So, how do you know when you are growing and progressing on your Intuitive Eating journey?

 

It’s when you can celebrate “non-scale victories.”

 

Now, you may be wondering what these non-scale victories are. Well, I have found seven small triumphs that my clients often experience on their Intuitive Eating journey, and I would like to share them with you.

 

Here are the 7 non-scale victories you can celebrate:

1. Feeling Free from Food Prison

You are no longer following food restrictions that trendy diets put into place. Instead, you are allowing yourself to eat the foods that you are craving. You are giving yourself the freedom to make the food choices that you desire.

 

2.Having Neutrality Around Food Choices

When you look at previously forbidden food, you are no longer labeling it as good/bad, legal/illegal. For example, that piece of chocolate cake – it’s not a good food or bad food anymore. When you label foods, you are elevating them and give them power over you. When you view foods as neutral, you are taking the power away from the food.

 

3.You’re No Longer Binging

Intuitive Eating is all about listening to your body and its hunger and satiety cues. When you tune into your innate signals, you will realize that you stop eating once you feel full. You may realize at that point that you are no longer binge eating.

 

4.You’re Not Obsessing Over Food Anymore

You don’t spend your day thinking about food anymore. When you are dieting, food becomes the central part of your day, how much of it to eat or what to eat. However, when you eat intuitively, thoughts of food zoom in when you are hunger and zoom out when you are done eating.

 

5.You’re Not Dieting

There are so many benefits that are associated with not dieting anymore. You are no longer depriving your body, and you can finally start healing your relationship with your body and food. And guess what – you have NO desire to diet! BAM!

 

6.You’re Listening to Your Body

You’re tuning into what your body needs and listening to it. When you are dieting, you are ignoring these signals and are listening to the rules and restrictions of the diet. However, when you learn to become an Intuitive Eater, you are attuned to the wisdom of your body, and now trust it wholeheartedly.

 

7.Feeling at Peace Around Food

Food is no longer a major issue in your life. You can go out and enjoy a meal without worrying about calorie content or exercising to “make up for it.” Instead, you are at peace, knowing that when you eat, you are nourishing your body.

 

These are just a handful of the non-scale victories myself and my clients have experienced. What are some non-scale victories that you have had?

 

If you would like more information on Intuitive Eating and non-scale victories check out my video here.

 

4 Tips to Cooking (and Eating) Intuitively During Passover and Easter

This weekend, people all over the world will be celebrating Passover and Easter. And as per usual, with the holidays comes an abundance of food. For some people, this is exciting and something they look forward to. After all, most holidays have traditional foods that only come around this time of year.

 

But for so many others, the holidays with all the food favorites cause quite a bit of worry, and maybe even fear. Why the fear, you might ask?

 

Unfortunately, the diet industry has taught you to not trust yourself with food. So you have so much doubt as to whether you will be able to enjoy eating without the guilt. This is magnified when there are so many options on the table, it gets downright overwhelming. Oftentimes, even one bite of a food you think is “forbidden” will lead to a “throwing in the towel” and “I’ll start again after the holiday” mentality.

 

Every year I tell myself that next year I will prepare less food, and yet that never seems to happen. As a hostess, I want to be sure everyone has the foods they love and look forward to. But as I begin cooking for this holiday, I am keeping 4 things in mind that I hope will be helpful for you as well.

 

  1. Listen to My “Gut” Instinct

 

I’m pretty good at “going with my gut”. And my gut tells me that I absolutely do not need 3 mains, 4 salads, 5 sides, and 3 desserts. So, I have written my initial menu, reviewed it, and asked myself which dishes my guests, and myself, will really love this holiday. And then I cut down the menu.

 

Items that I can make all year round don’t need to be on this holiday menu! Take roasted red potatoes for example. We love them, but we eat them all year round. So instead of potatoes as a side dish, we will have Matzo Farfel Ring (recipe on page 69 of my book Passover the Healthy Way) which is a traditional Passover recipe for my family (reminds me of my grandma. I can still picture her standing at my stove making the farfel).

 

  1. Trust My Family

 

I want my family and guests to enjoy the holiday food. But that doesn’t mean that they expect an entire smorgasbord. My son will often tell me “mom, there’s no room on the table anymore.” So, I am taking this to heart and will trust that whatever I make, will be enough.

 

  1. Trust Myself

 

A challenge for many people is staying fully present when eating socially, especially when there’s a lot of people and the meals stretch on and on. I get this!

 

My best suggestion is to set an intention before going into the holiday meal. Reminding yourself that you will check in with yourself and your hunger/fullness signals, without judgement.

 

Listen, there are times that I walk away from a holiday meal feeling a bit overfull. Yes, this happens to seasoned Intuitive Eaters as well. Sometimes it’s a conscious decision to want to eat a bit more, and sometimes it’s not.

 

At the end of the day, remember, there’s no perfection in Intuitive Eating. Trust that you will do the best that you can in the moment. I do.

 

  1. Make Intuitive Decisions Around Eating

 

While food is an important part of many celebrations, it’s not the reason for the celebration.

 

This year, the Passover Seder starts quite late (since we changed the clocks), which means by the time we get up to the “eating the meal” part of the Haggadah, it will be late. I have cut down my menu drastically because intuitively, I know that I (and the rest of my family) don’t prefer to eat heavy meals so late at night. It just doesn’t sit right in my/our gut.

 

This decision is allowing me to focus on the reason we are coming together for the Passover holiday. It’s not about the food at all.

 

Wishing you a wonderful Passover and Easter Holiday!

 

Please share with me your biggest takeaway in the comments below.

 

The Truth About Diet Meal Delivery Systems

It sounds great, doesn’t it. Meals are delivered to your doorstep each day or week, and all you have to do is heat it up and eat it!

 

The convenience of these systems may be tempting, but is it really in your best interest?

 

If you’ve been trying to lose weight and find meal prep too time consuming, I can understand why the idea of someone else prepping, preparing, and portioning your food sounds like a dream come true. As a matter of fact, when I researched the benefits of these diet meal delivery systems, some of the reasons included “control your portions”, “no food decisions needed”, and “eat healthier”.

 

In fact, these are exactly the reasons why you should NOT use these diet meal delivery systems.

 

Let’s bust these false “benefits” right now!

 

False Benefit #1: “Control your portions”

 

This “benefit” that the diet meal delivery systems tout is causing you harm! Any time you must use “control”, you are doing something against your will. You are being forced to eat an amount that this diet company says is right for you. But how do they even know how hungry you are when you sit down to the meal?

 

They don’t.

 

Only you know how hungry you are and how much food you need to feel comfortable and to meet your needs. By eating the pre-portioned meals, you are disconnecting further from your inner signals.

 

And usually, these pre-portioned meals don’t sustain you for long, and then you are on the prowl looking for something to eat.

 

False Benefit #2: “No food decisions needed”

 

Again, this is not a benefit, it is also causing you harm. By not making any decisions around food, you are eating on autopilot. You aren’t learning ANYTHING about your food preferences or how much food you need to fill a particular level of hunger.

 

How many things do you do in your life that require you to NOT THINK?

 

None!

 

You have to think when you are working on the job. You have to think when you are teaching your kids. You have to think when you are making life decisions.

 

Why should you not think when it comes to food?

 

Good question, right?

 

False Benefit #3: “Eat healthier”

 

Okay, so maybe these diet meal delivery systems are sending you more fruits, veggies, and whole grains. But are YOU learning anything about why these foods are good for you, and what they do in your body to keep you healthy?

 

Are you learning anything about eating to honor your health that will be sustainable for you?

 

At some point, if you are relying on these meals to help you lose weight, and the scale doesn’t move or the weight isn’t coming off as quick as you’d like it to, you throw in the towel to find a new system. And the benefit you did have from eating more fruits, veggies, and whole grains goes out the window too.

 

Sustainability for Life

 

When you consider eating styles, it’s very important to ask yourself if this eating style is something you can sustain for life.

 

When you eat out of a pre-portioned box and you are invited to a party or wedding, do you bring your boxed food with you? Do you eat before you go and then sit at the table eating nothing when everyone else is eating? Do you say “the heck with it” and eat everything in sight because tomorrow you are going back to your delivered food?

 

I’ve seen this happen! I was at a wedding and one of the women at my table ate nothing! I knew her history of dieting and understood that she was on some new diet plan and couldn’t eat. She looked miserable and didn’t enjoy herself at all.

Most social occasions revolve around food. Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy these occasions and not worry about the food and what you eat?

Losing weight on these diet meal delivery systems is generally not going to provide you with long-term weight loss. Throw this to the curb along with all the other diets you’ve tried.

If you’re ready to start your journey to breaking free of dieting, pop your name and email in the boxes below for your free online experience, Break the Spell of Diets in 3 Days.

 

Gentle Nutrition: Self-Care Versus Self Control

One of the biggest misconceptions regarding Intuitive Eating is that nutrition guidelines and recommendations go out the window, or there is no focus on nutrition at all—it’s the “eating whatever you want when you want” mindset. However, this is far from the truth.

Gentle nutrition is the tenth Intuitive Eating principle and reads a little something like this:

 

“Making food choices that honor your health and taste buds while making you feel well. Remember that you do not have to eat perfectly to be healthy. You do not suddenly get a nutrient deficiency or gain weight from one snack, one meal or one day of eating. It’s what you eat consistently over time that matters—progress not perfection is what counts.”

In order to reach a point of where gentle nutrition can be incorporated, there needs to be space created for a positive relationship with food that allows for this. Hence why there are nine principles that come before this that help you…

 

  • Dismantle diet mentality
  • Challenge the food police
  • Get rid of diet rules
  • Reframe limiting beliefs
  • Accept your body

 

A solid foundation built on these principles needs to be in place for nutrition to be brought into the mix and approached in a non-diet way. This way you’re able to make choices from a loving, caring space and that consider all aspects of who you are (mentally, emotionally, and spiritually).

Difference Between Gentle Nutrition and Traditional Nutrition

 

The difference between nutrition from an Intuitive Eating approach vs. traditional approach is that nutrition is rooted in self-care and approaches it in a way that is sustainable.

 

Gentle nutrition is not rigid, restrictive, or filled with complications like traditional nutrition is often taught or perceived.

What does gentle nutrition look like? It’s different for everyone!

 

Here are some examples:

 

  • Having an extremely busy schedule so you choose frozen or convenience foods, but you try adding some fresh vegetable to the dish.
  • Following a gluten free eating style because you have celiac disease.
  • Choosing low FODMAP foods because you struggle with IBS flare ups and foods with low fermentable carbs feel better and don’t trigger symptoms.
  • Intentionally cooking your meals at home most days of the week.
  • Not giving nutrition much of a thought but including as many fruits and vegetables into your day as you feel like.

 

Gentle nutrition is determined by you based on what feels good in your body!

 

Prioritizing nutrition to whatever degree you feel is your choice (it’s not a “should”). You are making the decisions to engage in nutrition in a way that makes you and your body feel good (which embodies the meaning of self-care). Waking up every day and choosing food that helps you work your best, feel your best, and be your best IS a form of self-care.

Gentle Nutrition: Self-Care, Not Self-Control

 

Gentle nutrition takes the approach that you’re going to choose to eat that salad because it makes you feel your best and you want to nourish yourself with foods that make you feel good (self-care).

 

Whereas traditional nutrition takes the approach that you need to eat that salad because it will help you lose weight, get you healthy, or you choose the salad because you feel ashamed to eat anything else, especially in front of others. It is what you “should” do (self-control).

 

Taking nutrition from this approach can be a challenge. If you feel yourself struggling with determining the difference between self-care and self-control when it comes to food choices, ask yourself these questions:

 

  • Do my actions and decisions around food come from a place that feels balanced, free, elastic, and fluid, or do they feel rigid, controlled, and restrictive?

 

  • If I make a choice that strays from nutrition recommendations, how do I feel?

 

Need support in Gentle Nutrition: Check out The Intuitive Nutrition Circle™ (aka The IN Circle™.) where you learn to integrate gentle nutrition with your Intuitive Eating practice.

 

Note: The Intuitive Eating Basics course is a pre-requisite for The IN Circle. But now you can get the Intuitive Eating Basics course AS PART of The IN Circle for a short time only at a special price. Click here for that option and use coupon code FOODPEACE at checkout!

Offer expires 4/1/22

 

 

How to Tackle Nighttime Overeating and Binge Eating

Do you find yourself coming home from work after a long day and immediately heading to the fridge? Does it feel like this eating is “out of control”?

There are many reasons why you may be overeating or binge eating at night when you are not physically hungry.

  1. You’re not eating enough during the da,y leading to feelings of ravenous hunger at night.
  2. You are eating for reasons other than biological hunger, such as emotional hunger, boredom, loneliness, sadness, etc.
  3. You ignore the signs of hunger throughout the day.
  4. You are using food as a way to unwind or relax at night due to a hard day or general life stressors.
  5. Eating at night is a habit or a part of your routine (that you just can’t break)

Once you’ve identified when and why you may overeat and binge eat at night—how do you confront this issue?

Here are four ways to end the struggle with nighttime eating:

(1) Eat consistently throughout the day.

Eating meals throughout the day ensures sustained energy, limits glucose spikes and crashes and can be just what you need to stop overeating and bingeing at night.

 

Ensure your meals have a balanced amount of macronutrients—carbohydrates, protein and fat.

 

If you are a chronic dieter, it’s quite possible that you aren’t including this very important nutrient with your meals – carbohydrates! Part of embracing Intuitive Eating is recognizing that all food groups are nutrients fit! Carbs are the preferred fuel source for your body. Add carbs back to your meals throughout the day, and you may just see those nighttime binges disappear.

 

(2) Power up with snacks.

Overeating at night is more than likely due to a lack of sustained fuel throughout the day. Having large gaps between meals with no food can leave you feeling ravenous by the time your next meal comes around.

 

If you have a good rule that states “no eating in between meals”, it’s time to toss that rule to the curb. Adding in a snack, either between breakfast and lunch, or between lunch and dinner could prevent those serious hunger pangs that leads to overeating, both at dinner and late at night.

 

Here are some snack suggestions:

  • Cheese, fruit, and crackers
  • Yogurt and granola
  • A handful of trail mix
  • An apple or banana with almond butter

 

(3) Listen to your hunger cues.

Ignoring hunger cues will more than likely lead to overeating. Choosing to listen to the signals of your body will allow you to give your body what it needs. This in turn will help you build back trust with your body.

 

This feeling of trust is important to develop since dieting has stripped you of trust. If you’re holding onto a limiting belief around hunger and fullness, then work on reframing these beliefs into more empowering true beliefs.

 

For example, if you think “I can’t trust my hunger and fullness signals”, flip it around and start to tell yourself “I CAN eat when hungry and stop when full.”

 

(4) Check in on old dieter habits.

Do you find yourself defaulting to old dieting habits? Do you:

  • Only include certain foods in your meals
  • Deny yourself certain foods because they’re “bad”
  • Skip meals
  • Hold onto food rules (ex: no snacking during the day)
  • Ignore your hunger cues

 

These habits are deep rooted in your diet mentality—check in with yourself to identify if these habits may be surfacing. The only solution is to grant yourself unconditional permission to eat and allow yourself foods that satisfy you.

 

Still stuck in the spell of diets? Pop your name and email in the boxes below and start your journey towards breaking the spell of diets and developing TRUST!

 

Common Misconceptions about Intuitive Eating

For those new to Intuitive Eating or have just recently discovered it, there are usually a ton of ideas floating around in your head about this eating philosophy such as:

 

  • “This whole thing seems too good to be true!”
  • “Something has to be wrong with this philosophy”
  • “There is NO WAY this whole thing actually works!” 

Although this philosophy and idea around eating may SOUND too good to be true—there is actually nothing wrong with Intuitive Eating!

In spite of this, there are many myths and misconceptions floating around about Intuitive Eating, and the methods behind it, that often deter people from taking the steps to becoming an intuitive eater.

Let’s take a look at some of the common misconceptions associated with Intuitive Eating.

Misconception #1: “If Intuitive Eating is all about eating whatever and whenever you want… doesn’t that mean I’ll be eating all the time?

 

When many people hear about Intuitive Eating, the thought of “eating whatever and whenever they want” is frightening because they feel they will be out of control or only eat “junk” foods if they allow it into their eating regimen.

The key misconception here is that while there are no foods “off limits” with Intuitive Eating, it doesn’t mean eating all the time. Intuitive Eating is not the “see it, want it, eat it diet.”

 

Through the principles and teachings of Intuitive Eating, you will learn to ask yourself questions before choosing to eat. Those questions relate to whether you are physically hungry in this moment, if you’re experiencing emotional hunger, how you felt the last time you ate this food and so on.

 

Misconception #2: “It seems like Intuitive Eating is just another diet!”

 

Intuitive Eating is not another diet plan or rule book to follow. However, many people turn it into a diet. This is generally because they haven’t fully rejected the diet mentality, and that mindset is distorting the messages and principles of Intuitive Eating.

 

Furthermore, if someone is promoting Intuitive Eating as a way to lose weight, then that is NOT Intuitive Eating. It is unethical to promise weight loss through Intuitive Eating. Intuitive Eating focuses on bettering one’s relationship food.

 

Counting or tracking anything is NOT Intuitive Eating. It is a diet!

 

Misconception #3: “Intuitive Eating doesn’t care about nutrition.”

 

Principle ten of Intuitive Eating is “Honor your health though gentle nutrition.”

 

This principle focuses on nutrition in a gentle fashion and combines having a healthy relationship with food and a healthy balance of food.

Intuitive Eating is a process of attuning your mind, body, and food.

 

Gentle nutrition is the integration of your inner attunement (thoughts, feelings, beliefs, hunger-fullness cues) with the external environment.

Intuitive Eating is often criticized because it encourages people to eat what they want, which the naysayers believe will lead to poor nutrition choices and weight gain. However, research shows the opposite. Attuning to feelings of hunger and fullness before, during, and after a meal, as well as considering satisfaction, is associated with improved nutrient intake and eating a wider variety of food.

 

Misconception #4: “Intuitive eating is just about eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full.”

 

Intuitive Eating is SO MUCH more than hunger and fullness.

Intuitive Eating emphasizes:

  • Challenging diet culture and the diet mentality
  • Granting yourself unconditional permission to eat
  • Discovering the feeling of satisfaction
  • Learning to challenge the food police
  • Recognizing and honoring feelings without using food
  • Honoring gentle nutrition
  • And so much more!

 

Join me to learn more: Monday March 14, 2022 > Free Webinar

3 Steps to Eating for Healthy Living: The Intuitive Eating Blueprint

Register HERE. (replay available)

 

 

 

3 Reasons to Say Yes to Intuitive Eating

Every week I receive dozens of phone calls asking me for a meal plan to help them lose weight. Most of my clients have tried the most popular diets on the market with little success. Instead of giving them another meal plan with strict rules to follow, I will instead point them in the direction of Intuitive Eating.

 

Intuitive Eating is not a weight loss program. Unlike diets, the focus is not on weight loss. It’s on creating a healthy relationship with food as you work towards regaining trust in yourself and food choices. Intuitive Eating is the opposite of a diet. You will not follow a set of rules set forth by a money-making corporation but instead, you will learn to listen to your body’s natural hunger and fullness signals.

 

Your relationship with your body is affected by many years of dieting. Marketing campaigns are centered around the theory that everyone needs to look a certain way. However, everyone’s body is different, and we aren’t all going to look the same.

 

Intuitive Eating embraces that idea that everyone is different and that all bodies aren’t meant to look the same. That is why Intuitive Eating does not come with a set of rules and instead, focuses on restoring your relationship with your body.

 

Losing weight may make you happy short term. But when you gain that weight back, you are the opposite of happy. You can find inner peace and restore your relationship with food and your body through Intuitive Eating.

 

Here are 3 reasons to say yes to Intuitive Eating:

 

1. You are in charge

 

After years of dieting, you aren’t listening to your hunger and fullness signals as a guide to your eating, you’ve been listening to external rules. Intuitive Eating reminds you that you are in charge of your food choices and your body. You have the inner wisdom to know when you are hungry and when you are full, when you should start eating and when to stop.

 

2. You will live life guilt-free

 

Every diet has a list of restrictions with the food you can and cannot eat. But what if you happen to want to eat a food that’s on the “avoid” list? You can deny your desire for only so long. So, you indulge, and the guilty feelings and harsh self-talk start. With Intuitive Eating, you learn to enjoy the foods you love without guilt, and without the worry of overeating.

 

3. You will restore trust in yourself 

 

Marketing campaigns for diets want you to think that everything you have done before you start their diet was wrong. Diets will make you think that you have been choosing the “wrong” foods for years or doing the incorrect workout regimen. However, you are in charge of your body and what it needs. The diets have stripped you of trust. But Intuitive Eating can help you regain that trust!

 

WholeBody Trust: Intuitive Eating for a Peaceful Life Program is now open. Click here to learn more!

Avoid Falling into the “One Last Diet Trap”

You realize that the diets you’ve been on all these years have not served you well. More than likely the weight that you lost found you again. It’s depressing and you feel distraught. You really want to lose this weight once and for all.

 

But the diets haven’t worked. Well, maybe they worked short term, meaning you did lose weight when you followed them. But that weight loss was short-lived (research shows dieters regain weight within 1-5 years).

 

You’ve heard about the anti-diet approach to eating. But somehow, that doesn’t sound logical to you. From what you’ve read on the internet, Intuitive Eating means eat what you want, when you want. (Nah, that’s not what Intuitive Eating is at all. I’ll get into that on another blog)

 

Either way, you’ve decided to look into Intuitive Eating, after all, what do you have to lose. As you consider “trying” Intuitive Eating, the thought of maybe you’ll go on one more diet to lose those X pesky pounds, and then do “Intuitive Eating”. This is what is called – falling into the “one last diet trap.”

 

What is the One Last Diet Trap?

 

This is when you decide to give up dieting to learn to become an Intuitive Eater. But your friend, colleague, coworker, mother etc. just called to say they started a new diet and it’s amazing, you should do it too.

 

You think about it and consider it. Maybe, just maybe, THIS will be the diet that will help you lose the weight. You decide to try this one last diet, then you’ll start Intuitive Eating.

 

You have just fallen into the trap!

 

Don’t Ignore the Facts

 

Falling for that one last diet ignores the facts that:

 

  1. Diets do not work. For the 3-5% of people that may keep the weight off, they exhibit disordered eating and exercise habits to do so.

 

  1. The studies are clear. Approximately 95% – 97% of dieters eventually regain the weight they lost and up to 2/3rds gain back more weight than they initially lost.

 

  1. You will not find one study that shows that intentional weight loss leads to long-term weight loss.

 

  1. Rebound weight gain is defined as the regaining of weight you lost, plus more. This weight regain has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of willpower, poor self-discipline, or not following the rules you were told to follow! The fact of the matter is that your body was not programmed to be restricted. The more you restrict, the greater the rebound weight gain!

 

  1. Dieting causes your body to go into survival mode. When your body doesn’t get enough fuel, it thinks “Oh my! I need to go into survival mode. There is a threat, a famine is coming!” Your body will do anything it can to “survive” when it is not receiving the proper nutrients. When your body goes into survival mode, your metabolism decreases, and you actually gain more weight!

 

Bottom Line:

 

The most predictable outcome of yo-yo dieting is weight cycling (losing and regaining the same weight over and over again).

 

Yo-yo dieting and weight cycling is detrimental to your physical and mental health!

 

Come join me in the END THE YO-YO-ING Workshop, four days where you will learn how you can STOP the diet roller coaster once and for all!

CLICK HERE to learn more and register – for free!

 

Unconditional Permission to Snack

As an intuitive eater, it’s all about giving yourself unconditional permission to eat but… are you actually giving yourself unconditional permission to snack as well?

Snacks are an important source of energy and nutrients and can help your body in a lot of different ways—keeping your blood sugar steady, preventing you from having mood swings or even burning out after a long day.

For those exiting the diet world, snacking in between meals was once something deemed wrong—but not with intuitive eating.

 

There is nothing wrong with snacking!

If you’ve denied yourself snacks for a long time, or just simply don’t know where to start, you may be wondering—what the heck do I eat between my meals to satisfy by desires and keep my hunger at bay?

In the world of Intuitive Eating, snacks don’t have to be fancy or meet any sort of requirements to be considered “a snack”—in fact, a snack is whatever you want it to be.

 

For example:

  • Leftovers from the night before
  • A bag of trail mix
  • A bowl of cereal
  • A scoop of ice cream

 

YES! These are all snacks!

Whatever your body is desiring—whether that’s something salty, sweet, light or heavy…there is no judgement on if it’s a snack or not.

 

If it’s fueling your hunger needs, and leaving you satisfied, that’s all that matters!

If snacking is something new to you, or your stuck on what to try, here are some snack ideas based on what YOUR body is telling you:

 

Sweet Snacks

  • Smoothies
  • Oatmeal raisin cookies
  • Banana nut muffin
  • Yogurt with crunchy granola
  • Toast with nut butter, or fruit spread
  • Fresh, canned, dried fruit
  • Chocolate chips

 

Savory Snacks 

  • Dips (like hummus, tzatziki, bean dip, guacamole) with crackers, chips, or veggies
  • Toast with hummus spread, or avocado
  • Cut vegetables like carrots, cucumber, bell peppers, or broccoli florets
  • Cheese and crackers
  • Hard boiled eggs with salt + pepper
  • Tortilla chips (or any kind of chips)
  • Nuts and seeds

 

Salty Snacks

  • Popcorn
  • Homemade potato chips
  • Homemade French fries
  • Olives
  • Cheese dip with crackers
  • Salted roasted chicpeas
  • Trail mix

 

For more information on snacking as an Intuitive Eater, watch my latest video upload at Bonnie.Tube.

 

3 Reasons Why Dieting Will Never Bring You Food Freedom

I was once someone who followed the latest fad diets. From carbohydrate restriction to counting calories, I have tried so many “guaranteed weight loss” trends. Even though I did lose some weight on these diets, I always gained it back. While these diets all had different regimens, one thing they all had in common is that I was miserable when I was on them.

 

Dieting is a way of life for many people. You probably know someone who is always bringing their own food to parties and constantly trying to “slim down,” you may even be one of those people. Perhaps you are reading this after breaking your current diet and you are desperate to find another way. Or you are reading this, and you are at your goal weight, having lost the weight by starving yourself, drinking shakes, or eating “clean” but tasteless food.

 

Dieting is no way to live. Although the diet industry wants you to believe that their “program” is a “way of life”, it’s just not peaceful and is filled with worry about whether you will gain the weight back, or whether there will be food you can eat wherever you go. I know I was tired of that life. And my clients were too.

 

Intuitive Eating is a journey that helps you listen to your body’s inner wisdom that you were born with regarding hunger, fullness and satisfaction around food and eating. This approach to eating will help to bring you mind and body peace.

 

Here are 3 reasons why dieting will never bring you the food freedom you desire:

 

  1. Diets Are Always Centered Around Food

 

Most diets will make you track everything that goes into your mouth. Food will constantly be on your mind. You will be thinking, what did I eat yesterday? What did I eat before? What am I eating now? It’s exhausting. Food should not be the center of your day; food should not encompass your entire brain. There is so much more to life that you can be doing than thinking about food all the time.

 

Diets bring food obsession and worry, not food freedom.

 

  1. Diets Cause You to Feel Guilty

 

Every diet has a list of restrictions with the food you can and cannot eat. But what if you happen to want to eat food that’s on the “avoid” list? Well, what usually happens when you are told you cannot have something? Yep, you want it more. You can deny your desire for only so long. So, you indulge, and the guilty feelings and harsh self-talk start.

 

Diets bring food guilt, not food freedom.

 

  1. Diets Cause You to Lose Trust in Yourself

 

Diets make you believe that you have been choosing the “wrong” foods for years and they cause you to blame yourself when you don’t lose weight. Last I checked, you are the owner of your body, your inner signals, and thoughts. You know your body better than anyone or anything. You alone should be in charge of what food you eat, not the diet.

 

Diets bring loss of self-trust, not food freedom.

 

I know now badly you want to be free of dieting, and you want to be free to have food present in your life with ease.

 

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