Do you love to cook?  Do you take the time to prepare what you love?  As a past dieter (I’m hoping by now you are on your way to saying that!), consider how you decided what you were going to cook for dinner.  More than likely it was what the “diet menu” dictated for the night.  If you didn’t like the choice, I bet you still made it because to deviate from the menu would mean you “broke your diet”.

 

So think about it.  When you were dieting, and you cooked what you were told to cook, did you really enjoy it?  Did you derive great satisfaction from it?  I have many clients who are wonderful cooks, and unfortunately stopped cooking when they were on the diet rollercoaster.  It was too tempting to cook “something really good” and not be able to eat it.

 

Now think about the last yummy meal you cooked as an intuitive eater.  You took the time to figure out what you really wanted to eat, you pulled out a favorite family recipe or opened up a new cookbook, and took the time to prepare what you wanted.  How did you feel?

 

I have been working on writing my next cookbook which, although is not yet titled, will incorporate the principles of intuitive eating.  I have had so much fun creating and testing new recipes.  As an intuitive eater, it has opened my mind and my meal options to so many delicious foods that as a past dieter, I would not have eaten.

 

By taking the time to ask yourself what you want to eat, and taking the time to prepare that food, you will feel more satisfied, more in tune with your internal signals and more nourished.

 

It doesn’t have to be anything complicated.  It can be a simple sandwich, a plate of vegetable crudité with hummus, or if you are feeling adventurous, a three-course meal.  The key is to approach it from an intuitive eating standpoint and find ways to make cooking an enjoyable part of your life.

 

Your turn to take action:  Ask yourself what you really want to eat for dinner tonight.  Take the time to prepare and enjoy it.  Let me know how this experience was for you.