Eventual Goal: Intuituve Eating
SuzJok85
Posts: 14 Member
Hi everyone- I know people tend to disappear from this group, since the calorie-tracking nature of MFP is in direct conflict with the principles of intuitive eating, but if anyone wants to keep discussing or friend me, please feel free.
I'm drawn to the intuitive eating concept, because choosing how one eats has become so rife with anxiety and self- & external judgments. I'm sure men deal with this too, but I feel this is especially difficult for women. Have you had a lunch date/ dinner get-together with friends where there wasn't talk of "I shouldn't have this," or "I've been so 'bad' lately," "I need to cut down on carbs/sugar/fruit..."I should just have the salad, but..."? I've been guilty of this talk too. When did we stop giving ourselves permission to enjoy food? I've been concerned that I'll spend my whole life feeling stressed and guilty about eating--something essential for nourishing my body--something that should bring health and enjoyment.
I've also struggled with emotional eating lately. Although I didn't use to eat a lot of junk food, I've started commuting longer distances to work and traveling between schools in my district, so that opened more opportunities for picking up a cookie bar or chips. There's no problem with having those, but I was eating them to temporarily quell feelings of stress. If I ate them while hungry, it made me less hungry to eat food that makes my body feel good. I like that although Intuitive Eating discourages us from seeing foods as 'bad,' it also teaches us to be mindful of WHY we are eating and to listen for our body's signs of fullness.
I have been tracking calories on and off on MFP to get a sense of healthy meal sizes and sort of recalibrate my sense of hunger and fullness. If I track too often, I get caught up in what I can/can't eat, and it makes me mental. I'm not overweight--I'm on the higher end of the "healthy" range of BMI and body fat percentage (which I know is not a perfect measurement system). I'd like to just lose a little, gain muscle tone, feel stronger and healthier, and gradually shift my focus from weight on to my running performance, which seems to be easier the further I get into training.
If anyone wants to stay on MFP and have buddies who don't track calories, or don't do it often, but just want encouragement for mindful eating, let's keep this discussion going, or send me a friend request.
I'm drawn to the intuitive eating concept, because choosing how one eats has become so rife with anxiety and self- & external judgments. I'm sure men deal with this too, but I feel this is especially difficult for women. Have you had a lunch date/ dinner get-together with friends where there wasn't talk of "I shouldn't have this," or "I've been so 'bad' lately," "I need to cut down on carbs/sugar/fruit..."I should just have the salad, but..."? I've been guilty of this talk too. When did we stop giving ourselves permission to enjoy food? I've been concerned that I'll spend my whole life feeling stressed and guilty about eating--something essential for nourishing my body--something that should bring health and enjoyment.
I've also struggled with emotional eating lately. Although I didn't use to eat a lot of junk food, I've started commuting longer distances to work and traveling between schools in my district, so that opened more opportunities for picking up a cookie bar or chips. There's no problem with having those, but I was eating them to temporarily quell feelings of stress. If I ate them while hungry, it made me less hungry to eat food that makes my body feel good. I like that although Intuitive Eating discourages us from seeing foods as 'bad,' it also teaches us to be mindful of WHY we are eating and to listen for our body's signs of fullness.
I have been tracking calories on and off on MFP to get a sense of healthy meal sizes and sort of recalibrate my sense of hunger and fullness. If I track too often, I get caught up in what I can/can't eat, and it makes me mental. I'm not overweight--I'm on the higher end of the "healthy" range of BMI and body fat percentage (which I know is not a perfect measurement system). I'd like to just lose a little, gain muscle tone, feel stronger and healthier, and gradually shift my focus from weight on to my running performance, which seems to be easier the further I get into training.
If anyone wants to stay on MFP and have buddies who don't track calories, or don't do it often, but just want encouragement for mindful eating, let's keep this discussion going, or send me a friend request.
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