Intuitive Eating brings
Balance and Health

What is intuitive eating?

A while ago I saw a book at Barnes and Nobles that caught my eye, entitled "How Much does your Soul Weigh?" by Dorrie McCubrey. As I flipped through the book I came across this quote:

"Naturally thin people really have only one secret: they always listen to their intuition"

How true! I think we can all benefit from developing our own intuitive eating. This is a challenge, with all the dietary advise out there. But we all have unique nutritional needs, called our biochemical individuality, which can vary greatly, just like we have different hair color or fingerprints.

Science can advise us, but our bodies know what we need.

Our bodies want to be healthy, because health is our natural state. Health is getting rid of the inner and outer interference to our natural state of joy.

So how can we develop our intuitive eating style?

Here is my own intuitive eating guide:

Choose whole, fresh foods. MSG, pesticides, sugar, aspartame and all the fake foods confuse the body and then it's harder to hear your intuition.

Eat for personal balance. Find your personal balance of fats, carbs and protein foods. balance means you feel energetic, focused and calm.

Never diet again. Diets mess up your metabolism. Diets assign numbers and judgments to food, and that gets in the way of intuitive eating. Throw out the scale.

Eat slowly and with beauty and peace. That's how the French eat chocolate and croissants and don't gain weight! Enjoy food with flowers, candles, beautiful dishes, or eat outside in nature.

Have a body and soul supportive lifestyle. It's really important to find a joyful way of stress reduction. Stress creates too much cortisol and messes with your hormones.

Notice your mental and visual diet. Think about what you take in through your eyes, ears, and feeling world. Does it feel balanced and uplifting? The soul needs beauty, peace, and joy.

If you eat for emotions, ask yourself, what am I really hungry for? Just be curious, and the answer will come to you in time. Journal about your hunger on all levels. You could be hungry for movement, creativity, sleep, water, connection, peace, color, etc.

Get enough sleep. Our bodies need sleep to balance hormones and repair the body. If you have insomnia work to resolve this. I use skullcap herb (I call it meditation in a bottle!) and calcium-magnesium. And I keep the room dark when I sleep.

Drink enough water. Water helps things flow, both physically and energetically. So if you feel stuck on any level, try a glass of water.

See everything as a fun experiment of listening within. Replace judgment with curiosity.

Making Changes....

I like the Kaizan method of change, which says to make one small tiny change in the direction you want to go. Taking baby steps to intuitive eating practices breaks down resistance. You start a momentum, without your rebellion part starting in too much!

Soul Care

Some healers call "care of the soul" our primary food. Soul care to me is time in nature, time to create, time to pray or meditate. What is soul care to you?

Try keeping a journal to record your deeper thoughts and feelings and day to day things as well. Journaling can bring insights and help you develop intuitive eating.

Being mindful and having some peace will help you be aware of your intuitive guidance. It's all about listening to the body, its symptoms, its whispers to "try this" or " time to rest now"... If we are open we will hear (or feel or see) intuitive signs to direct our lifestyle.

Turn down the noise and listen. Let your body guide you.

This is such a rich topic. I'll write more articles on soul care and emotional eating--coming soon!

Here's some food for thought:

"Be aware of the body, It's a cosmic computer, part of the universal intelligence. Listen to the body and you will make right choices"..--Deepak Chopra

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