You did such a great job of pulling out the good stuff! (Journalists are the best. I'm not biased at all hahaha). Thank you SO much for sharing my story with your audience.
My pleasure! We need more voices like yours. It’s my hope that more women will hear your story, recognize themselves in it and realize there are ways to be strong, fit, and healthy without deprivation.
I feel like I need to clarify- when I said counting macros was "garbage," I meant that it was trash for my mental health. But I don't mean to throw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak.
I think there's a way to be mindful about macronutrients without being obsessive (which I may post about soon).
Balancing macronutrients strategically can be super helpful to help you meet performance goals or just to avoid the blood sugar spikes and crashes that can make you suddenly ravenous or hangry...
But for me, at that time, counting macros as a means of getting leaner because I bought the lie that this was my ticket to permanent, easy, flexible body recomposition and that the right body was going to make me happy- that was garbage.
I would love to read that post. As I go further into my intuitive eating journey, I feel like I'm finally FINALLY (after two years) at the place where I can really start bringing in gentle nutrition. And it became really clear to me recently that I needed to up my protein, especially in the mornings. It's the missing piece, and when it's there, it keeps me satisfied. I'm not counting, but I'm loosely paying attention to the macros so that I'm getting what I need, but I could always use more tips!
Fabulous article. Very interested in intuitive eating. Wondering how it connects with food addictions and emotional eating? Or is it more weight loss related?
To piggyback on what Kristi pointed out, it asks you to get curious about emotional eating, but also to acknowledge that what you might have considered emotional eating, was in fact a very natural response to deprivation. Many people find that once they start eating at regular intervals, their natural hunger cues return (they are often dampened over years of restriction) and they don't feel the need to binge/overeat. Similarly, once you allow yourself full permission to eat any and all foods (another tenet if IE), what felt like an addiction might not in fact be an addiction after all.
With IE, the goal is not to lose weight (some people may gain, some may lose), but rather to heal your relationship with food and your body. The idea is to focus on your internal cues (cravings, hunger satiety, etc) rather than external cues (calories, macros, weight, pants size).
Intuitive eating is a non-diet approach to eating where you allow your body's cues to guide you in eating decisions. Most of us, whether we're conscious of it or not, have hidden rules that guide our decisions around food that have very little to do with our actual needs. IE addresses emotional eating, but it also doesn't demonize it, more like it's something to explore and be aware of.
It's not a solution for every body, because some people can't connect to their bodies, either because of serious trauma, past eating disorders or other health disorders/issues. It's also a framework that comes from a place of privilege—in order to do it you must have plentiful access to food, which not everyone does. But it's done wonders for me in healing my relationship with food and my body.
It's something I work on every day. I don't know if I'll ever be done but I feel so much more ease than I did before I started to let go of diet culture.
You did such a great job of pulling out the good stuff! (Journalists are the best. I'm not biased at all hahaha). Thank you SO much for sharing my story with your audience.
My pleasure! We need more voices like yours. It’s my hope that more women will hear your story, recognize themselves in it and realize there are ways to be strong, fit, and healthy without deprivation.
I feel like I need to clarify- when I said counting macros was "garbage," I meant that it was trash for my mental health. But I don't mean to throw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak.
I think there's a way to be mindful about macronutrients without being obsessive (which I may post about soon).
Balancing macronutrients strategically can be super helpful to help you meet performance goals or just to avoid the blood sugar spikes and crashes that can make you suddenly ravenous or hangry...
But for me, at that time, counting macros as a means of getting leaner because I bought the lie that this was my ticket to permanent, easy, flexible body recomposition and that the right body was going to make me happy- that was garbage.
I would love to read that post. As I go further into my intuitive eating journey, I feel like I'm finally FINALLY (after two years) at the place where I can really start bringing in gentle nutrition. And it became really clear to me recently that I needed to up my protein, especially in the mornings. It's the missing piece, and when it's there, it keeps me satisfied. I'm not counting, but I'm loosely paying attention to the macros so that I'm getting what I need, but I could always use more tips!
What a great interview!
Thanks for reading!!
This was a great read. Thank you.
thanks so much!
Glad you enjoyed it, Keris!
Fabulous article. Very interested in intuitive eating. Wondering how it connects with food addictions and emotional eating? Or is it more weight loss related?
To piggyback on what Kristi pointed out, it asks you to get curious about emotional eating, but also to acknowledge that what you might have considered emotional eating, was in fact a very natural response to deprivation. Many people find that once they start eating at regular intervals, their natural hunger cues return (they are often dampened over years of restriction) and they don't feel the need to binge/overeat. Similarly, once you allow yourself full permission to eat any and all foods (another tenet if IE), what felt like an addiction might not in fact be an addiction after all.
With IE, the goal is not to lose weight (some people may gain, some may lose), but rather to heal your relationship with food and your body. The idea is to focus on your internal cues (cravings, hunger satiety, etc) rather than external cues (calories, macros, weight, pants size).
Appreciate this, Pam. ❤️
I recently tried eating by macros and micros. It did not last long!
Intuitive eating is a non-diet approach to eating where you allow your body's cues to guide you in eating decisions. Most of us, whether we're conscious of it or not, have hidden rules that guide our decisions around food that have very little to do with our actual needs. IE addresses emotional eating, but it also doesn't demonize it, more like it's something to explore and be aware of.
It's not a solution for every body, because some people can't connect to their bodies, either because of serious trauma, past eating disorders or other health disorders/issues. It's also a framework that comes from a place of privilege—in order to do it you must have plentiful access to food, which not everyone does. But it's done wonders for me in healing my relationship with food and my body.
Thank you. Creating a positive relationship with food has been a lifelong journey for me. Appreciate this space to learn more. ❤️
It's something I work on every day. I don't know if I'll ever be done but I feel so much more ease than I did before I started to let go of diet culture.
I think like anything else that matters, it's a practice. As long as the benefits are felt, it's worth doing.
Yes and yes to both of you. The longer I go on the journey, the more I realize the practice is the destination. It’s hokey, but it’s working for me.
Great post Kristi and Pam!
Thank you!