Just like there are a million diets out there, there are countless strategies that claim they can cure binge and emotional eating.

And just like diets, I’ve been there and done that with all of those things. I’m guessing you’ve probably tried a fair share of them yourself.

One of the more popular overeating cures out there is called “intuitive eating.”

When I was stuck on the diet-overeat-repeat rollercoaster, I was desperate for change. I knew that dieting only made things worse, and I needed another plan.

Intuitive eating seemed to be the anti-diet I’d been looking for, so I went all-in. I listened to my body like you were supposed to, hoping it would “tell” me what it needed.

Funny thing, but when I “listened to my body,” it told me to eat macaroni and cheese, Doritos, and pizza.

Where did I go wrong with intuitive eating? Was this “listen to your body” thing a joke, or just something that worked for everyone but me?

Turns out that I honestly didn’t know what intuitive eating meant.

Intuitive eating can be a useful tool. But there’s more to it than sitting back, listening to your body and hoping it tells you to eat kale salad instead of donuts.

Ready to learn the missing piece in the intuitive eating puzzle, and fine-tune your body’s natural hunger-fullness cues, and finally be free with food?

Stay with me and find out what intuitive eating really means, and how to truly listen to your body and actually get the answers you need!

One thing I love about intuitive eating is that it does encourage you to stop dieting. If you’ve hung out here before, you know that nothing sets you up for failure faster than a traditional restrictive eating plan.

But here’s the crazy part. If you’ve been dieting for most of your life, your body and brain are used to it. Abruptly stopping the diet for total food freedom can throw you into complete chaos.

Here’s how it frequently goes…

You stop dieting cold-turkey and try to “listen to your body.” But because you’ve been on the diet treadmill for so long, when you suddenly throw out all the rules, it triggers an overeating frenzy.

Then you get freaked out because you’re eating everything in sight. You’re terrified you’re going to gain weight, so you quit this intuitive eating thing and go right back to dieting.

I tried to shift from total restriction to total freedom. Turns out that instead, it lead to a food free-for-all.

Before I knew it, I was back to what I knew best: diet, overeat, guilt, repeat.

There are a few steps you need to take between full-on dieting and food freedom. Unfortunately, the usual intuitive eating methods pretty much skip them all.

The truth is that you have to get your body and brain out of survival mode before listening to your body will work. You can’t hear what your body is saying when its natural cues have been dulled by excessive dieting and fear-induced eating.

In other words, you’ve got to get out of stress eating mode before your body will actually start talking to you.

The transition starts in phases. I’ll show you what those phases are, and how to work through them one step at a time.

Phase One: Eat adequately. This might sound like a counter-intuitive eating question, but are you eating enough? I’m not talking about going on a food frenzy. I mean eating enough to take care of your body’s needs.

Start by eating balanced meals that have a variety of foods, including carbs (#sorrynotsorry, Keto army!). Meals that care for your body’s needs and leave you satisfied for at least a few hours.

Not those “mini-meals” like half an apple and four almonds, like Cosmopolitan magazine might tell you. It should leave you feeling slightly full but not stuffed, and not thinking about food for three to four hours.

Forget what diet culture says about feeling a little bit hungry. Make sure you’re satisfied.

Phase Two: Recognize your personal hunger-fullness cues. How do you know to “eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full?” If only it were that easy, right?

It honestly can be that simple, but it doesn’t just happen the minute you stop dieting.

Your body needs a chance to get out of the survival response that years of dieting brought on. That needs to end before your body actually speaks to you again.

So the more you ease yourself out of the diet-scarcity-survival response, the more your body will tell you when it needs to eat, and when it’s satisfied.

We all have slightly different hunger cues, hints that show up way before your stomach starts growling. (That’s more of a demand to eat than a signal!)

My hunger cues usually show up around my midsection, near the solar plexus. I also know I need to refuel when I start feeling just a little spacey and start losing concentration. That’s how I know it’s time for a nourishing and satisfying snack.

Now, remember that there’s a difference between your body asking or nourishment and wanting to eat something just because it’s there. This is the difference between listening to your body and listening to your mind triggers.

It might take time for your natural cues to return, especially if you’ve been dieting for a long time. So take it easy on yourself, and practice checking in with yourself, and start recognizing the difference between cravings and genuine hunger.

Phase Three: What is your body really asking for? Intuitive eating tells you to listen to your body, but it doesn’t really tell you how to interpret what it says.

You might get the idea that your body will “say” it wants a carrot or a salad in clear terms. But that’s not quite how it happens. (At least not in the beginning!)

These days I get pretty clear signals from my body, and navigating food choices is easy. But when I first started listening to my body, all I heard was a lot of chaotic screams.

So the more I got to know my body’s natural cues, the clearer its messages became. But it took time, and I didn’t start with direct questions (or immediate answers).

I started by asking myself how I wanted to feel, then decided what foods would support me in that.

Some foods help you feel grounded and calm. Others help you feel more energized. Still, others give you that check-out, celebrate with special treats, food-coma kind of vibe.

The key is knowing how you want to feel and choose a meal that will make you feel that way. It’s an essential step in connecting with your body, learning its cues, and interpreting what it has to tell you.

Here are a few examples of how this works…

Let’s say one day, I have a video shoot, and I need a meal that will get through four hours of camera time. I’d want something that would energize and sustain me for a long day in the studio.

My food choices would be very different if I needed to decompress after a stressful day. In that case, I’d be looking for a meal that was grounding and peaceful.

So let your body tell you what it needs based on how you want to feel, and you’re well on track to making intuitive eating work for you.

Phase Four: Build trust with yourself and your body. Now that you’re taking care of your body’s needs and you’re eating adequately, you’ll notice that something amazing starts to happen.

You begin building trust with your body.

Over time, you’ll eliminate those triggers that send your body into panic mode. You won’t be nearly as likely to give in to cravings, because your brain and body knows that food is not scarce, and you’re going to feed it properly.

This is one of the most significant advantages of getting out of survival mode and connecting with your body. It takes some time and patience, but the results are totally worth it.

So that’s the real deal with intuitive eating!

It can take time and patience to restore your body’s natural. But if you take your time and follow these tips, you’ll soon regain the connection to your body. That is what makes listening to your body and intuitive eating possible!

This can be a bumpy transition at times, though. Like we said before, intuitive eating is a useful tool, but it doesn’t magically work overnight. It’s pretty tough to go from strict dieting to “listening to your body” without taking the necessary steps.

That’s where my team and I can help!

Click the image below where I’ve got a special gift for you! We call them, “Craving Cards”, and they’re one of our most popular tools!

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You’ll learn how to stop cravings in their tracks, feel confident, and get back your power, fast! 

Love,
Brittany

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