The Faith of Intuitive Eating

There’s change, and then there’s change. The first one might be something like cutting your hair off or starting a new job. The second is like: I graduated from college, got a job in finance, realized I hated it, and now I’m a chef; or, I used to live in California with my husband and children, now I live in New York with my children; or, I used to eat when I was stressed (bored, emotional, angry, etc), and I no longer do that.

The second kind of change is transformational, you become something other, or more, than you were. Unlike change, transformational change requires more than a decision, it requires a commitment and a willingness to experience what comes up along the way.

What comes up along the way can be quite challenging, and part of the reason for that is that we’re not ‘prepared’ for it. By ‘prepared’ I don’t mean ready, I mean we don’t have the skills and tools to deal with all the pushback that comes up when we are facing the discomfort that is inevitable when we are making big changes.

Becoming an Intuitive Eater is to transform your relationship with food, it can be uncomfortable and scary in the beginning. Here are a couple of tips for the journey:

Know that ‘truths’ will show up to derail you along the way so you’ll want to have faith in yourself and where you are headed in order to be in their presence.

The ‘truths’ will sound like this: you’ll never change; it doesn’t really matter; you don’t have the discipline to take good care of yourself; you have no self control; it’s too hard; it’s too late, nothing’s ever worked so why bother.

Your goal is to find ways to be in the presence of those thoughts without letting them ‘win’.

One way is recognizing that the ‘truths’ are fears, they are wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing. They are the ‘proof’ you’ve collected that you’ll never change. Think of them as old friends, familiar and comfy to hang out with, and now that you’re making a new friend, one that thinks you are incredible and capable, the old ones want to make sure you don’t forget them and they will get as loud as they need to to get your attention.

Don’t use your energy to banish them, try inviting them in and listening. A good technique for that is to journal around the thoughts that come up. Write them out and then challenge them by asking if they are true. Know that those old friends want to ‘protect’ you from all the discomfort, but as you get stronger in your new thinking and behaviors you’ll find you need them less and less.

Keep the faith!