When I first started counseling people in intuitive eating and they would told me they wanted to lose weight, I’d freeze. I didn’t know how to handle this inconruence. To me, it made no sense. I know that in order to be in touch with our bodies, we have to take a step back and give ourselves the opportunity to really listen to our body. I know that in the past, when I’ve done things to “manage my weight” I was not in touch with my body, instead I was in touch with rules, which often created guilt and judgment around food. I know this, but my clients often don’t recognize this, at least at first.
Back when I first started doing intuitive eating counseling I would immediately tell people, “you can’t do intuitive eating work while trying to lose weight“. This was a turn off, of course, as many of my clients weren’t (and aren’t) ready to hear this. The better approach, I’ve learned now, is to help clients understand, on their own, why this doesn’t work, without coming right out and saying it. If you are someone who wishes to do intuitive eating work, but you also wish to lose weight, first, it’s ok! Next, here are some questions to ask yourself;
- Are you ok knowing that intuitive eating is not a weight loss program, and it may not help you lose weight?
- As you work through the principles of intuitive eating, do you think you’ll be able to truly tune into your body’s needs when you have the background noises associated with a desire to lose weight (and therefore restrict) in your mind, as well?
- What brought you to intuitive eating in the first place?
- For many, intuitive eating is “the last straw”, the “last option after years of diet failure”. For many intuitive eating is the “last hope for weight loss”. Ask yourself, how do you expect intuitive eating to be different than any other method of weight loss? Why would intuitive eating, as a weight loss method, work any differently than anything else you’ve tried?
- If your answer involves anything about letting go of rules, restriction, shame and guilt, and having more brain space to truly live your life, ask yourself if a focus on weight loss will help you achieve this. If your answer involves thinking that intuitive eating will help you eat what you actually need, and therefore will help you lose weight, ask yourself how you would respond if weight loss wasn’t an outcome.
- What is it about intuitive eating that scares you?
- What are your core values? Think of the key things about yourself that your best friends love and adore. Does weight loss bring you closer to these values? Does weight loss allign with these values?
- What are you hoping weight loss will fix? Where do these ideas and beliefs originate?
There is no right or wrong answer to any of the above questions, but instead they are meant as reflection questions to help guide you to make a next step. If you’re ready to start an intuitive eating journey, but not yet ready to let go of the idea of intentional weight loss, you may not be ready for intuitive eating. This doesn’t make you a failure, but makes you a human living in a weight focused society. Continue to reflect on your values and goals in life, and perhaps come back to intuitive eating when you’re ready.
If you aren’t quite ready to let go of the possibility of weight loss, but know you want to let go of restriction, rules, guilt and shame, it may be worth it to start a gentle approach to intuitive eating. If this is the case for you, perhaps a combination of therapy and intuitive eating work would be beneficial. Reach out any time if you’d like to share where you are at, with me, and go over some possible next steps.
Listen to my podcast episode about this very topic!
Sign up for an inturance-covered appointment with me through Nourish!
Visit my personal business website; www.NutritionUnmeasured.com
Check out my 10-module self-paced intuitive eating course on my new You Tube channel!!
