New Year, New Intentions

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New Year, New Intentions

A couple of weeks ago I was wrapping up with another support group cohort and we were discussing what entering into a new year has looked like for us in seasons past and what we want it to look like this time around. Participants shared stories of adopting new diet plans and work-out routines and setting resolutions for self-improvement and change. They also described how even the best laid plans were often short-lived and the frustration and defeat that inevitably followed as resolutions faded.

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Can Healthy Eating and Intuitive Eating Co-Exist?

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Can Healthy Eating and Intuitive Eating Co-Exist?

One of the fears many clients report when we talk about letting go of food rules is, “If I let go of the rules, I’ll only eat the unhealthy foods.” There’s a lot to unpack in this sentence, including the black and white belief that foods are either healthy or unhealthy, but also why this fear exists in the first place and what they fear would happen if this were true. This post, however, will focus what I think the main question is, which is: “can I eat intuitively and also desire to eat nutrient dense foods?”

The ways in which intuitive eating is depicted in the popular media and by many social media influencers often doesn’t help matters much when it comes to contemplating this question. So often leading people to view the intuitive eating concept of unconditional permission to eat as synonymous with eating with abandon (which it’s not) and making doughnuts the unofficial symbol for intuitive eating.

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Becoming an Intuitive Eater: Understanding Appetite Cues

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Becoming an Intuitive Eater: Understanding Appetite Cues

Appetite cues, also known as hunger and fullness cues, are the sensations we experience in our bodies that help to communicate when our body needs nourishment and when it’s had enough. They are regulated by a complex system of hormones and other chemical messengers. However, this internal regulatory system can also become dysregulated, making eating in response to these cues quite challenging. So, how do we eat intuitively if our appetite cues are all out of sorts?

In this post we’ll discuss:

  • How dieting and disordered eating contribute to appetite cue dysregulation

  • How to re-regulate and reconnect with appetite cues

  • Other possible disruptors to appetite cues and what to do if we experience any of these.

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6 Reasons to Embrace Intuitive Eating This Summer

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6 Reasons to Embrace Intuitive Eating This Summer

Intuitive eating is a non-restrictive, internally directed approach to eating that honors your body’s innate wisdom (e.g., your appetite cues), your individual food preferences, and your whole health and wellbeing. It recognizes that food nourishes us far beyond fueling our physical bodies and supports us in cultivating a peaceful and positive relationship with both food.

If you are done with the on-again-off-again diet cycle, now is the perfect time to start exploring intuitive eating.

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We’re Over “Clean Eating”

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We’re Over “Clean Eating”

We’ve all heard the term “clean eating” before. Maybe you read about it in a blog, or saw someone post about their clean eating routine on social media, or have found yourself in a conversation with a coworker or friend who has decided to start eating clean.

When we speak with our clients about concepts like food flexibility and the permission to eat all foods, it’s not uncommon for us to hear that yes, they like the sound of that, but shouldn’t they also try to stick to clean eating for their health?

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