In my last article, I talked about the three ways Intuitive Eating can help you on your weight loss journey. However, you can run into trouble with following the plan especially if you are a serial dieter. Here is the problem you might face and what you can do to fix it.

My Experience and My Failure

For practically my whole life I grew up trying one diet after another. I remember the first diet I went on was at eleven years old. What this did to me was make me very self conscious about the way I ate and what I ate. Sadly, nothing I did ever seemed to work for one reason or another. I just kept gaining and losing weight and eventually became fat and unhealthy. Nearly ten years ago, I finally was fed up with the way I looked and felt. I was ready psychologically to lose weight and I did!

My journey to a healthy weight took about a year and a half. During this experience, I ran came across Intuitive Eating. I decided to give it a try. And it worked! But, because of my long history with dieting, I was consumed with what I was eating, how much I was eating, and when I was eating. One day I felt like I ate a little too much and too much of the wrong food. My obsession with food came back and I could no longer stick to the plan. I went back to ultra dieting again!

My concerns were understandable. I was conditioned from to be obsessed with food. And besides that, I was finally losing wight and I did not want to get fat again. I could just no longer bring myself to be relaxed enough around food to follow the plan. I failed!

How to Break Free

If Intuitive Eating is something you want to try, and you do not want to fall into the same trap I did, then here is what you have to do. You really have to throw yourself into the plan. It might be hard to do especially if you have been conditioned to be obsessed with food. You have to trust the program! And you have to trust yourself! And you have to not care about failure!

You will fail! So what. Get over it immediately! If you eat too much one day, it really is not big deal! The chances are, if you are really following the program, you will not do it continually. Honor your hunger and full signals. Really slow down and enjoy your food! Your body will tell you when you have had enough. Trust the program it really does work!

Reconditioning yourself to not be obsessed with food will take time. Accept that fact and eventually you will be free of your obsession and free to be at harmony with your body.

My Intuitive Eating Today

Currently, I maintain my weight almost exclusively though Intuitive Eating. I’m not going to lie to you, I also engage in a bit of Intermittent Fasting but this is mostly due to other health benefits of IF and not for weight loss. I am finally free from the dieting cycle and I feel great!

Please remember I am not a doctor and you should consult your doctor before you start any plan.

If you found this article helpful, please like, share, and leave a comment. Thanks!

Halloween 2023. So very current!

Article by G. E. Carlin