When IE Doesn’t Work
There are 2 key things I look out for when working with women to elicit lasting behaviour change as it relates to their eating habits & food choices. If I sense either is present or operating even ‘behind the scenes’ - we have to deal with that FIRST…before my Intuitive Eating (IE) method “works”. (*For more info on my method, check out 10/10).
It may be helpful to consider if you are working with either of these circumstances, so that you can prioritize your focus on these essential elements before working on the fundamentals of my IE style: total CHOICE following the BOUNDARIES of the body.
So here they are…
#1 DEPRIVATION
Whenever we are restricting ourselves from certain foods and/or eating at certain times - we immediately take away freedom of choice and hence our identity. The gut holds our core identity, so if we interfere by trying to abide by external rules, versus following our own path - we disconnect with ourselves and the boundaries of our body.
Some of the very first steps I take with clients is ensuring they are not operating with any “food rules” - of which they may certainly believe are serving their weight/health goals - are actually interference with true health and a lean body mass.
Consider: what - if any - food rules are you living by right now? No gluten, dairy, refined sugar? No eating past 8pm? No eating before 11am? Contrary to popular belief, these rules (or “guidelines”) are not helpful and only ever lead to OVEReating.
#2 BURN-OUT // FATIGUE
As I’m sure all of us have experienced at one point or another in our lives - it is incredibly difficult to connect with ourselves (nevermind our ‘highest selves’ so to speak) when we are exhausted. Rather than try to white-knuckle it and figure out how to quit emotional or otherwise out-of-order eating patterns when we are spent - I believe we simply need to recharge FIRST.
Sleep is so important. When we are sleep deprived we are basically drunk. I’m not in the business of trying to convince you to be ‘mindful’ when you’re on substances…and likewise I cannot truly reprogram a woman’s relationship to food when they are not adequately rested - it’s impossible & makes no sense.
First and foremost you need to level-up to baseline functioning-human status. From there, we are able to access belief systems and core processes so that we can start turning them around.
Dr Huberman has a wonderful resource - a toolkit for better sleep (it’s free), if you’d like to check it out here.
So if you are looking to heal your relationship to food and truly get a handle on any overeating or just general obsession with food - please take note to address all of the above that’s relevant to you as your primary step.
Should you want a more hands-on and structured support system for your transformation - my 10/10 program is made for women ready to shed their excess weight AND quit their non-stop-thinking-about-food issues. If this is you & you’re open to a proven and efficient method to turn your habits around for good - you can apply for 10/10 here.