Intuitive Eating begins with attunement. Use these four tips to prepare your heart, mind, and body for Intuitive Eating.
Pause. Look at your surroundings for 30 seconds. Where are you? What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? What can you feel?
This, my friend, is a practice in attunement.
We can’t intuitively do anything unless we become attuned to what is going on inside of us. Intuitive Eating requires you to have attunement.
We have to practice to become Intuitive Eaters.
Here are four things you can do to set the foundation to become an intuitive eater:
1. Grow in Trust
You can grow in trust by practicing kindness. One way to be kind to yourself and others is to slow down. God slowed himself down to the pace of the brokenness of mankind to rescue us from sin and death! That is the ultimate kindness!
Some of us come from families that never slowed down. Our bodies have experienced stress from before we can remember. Even now, when we have some control over the pace of our life, we revert to what we know. A body sown in stress and hurry will fight against a slow-down, but this slow kindness is the first step in preparation for Intuitive Eating.
Take a few minutes to journal in response to these questions: In what areas of my life do I feel rushed and stressed? How can I slow down in one area (even if it means I won’t finish what I want to finish)? What do I need to entrust to God regarding my life?
2. Practice Your Observational Skills
Attunement and observation go hand in hand. If you’re glued to your phone with earbuds in and your laptop by your side, chances are you’re not observing much around you. If you don’t observe what’s around you, you may not observe what’s in you, either.
Before you get more attuned to your nutritional needs for Intuitive Eating, I encourage you to observe the world around you. Take time throughout the day to intentionally pause and look around you. As you grow in external observation, you can practice internal observation or mindfulness.
[Read How To Live In the Present (with your whole mind, body, and spirit) for three questions for internal observation on the Revelation Wellness Blog.]
Preparing for Intuitive Eating Printable
3. S.O.A.P. Yourself
If you tend to be an emotional eater, Intuitive Eating can help you break free. One of the principles of Intuitive Eating is “honor your feelings without using food.” But, how? S.O.A.P. is one strategy to help you begin. When you are hit with a bomb of emotions, it’s time to S.O.A.P. yourself:
SOFTEN – An emotional moment is not the time for fight or flight. If you are in a safe place, take time to soften and sit in your feelings without worry or condemnation. I suggest you try a Be Still and Be Loved Meditation on the Revelation Wellness Podcast.
OPEN – Now that you’ve found your Rock, it’s time to be open. Take out a piece of paper and write what you’re feeling and thinking. Or, say it out loud without judgment.
ACKNOWLEDGE – Your feelings, your thoughts, and the situation. Don’t suppress, ignore, or judge them.
PROVISION – Rather than eating a sleeve of cookies, ask God what you really need. Present your needs to Him and ask Him to provide for you in your weakness.
4. Be H.O.L.Y.
Another principle of Intuitive Eating is “respect your body.” As Christ’s followers, we know that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we belong to Him. We respect our bodies because we are each uniquely image-bearers of the Almighty God! Still, we are not immune to the temptations of this world.
Every day we see thousands of images and advertisements that entice us to take a pill or try a shake to change our bodies into someone else’s ideal. This can send even the most steady mind into a tailspin. One strategy to break free from the world’s mold is H.O.L.Y.:
Have
Only
Loving-Kindness
Yearnings
Be H.O.L.Y. and ask yourself: Is this food the loving and kind choice right now? Am I making this decision out of love and kindness or fear and worry? Is this a loving and kind choice for myself and others?
“The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.” Psalm 145:17
Alisa Keeton, Founder of Revelation Wellness.
Author, speaker, and freedom bringer Alisa’s life’s purpose is to make healthy disciples who make healthy disciples. She believes in the power of the Body Of Christ and its many unique parts making up one complete whole. Like any body, it grows best under tension. We are living in the best of times for tension. Let’s train!
All Your Questions Answered
If you’re tired of dieting and you want to enjoy the body God designed, Intuitive Eating might be for you! The Christian’s Guide to Intuitive Eating: Trusting God With Your Food will answer all your questions about Intuitive Eating, like:
– What is it and who’s it for?
– What does faith have to do with Intuitive Eating?
– What’s the difference between Intuitive Eating and dieting?
– Can you lose weight with Intuitive Eating?
and MORE!
Learn more about Intuitive Eating:
