After I posted my Ultimate Guide to Intuitive Eating post (which you can find here), I got a lot of questions about what intuitive eating really looks like. Listening to your body and internal hunger clues means no more restricting – but it doesn’t mean binging on chocolate and chips all day either. Read on to learn what I eat in a day of intuitive eating!
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or dietician. The information contained in this article comes from my personal experience and professional sources. If you’re in need of medical or dietary advice, please seek help from a trusted health professional.
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Breakfast
Multigrain thin buns with peanut butter, banana, and a peppermint tea.
Calories: who cares!
Confession: for most of my life, I skipped breakfast.
I did this for a couple of reasons. I am not a morning person, so taking the time to make and eat breakfast was normally low on my priority list during my already rushed morning routine. But mostly, I was proud of myself for the calories I could skip early in the day. I thought that eating less calories in the morning would help me consume fewer calories for the day overall.
Boy, was I wrong. Skipping breakfast can actually wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels, negatively impact your productivity, and lead to weight gain. Since I’ve learned this, I make it a point to eat and enjoy breakfast.
Today’s breakfast was super simple – peanut butter on multigrain thins with a banana and a mug of peppermint tea. I love peanut butter – it’s such an amazing and tasty way to get a little protein boost to start my day. I put it on my bread today, but some days I just put it straight on my banana for some peanut-y banana-y goodness.
Now, I try to view breakfast as my little slice of “me” time in the morning. Mornings can be so chaotic, but sitting down mindfully with my breakfast and tea is the perfect way to set myself up for a great day.
Lunch
Leftover chicken fried rice with chives.
Calories: who knows!
Remember when we were kids and we were told that we had to eat everything on our plate before we could leave the table? That advice might help us as picky children. But as we grow up, it can lead to overeating and ignoring our body’s natural hunger cues.
Learning to leave food on my plate when I feel full was one of the biggest (and hardest) lessons that intuitive eating has taught me. After a year of mindfully practicing intuitive eating, I still struggle with the feeling of seeing food left on my plate after a meal. Something that’s really helped me is embracing the magic of leftovers! The food that I choose not to eat isn’t wasted, but repurposed into another amazing meal for the next day.
Today’s lunch was leftover from what I made for supper yesterday – chicken fried with red and green peppers, onion, egg, and rice. It was only made more delicious today with the addition of some chives from the garden. I was so hungry and it was so delicious that there were definitely no leftovers this time!
Snack
A bowl of Smart Food white cheddar popcorn.
Calories: 🤷♀️
I have a long and complicated relationship to this popcorn. I absolutely love it – but for a long time, I refused to keep it in the house because I knew I would eat it all.
For a long time, my yoyo dieting and poor body image lead to binging on snack foods. I would restrict my eating until the floodgates would open and I would find myself eating an entire bag at once. I wasn’t hungry, and I wasn’t savoring my favourite food. It was simply a compulsive response to my negative relationship with food.
Now that I’ve worked to rebuild this relationship with food, I can actually enjoy snacking again. I don’t snack mindlessly anymore, or shame myself for eating a snack when I feel hungry.
When I felt hungry this afternoon, I poured some popcorn into a bowl and sat on the deck to enjoy it. No guilt, no binging, just me fueling my body and enjoying my favorite snack.
Dinner
Barbecued ribs with baby potatoes, asparagus, corn on the cob, and pasta salad. Not pictured: a piece of carrot cake!
Calories: no idea!
You guys. This supper was AMAZING. I can’t take credit for this one though – we stopped by my Dad’s house and my stepsister cooked for us. She just finished culinary school, so I could never say no to a dinner invitation when she’s cooking!
In cultures all over the world, food brings people together. But when you struggle with disordered eating or poor body image, the idea of enjoying a delicious meal in front of other people can be daunting.
I am ashamed to say I spent so many family dinners eating less than I wanted to and only eating when it seemed like everyone was looking away. I spent more time concerned with my calories and carbs than connecting with the people around me.
Intuitive eating has helped me heal those feelings. Food fuels us – but it’s also meant to be enjoyed. Finding the joy in eating again helped me feel totally free and happy while savoring this amazing meal.
Additional intuitive eating resources:
My Ultimate Guide to Intuitive Eating
My first post on intuitive eating and all the principles that have helped me so far! The perfect place for beginners to start exploring what intuitive eating is all about.
Intuitive Eating, 4th Edition
Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch wrote the book on intuitive eating… Literally! This book is an amazing and detailed guide to your IE journey. If you are serious about intuitive eating, you need to check this out!
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Thanks so much for checking out what I eat in a day of intuitive eating! My diet today probably wasn’t perfect – but it was delicious and exactly what I needed today. What does a typical day of eating look like for you? Let me know in the comments below?
With love,
Guilt-free eating is ok with me! I have learned so much more about listening to my body. I agree with you about how hard it is to stop eating when you are actually full. Also, I skip breakfast most days too, but I LOVE tea. Gotta have it!
Yes! You are so right! Listening to our bodies is the most important part. If not eating breakfast works for your body then that’s all that matters. Thank you, Anita!
That is such an interesting and nice concept. It’s very true that you should not try to finish off all on your plate just because you are taught to do so. That definitely works against you. Loved your post.
Thank you so much, Prajakta! We are taught so many rules about food and eating – at the end of the day our body instinctively knows what it needs. Here’s to guilt-free eating!
I love the idea of intuitive eating.
surely will come back to have a look at this post once more!
thanks for sharing!
This is such a cool concept! I love the idea. Also feel like this is a good thing to practice now since we are all home, plan for groceries etc. this prob won’t work for me if I’m hungry outside lol
Thank you so much, Sher! Things have definitely been harder since quarantine ended where I live but it’s just a matter of recalibrating that inner compass again.
Lovely post! I skip b/fast most days and really need to remember that it is the most imp meal of the day. Agree that home made and healthy food makes a huge difference for our body and mind. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Food really is our fuel and it’s so important to eat in a way that makes your body + heart healthy. Thank you so much for your comment, Nishtha!
I love this idea!! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Thank you, Cathy! Once you get the hang of it it’s an incredible way to eat!
This post make me very curious definally l would like to read more😁
Thanks so much, Francy! I would definitely recommend looking into it more. My previous post + the Intuitive Eating book I’ve listed are a great place to start!
This post made me happy as it totally intuned with the post that I just wrote about ditching the diets. I love that! You are right, we need to look at food as fuel. I know that feeling of feeling bad too when we should just enjoy the moment with the food and the people around us.
Thank you, Jessica! I absolutely loved your post as well. We are on this earth to do so much more than count calories!
I always wondered what this meant, thank you for taking us into your daily lifestyle I’ll have to try this!!
Thank you so much, Britt! I would definitely recommend learning more about it because it’s been life-changing for me 🙂
Love this article and the ‘who knows’ calories! Very inspiring. Its how kids naturally eat and us adults could learn from that!
Ok so I’ve heard this term floating around, even my therapist suggested it because of my frustration with calorie tracking and how it leads me to unhealthy patterns. This post makes it seem so simple! I’m just afraid I’d totally go off the rails. Thanks for linking additional resources, I’m going to explore more!! <3
Thanks so much Samantha! I was afraid of that too when I first started, but I’ve noticed that I go off the rails a lot less when I’m eating intuitively! When you’re dieting or calorie tracking it can create such a feeling of guilt and shame around food. Once you take those feelings away you don’t feel that compulsion to “cheat” anymore because there are no rules to break! I’m no expert, but feel free to pop me a message if you have any questions or if you’d like to chat more about intuitive eating 🤗
I have heard alot about intuitive eating these days. It kind of is like how I see food. Life is short so why not have that extra slice of cake. As long as you exercise it does not matter. We all die anyways to enjoy life’s little things.
I do tend to eat when my body says since if I don’t, I will get shaky.
When I was younger breakfast was not my favorite meal, my stomach was never ready to eat that early, now I find that I can’t wait as long.
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