Ep: #67 - Discover The Power Of Food Choice For Intuitive Eating And Weight loss.

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to episode 67 of The Wellness 4 Women Show

Discover the Power of Food Choices for Intuitive Eating and 'Weight Loss

What is your experience with 'diets' and food?

For me, all I heard was a list of foods you can and cannot eat. Even in the diets that were more inclusive and said you can eat what you want there were still limitations set and deterrents.

or

Maybe there was a complex menu that just didn't work practically when trying to work out your weekly shop let alone a set of tastes that would not perhaps fit with others in your household?

OMG, they were so frustrating.

Sure I loved looking at the food pictures, would feel super inspired but the reality was they were just not practical or I felt too constrained.

It is no wonder that intuitive eating works so well for me as we can eat the foods we love without guilt and shame.

A common misunderstanding or thoughts people have about intuitive eating is that they cannot lose weight or that they would gain weight if they ate what they want so maybe the phrase 'eat what you want' needs some clarity as well as how you can still 'eat what you love' and 'lose weight' if that is what you are working on.

So that is what I am going to cover today.

One of the first things I heard my coach say was you can eat what you want and I took this very literally.

I can honestly say I have literally eaten everything I wanted.

So you may be wondering then how the hell did you 'lose weight'?

It was simple I played about with quality and quantity.

It was all about finding a balance.

Now usually when you think about balanced diets there is still a big set of rules and a list of do's and don'ts

But I never once said I cannot have something.

As soon as you say you can't have something what do you feel?

Restricted!

What happens if you feel restricted?

You end up in the diet cycle and likely crave the thing you are telling yourself you cannot have.

It is the fundamental reason why diets don't work. Some diets will say you can have whatever you want but then when you tot up the points or calories your heart sinks.

It is important to notice any resistance that comes up for you no matter what you chose to do.

Whether that be working with me in the Backstage Pass Membership or you go it elsewhere because you can technically run my methods alongside other diets I just wouldn't recommend it.

So in this episode, I am going to cover food 'quality'.

'Good' Food's & 'Bad' Foods

If you have watched previous shows you will know I strongly encourage you not to view food as 'good' or 'bad' due to the fact this type of blank-and-white thinking leads us back into the 'diet' cycle. When you think about food as 'good' or 'bad' it is then a slippery slope to you starting to say that you have been 'good' or 'bad'.

The language we use in day to day has so much more power than we realise as our brains are always listening.

Jumping into your thought bubbles again a moment you may be thinking. 'okaaay, so if you don't recommend points/calories and you don't recommend calling food 'good' and 'bad' how the hell do I play about with food quality?

So I will tell you.. just in case that is what you are thinking 😉

Not All Meals Are Created Equal

True pure intuitive eating is not about 'actively' working on 'weight loss' but one of the principles is to honour your health and to include soft nutrition so for many they can 'lose weight' through this and by focusing on listening to their body which I will cover next week.

Your food choices can be so much more though than about 'weight loss'. Maybe you are seeking to improve the quality or quantity of certain foods due to medical conditions as I talked about last week. Or maybe you are looking to up your nutrient intake for a boost in energy. Or to try certain food to help balance your hormones.

It is about exploring different ingredients, understanding the nutritional value of foods, and making conscious decisions to work on eating foods that promote your health, well-being and your goals such as, 'weight loss', energy, cholesterol, blood pressure etc.

It doesn't mean always eating clean or healthy but likewise, it does not mean always eating chocolate.

Technically there is no rule anywhere that says you 'can't' only eat chocolate. But sadly this may not be the best choice for overall or long-term health.

But we can learn to eat chocolate in a way that suits our purposes but even chocolate is not created equally!

Keep It Simple

The key for me is keeping it simple. The simpler the better and to always look to keep the joy factor.

So what can simple look like?

I will use one of my all-time favourite foods as, an example.

TOAST! I love toast.

So when thinking about food quality, keeping it simple and the joy factor what do we have to consider?

First is what is available, what do you like, what do you want to try? That's it you don't need to worry about points, calories, weighing anything, checklists or shouting out on FB if you can eat xxx on xxx diet or how many points are in a yoghurt.

Will it be supermarket, baker or homemade?

White, wholemeal, brown, granary, sourdough, seeded, rye, gluten-free

400g, 800g, bloomer, super thick toastie, thick slice, thin slice, or something like nimble

The nutritional value in each of these, the ingredients, additives etc will vary dramatically

Next you have to pick your toppings

Is it a lashings of butter, a modest lick of butter, margarine, no butter or marge.

Then what?

No extra topping? Marmite? , jam, peanut butter?, chocolate spread, honey?

I hope I am demonstrating how food is not created equal and I have only spoken about toast.

Old diet ways would have likely been 2 slices of something like nimble as you could have more slices and certain diets, using a teaspoon to guess the weight of the lowest fat marge I could get and marmite as it was free.

Twas Ok, i suppose but not a way to live forever sometimes I want decadent pure joy toast.

I want thick door step with lashings of butter. Or I want chocolate spread to tickle my taste buds.

Old 'dieting' me would have felt guilty for even contemplating such frivolity but I have eaten both of these throughout my 'weight loss' journey.

My typical go-to is actually a mix of all different toppings on half slices as I want all the tastes. Sometimes I eat seeded bread and sometimes white. I don't like wholemeal or brown so I don't eat it but if I wanted to work on this I could... I chose not to.

What I found was that the more I freed myself up and said I could have what I wanted whilst simultaneously powering up which I will come onto later the more I changed my relationship with food as I became a 'free foodie' rather than a 'despondent dieter'. Working on my 'weight loss' actually felt enjoyable and fun!

Power-Ups

I mentioned power-ups. Power-up are simple, they are taking the things that you want and trying to uplevel them in some small way, on a sliding scale or dramatically if you really want to push the boat.

Maybe one week I will buy white bread, another week seeded. Sometimes I play a game to see if I can go without toast swapping it out for fruit and yoghurt. Sometimes I mix it up.

It is just about thinking about it and seeing what works for you.

Seeing what comes up. Do you feel resistant? Do you feel guilty for eating certain foods? Do you worry about eating certain foods? Do you have beliefs about eating vegetables? Clean living? Additives etc? All of these things need to be explored and considered and then worked on with mindfulness if required.

The key though is exploiting the power of choice.

The Power of Choice

Choice is a bit of a tale of two halves without accountability and looking at power-ups.

Choice could sound like you give your heart every single whim and fancy it wants and desires.

In a way, this is what you are working on if you want to become a free foodie but you also then need to factor into it the 3rd A of the Triple-A method which is accountability.

Holding yourself accountable and taking full and complete unfettered ownership of your life and achieving your goals.

If you acted purely on desire, which is what we tend to do when not actively working towards our goals then most of us would be back to eating chocolate 24/7 but when you add in the fact you have set your goals and dreams you then have to hold yourself to it with love.

The question is have you set your path? Are you clear on who you want to be and what you want to achieve?

If you are in the Backstage Pass Membership I certainly encourage this as you go through the Awakening Awareness Section of the Food Freedom Course.

There is a saying that goes "What you not changing you are accepting" which in this context means if you are not actively reviewing and looking at your choices then you are not likely to change and will stay the same.

It can take a bit of courage and bravery to look at food with an open mind, especially when the media puts up so much pressure on us to eat certain things but ultimately I believe having fun with food is the key to long-term success.

You can make pretty much anything fun if you work on it. Goal setting, playing with food quality and working on weight loss can be a joy or at least more joyful than it has been right now and that all comes through working on your mindset and choice is a big part of this.

Making choices that suit you and your future self is key. When it comes to intuitive eating, playing with food quality will give you the best chance of sustainable weight loss. You can make conscious and empowering choices around the quality of food you eat that lead to achieving your desired results. Intuitive eating should not be restrictive; instead, it can be a journey to discover a healthier relationship with food that you can sustain.

The Super Power Of Curiosity

On that note, let's touch on my favourite superpower of curiosity.

Loving curiosity is the linchpin to sustainable change.

You get to put the pieces together of your life jigsaw!

By being curious you can question your beliefs and opinions about what food you should eat or not eat.

When you start to explore different ingredients and understand the impact of their nutrient value on your body, you can make more mindful decisions about what goes into your body that could impact you achieving your goals.

It is about trying different foods, different recipes.

If something doesn't work for you, leave it out and try something else or try it again later.

This is a journey of personal discovery so fill it with experimentation, fun and laughter.

My hope for you, as you start to tinker with your food choice, is that you make conscious and empowering choices around the quality of food you eat and create an enabling way to power up your food choices in a sustainable way.

How could you get curious about your food choices today? Let me know below.

The Super Power Of Forgiveness

Lastly, I want to end on the power of forgiveness. I want you to forgive yourself for your past and to promise to forgive yourself in the future.

Your past is your past, where you have been does not have to be where you are heading.

Accepting what is means you don't suffer any more. This does not mean tolerating and putting up with crap but it does mean understanding and loving yourself deeply.

In terms of the future, whilst experimenting things will happen and proverbially 'go wrong' in your eyes. You will make choices that you later question. You will forget you have a choice, that you can be curious and probably that you can forgive yourself but hopefully this show may cross your path just at the right time to help you remember.

Weight loss or any goal you are working on is not impacted in the long run by one singular meal but it is a series of choices and actions, some you win and some you lose as it were but never stop trying.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, when it comes to intuitive eating and sustainable weight loss or habit changes, playing with food quality is key. Intuitive eating should be a journey of self-discovery, exploration, experimentation and fun. Make conscious and empowering choices around the quality of food you eat to power up your food choice in an enabling way. Lastly, always remember to forgive yourself as this is the only way to unlock genuine lasting change.

The purpose of this show was to remind you, that you can have food freedom and feel empowered by your food choices, that you are able to make conscious decisions around the quality of food without feeling deprived or restricted. without actually feeling like you are on a 'diet'

Ok folks, if you want to work with me and don't already check out the description box. For my lovely, Backstage Pass Members your resource drop will happen Friday. This week you have a workbook on how you can play with your food choices.

Until next time.