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After years of sharing my vegan lifestyle with others and then exploring this plant-based world through the eyes of raising young children, one thing sticks out to me:
Our relationship with food is SO important!
As young people - women in particular - we grow up with a kind of obsession around our bodies and how we look. We’re fed a lie that happiness and fulfillment come from looking a certain way, or achieving a specific number on the scale.
All of this contributes to an unhealthy relationship with food. The act of eating becomes scary and food can become the enemy. We seek to control our diet and lifestyle, rather than fuel our bodies so that we can have energy and strength to do the things that truly bring us joy.
I’m very aware that lifestyle choices like veganism or vegetarianism can actually be avenues of controlling food intake by cutting out major food groups. As a vegan advocate and 23-year vegan, it is so important to me to emphasize that, for me, becoming vegan is a means of nourishing, fueling and caring for my body.
It comes from a place of love for my own body, for the things it can do, and for life in general.
So today I’d really like to speak about intuitive eating. As much as Daniella’s Digest provides grocery lists, meal plans and lifestyle coaches, intuitive eating is a concept that brings a healthy framework and foundation to all of these things.
(Please note: I just want to emphasize again that I’m not about telling you what you should or shouldn’t eat or how you should live. All I’m saying is that you need to do what works for you! Do the activities, eat the food, live the lifestyle that makes you feel empowered, healthy and able to do the things you love.)
So, what is intuitive eating?
Intuitive eating flips diet culture on its head. It’s all about listening to your own body - and trusting that it knows what you need, without judgment. This can be pretty scary… Especially if we come from a place of controlling each morsel that goes into our mouths.
There are 10 principles of intuitive eating that I’d like to highlight (and I encourage you to read the full article here)
- Reject diet culture.
- Honor your hunger.
- Make peace with food.
- Challenge your internal “food police”.
- Discover your personal level of satisfaction.
- Feel your fullness.
- Cope with your emotions with kindness.
- Respect your body.
- Move your body.
- Honor your health.
In practice, this looks like eating when you are hungry. But it’s not just that… It’s about practicing listening to your body so that you become in tune with what your body needs when it is hungry. It’s about recognizing recognising when you have the urge to eat as a means to distract yourself from a particular emotion. And then pausing to face that emotion before turning to food. It’s about choosing foods that give you energy to do the things you love. It’s about loving your body in its natural state instead of trying to fit it into whatever society’s mold is at that point in time. And, most importantly, it’s about being gentle and not judging yourself when you fall short of these principles.
I love this concept and use it as a foundation in my life… It’s something I am trying to teach my kids and empower them to let their own bodies be the guide in their own respective health and life journeys.
So let Daniella’s Digest be a source of inspiration, community and support, but remember that your own body is the most powerful tool and guide when it comes to fueling yourself with food.
I’d love to hear what you think about intuitive eating, diet culture and some of the thoughts shared in this piece. Shoot me a DM on Insta @daniellasdigest and let’s keep the convo going!
