5 Tips for Eating Intuitively

1. Consider meal time to be sacred in order to avoid mindlessly eating
2. After serving yourself, put away excess food before sitting down to eat
3. Ask yourself, “Are you hungry or bored?”
4. Stop labeling food as “bad”
5. Brush your teeth after eating

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In my opinion, when it comes to food, complete restriction will do you more harm than good. I am a prime example. I haven’t been very strong when it comes to my “no dessert on Sunday-Thursday” deal for Lent. What happens is, when Friday and Saturday roll around, I think: “these are the only two days I have to eat dessert, better load up!” So then I end up eating way too much dessert, not because I’m hungry, but because I feel like I have to because I won’t be able to the rest of the week.

This is why diets are not a good idea for someone trying to maintain their health and weight. Unless you are extremely overweight and are someone who has become accustomed to eating too much, a diet is the right start for you. You’ve got to train yourself to eat the correct portions. But for people who just want to live a healthy lifestyle, I do not believe in restriction. Combine a healthy amount of exercise and physical activity, with a diet consisting of intuitive eating, you will surely maintain your health.

This is all easily said, I know. It can be hard to have pints of ice cream in the freezer, and allow yourself just a serving size of half a cup. I’ll be the first to admit, I serve myself a little ramekin of vanilla ice cream, sit down and watch The Bachelor. Then, I get up to wash my bowl and spoon, but I sometimes end up opening the freezer door for just a few more bites of my favorite frozen treat. Will power is hard when it comes to food. That’s why I want to share a few tips I live by when it comes to intuitive eating and portion control.

Consider Meal Time Sacred
Try to avoid mindlessly eating. This is something that many people do, sitting in front of the television with a bag of popcorn. Instead of serving themselves a bowl, they use the whole bag, which becomes a bottomless pit while you are sucked into a fight on the Real Housewives. You have a counter or a table for a reason. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, consider your meal time sacred. Set the table. Serve yourself a nice plate with a glass of water, sit down and eat. Avoid sitting in the living room or on the couch.

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