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When I talk about that fact that normal eating involves eating what you really want when you want, people have
fear that this will mean that they will never stop eating and therefore never stop gaining weight.
The truth is that that is our minds not the reality of our bodies. Our bodies want enough. Sometimes it’s richer
or lighter food; sometimes a mix. Often we don’t have a strong preference for anything or sometimes nothing
else than ice cream will do. Speaking of ice cream…..
Monday was our second beautiful night here in Florida. The kinda night where you have the windows open and want to enjoy the beginnings of the sun setting later.
As I am sitting on the couch eating ice cream after dinner, my husband said, “Man I haven’t had ice cream in
forever; that sure sounds good”. (he didn’t know I was eating ice cream). My first response in my head, was
“seriously, just as I finish this bowl?”
The story goes on that he wanted a blizzard, which in my book always sounds good. The problem was that I
wasn’t hungry at all, especially for ice cream. And irked that if he had just said that 5 minutes earlier I would
have had yummier ice cream than what I had just eaten. Because, cmon’, it’s Dairy Queen!
This is a common disappointment that intuitive eaters run into from time to time. However, it brings us to a
common truth. We only have SO MUCH CAPACITY to eat, so our bodies are NOT out of control and will stop,
we just have to listen.
The hard part can be the acknowledgment and acceptance of that fullness.
But I can tell you with certainty that if we have full permission to eat that desired food when we want it, the
disappointment of not being able to eat more of what we love RIGHT NOW is relieved by knowing that we CAN
have it the next time we are hungry.
So off to Dairy Queen we went to retrieve the blizzards to fulfill my husbands rarely-desired wish for ice-cream. I decided to get my tied for favorite cookie dough version to share with my daughter because I knew
1) she would love it and I would love it if I wanted some when I got home
2) That if there was any left and I did not have any now, my favorite flavor would be available the next day or
even later that night.
So as we sat in the backyard with sun going down, my daughter and husband thoroughly enjoying blizzards and me having a bite for every 3 or 4 my daughter had, I noticed, the blizzard was good but not as good as if I could have been hungry for it.
And that halfcontainer is still waiting for me, when I am ready for it’s deliciousness as my hunger and appetite
call. Oh, and my 3 year old stopped eating the moment she was full, regardless it being ice cream. Just another reminder that we are born with the ability to know our bodies; I just hope to remind you that you can rediscover that ability.
Would love to hear about your food discoveries. Write in the comments below and share what you have learned when you got what you really wanted with food but it was too little, too much, amazing or not so much. Let us
know what came up for you and if you would have changed any of it.
For more help with Intuitive Eating and Body Image Concerns, call 352-258-8220!
Much Love
Tracy
