Intuitive Eating
Living a healthy lifestyle gives you more energy to do rewarding activities such as volunteer with The Salvation Army. As a community leader, you can commit to setting a good example for the people you serve! Here are some tips from the book Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole (MS, RD) and Elyse Resch (MS, RDN, CEDRD, Fiaedp, FADA, FAND).
1. Reject the Diet Mentality:
No more fad diets! Don’t expect a quick fix to lose weight and improve your health.
2. Honor Your Hunger:
Keep your body adequately fed with all the major food groups it needs, including carbohydrates (no matter how many people may say you don’t need them). When you feel hungry, eat!
3. Make Peace with Food:
Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. Food is not inherently bad or good, so don’t restrict yourself to only eating certain foods.
4. Challenge the Food Police:
Challenge your thoughts that tell you you’re “good” if you restrict your calories and “bad” if you have a cookie. This mentality was created by diets and is not conducive to trust and well-being.
5. Respect Your Fullness:
Listen to your body and stop eating when full. Pause throughout meals to assess.
6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor:
Eating is supposed to be fun! So enjoy yourself while recognizing when you’re satisfied. Savor your food.
7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food:
Don’t use food to relieve stress or comfort yourself. Learn to resolve those feelings without turning to food.
8. Respect Your Body:
Don’t be unrealistic in your expectations of your body and the way it looks.
9. Exercise:
Use exercise to gain energy and relieve stress, not as a way to lose weight. Have fun working out!
10. Honor your Health:
You don’t have to eat perfectly to be healthy. Moderation is key! It’s what you eat consistently over time that is important.