Bucking the system to bring more pleasure and spirituality into your life
Intuitive Meal planning: 5 lunch ideas
I’ll admit, I was surprised to learn just how many people skip lunch. Whether this is because they get swept up in the momentum of the day, don’t prioritize the time and preparation necessary to have something available or find something nearby, or intentionally remove this key meal in order to restrict, the end result is usually going an unreasonably long time between meals. This leads to primal hunger and is likely to contribute to overeating later in the day and evening, not to mention poor concentration, irritability, lack of energy, and problems with mood during the day.
Intuitive Meal planning: 5 breakfast ideas
We're talking about meal planning this month in the Intuitive Eating for Life community and I'm sharing some of my favorite ideas. I actually enjoy cooking for myself and my family but I also get into ruts. Sometimes I need to revisit what I enjoy and what I haven't had in a while to bring variety and interest back into what I'm making. In that spirit, here are a handful of breakfast ideas to add to your rotation. They are by no means "the right thing to eat for breakfast," only a starting point for your own creativity and preference.
My meal-planning pyramid (no, not THAT pyramid!)
Meal planning can feel counter to Intuitive Eating. Aren't we supposed to wait and see what we feel like eating the moment hunger arises? Well, yes and no. You can and should respond to cravings in real time but real life is complicated; most of us need to have a general sense of what we plan to eat in order to live our lives efficiently and while caring for ourselves and others. The following is one way to think about meal planning in terms of costs, frequency, convenience, ease, and variety.
What does eating "balanced" really mean?
You might think that the guiding behavioral principles change radically when someone is diagnosed with diabetes. But I highlight the following seven practices for every one of my clients (depending on their readiness), regardless of whether or not they have diabetes.
The diabetes advice I give ALL my clients
You might think that the guiding behavioral principles change radically when someone is diagnosed with diabetes. But I highlight the following seven practices for every one of my clients (depending on their readiness), regardless of whether or not they have diabetes.
Nutrition in Intuitive Eating: Add, don’t take away
When we incorporate nutrition into how we’re eating, often the impulse is to focus on what to remove. Many people vow to cut sweets, processed food, and animal proteins, to name a few, only to find themselves craving and/or binging on those foods a short while later.
Nutrition in Intuitive Eating: Practice makes better
Sometimes we can’t help but view something new through the lens of something familiar. Many folks who are early in their Intuitive Eating path think about nutrition as they always have – something you either get right or wrong. The good news is, you don’t have to do that any more. When approaching nutrition in Intuitive Eating, it’s all about practice, small steps, and a lot of noticing.
Here are my questions when you say you can't stop eating sugar
In the 70s it was pasta, in the 80s it was butter, in the 90s eggs and red meat, in the 2000s it was bread, and now we have sugar. Big, bad, scary sugar.
As a dietitian, I can see how we got here. How the scientific and media messages around the healthful or harmful potential of foods flip flopped its way toward the vilification of sugar, but it’s still very dangerous to look at foods this way.
I just don't feel myself at this weight
I cannot tell you how many times I've heard this from clients and every time my heart breaks. But there is a lot to explore here. Here are some thoughts to get you started.
What I'm thinking when you say you're always tired
You're always tired. I get it. Believe me. Life these days is particularly exhausting.
Given the diet culture we live in, feeling tired might cause us to question whether we should change what or how we are eating. But before you go cutting out gluten or sugar, read on.
Ever wake up with a case of "the ickies?"
This morning I woke up with a serious case of "the ickies." I felt tired but couldn't sleep, my coffee didn't taste as good as usual, even my morning game of spelling bee wasn't that satisfying. I felt myself making a conscious choice NOT to meditate before I needed to spring into action for the day, meaning that it would most likely not happen at any other point. Then I heard one of those helpful little voices in my head that I've come to regard them as my inner teacher. It said "dukkha, dukkha, dukkha."
So...what is Intuitive Eating, really?
As Intuitive Eating becomes more popular and well-known, it can be hard to come back to basics to be sure you really understand what it is.
Intuitive Eating was created in response to the observations that (1) the pursuit of weight loss through dieting (even when not called that) does harm to the body and mind, (2) leads to long-term weight gain and health problems misattributed to being in a larger body, and (3) confirms and strengthens anti-fat bias, which harms everyone.
We are always experiencing deaths and new beginnings
I'm back! I finally experienced COVID and needed to take the last few weeks off. I know, as an entrepreneur and someone with a message I want to spread, I'm supposed to be consistent no matter what. But that's not what I'm about, and that's not what Intuitive Eating and meditation are about. We are not consistent no matter what. Our needs change day to day, month to month, year to year. I hope that the next time you need to rest, you remember that.
You don't need to exorcise "the thing" that drives you nuts?
"What if this is not to be gotten rid of?"
This is the question I asked myself when a familiar stressor reappeared in my life and I felt the sickening agitation of anxiety.
Let's hang out in the Berkshires at the end of this month!
April 30th to May 4th, I'll be teaching a special retreat about Intuitive Eating and meditation. More details in the video above, the sample schedule below…
https://kripalu.org/presenters-programs/intuitive-eating-and-mindfulness-meditation-life