Monday, June 17, 2013

Power Skills for Intuitive Eating

You feel in control when you balance what you eat, with what you need and how you feel. Balance is a power skill. Another name for intuitive eating is eating with an open mind. An open mind looks at the big picture, weighs the facts and sees what matters to achieve balance. The big picture is more important than calories. It's about you. Breathing drives power skills for intuitive self-control.

Here are 3 Breaths to Intuitive Eating:
1. Take a bite.
  • Breathe slowly to recognize if you are very hungry or not. Listen to your body. Notice how you feel physically. Have you ever been too tired to eat?
    • How it works: Breathing slower is the way to connect with your body to be clear about hunger.  Hunger is physical. Decide to listen to what you feel physically. Respond to your body.
  •  Power skill: Tenacity. Tenacity is being true to yourself - mind, body and spirit.
2. Taste your food.
  • Breathe naturally to connect with your normal rhythm. Notice how you feel in your head: Happy? Bored? Stressed?  Notice your food. If you're not tasting what you eat, stop.
    • How it works: Natural breathing connects with your emotions and state of mind. Taste connects with what matters. When emotions drive eating, it offends you in your core by ignoring or abusing your body. Give yourself a break. Binging, no matter what the reason, hurts- because it's unbalanced.
  • Power skill: Dignity. It's not what you do, but how you do it. Dignity is self-respect. You can feel it.
3. Put both of your hands in your lap.
  • Take 1 quick deeper breath in and out to refresh the way you look at things, wipe your head clean and connect with the big picture. What is your overall state of mind? 
    •  How it works: A quick breath is your reset button. Putting your hands in your lap gives your lungs more space to expand. A quick deep breath resets your rhythm. It thrusts you into the moment to uncover new options. When you take a full view of how you feel, what you feel & what you need, it creates a balance. The result is: your options change.
  • Power skill: Prudence. It's like comparison shopping. Prudence is comparing options. You can always choose to get what you need from what you eat.
This is so easy that you may find yourself a little giddy. That's okay. Intuition connects with your 'funny bone.' Like your sense of humor, how you eat is personal. That's why the best way to know what to eat, is to check in with yourself. You have the power.