intuitive eating Archives - Everyday Chocolate

April 10, 2024March 22, 2024 by Libby

The Compulsive Eating Triangle

One of the main reasons many of my clients reach out to me is because they are feeling chaotic and out-of-control around food. Feeling like it’s hard or impossible to stop eating at a comfortable level of fullness, feeling like they constantly bounce between not eating enough and eating way too much, binge eating and feeling extreme physical distress…

Maybe you relate on some level?

Whether you resonate with full-blown binge eating or occasionally feel like you spiral “out-of-control” with food, I’m sure most or all of us can relate on some level to this dynamic, myself included!

While feeling calm and centered around food is something healthy to strive for most of the time (and a key goal we might have in client work together), it’s also not realistic to be “perfectly centered” around food all the time.

How does one get to a more calm and centered place with food? What are some of the key factors to consider?

I’m always thinking of ways to conceptualize these ideas, and one tool I have started using in sessions is what I’m calling the “Compulsive Eating Triangle.”

This tool helps us form a big picture outlook as far as what may be driving your chaotic/compulsive eating. While experiencing greater calmness with food is generally a long-term process that takes lots of untangling and healing, having a framework for thinking about this can be helpful.

(more…)

January 10, 2024January 9, 2024 by Libby

Two Main Drivers of Chaotic/Compulsive Eating

Do you ever find yourself feeling chaotic and compulsive around food, whether that occurs once in a while or on a routine basis?

I think many of us likely answer “yes!” to that question (at least to some degree!).

If you’re like many of the clients who I work with, more often that not, you find yourself feeling “out of the driver’s seat” when it comes to your food decisions.

How do we go from feeling out-of-control and chaotic around food to a calmer and more centered place?

One place to start is by thinking about two of the main drivers of chaotic and compulsive eating:

(1) Physical food restriction and (2) Mental food restriction

In this post we will explore examples of what physical and mental food restriction can look like, and how these dynamics might be sabotaging your desire to feel more centered around food!

(more…)

October 11, 2023October 10, 2023 by Libby

Different Factors to Consider in Eating Decisions (Beyond Hunger/Fullness)

Sometimes intuitive eating can get overly simplified to “eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full.”

I think it’s super important to listen to your hunger/fullness signals. At the same time, I also think there are other key factors to take into consideration when deciding what/when/how much to eat.

If feeling biological signals of hunger –> a clear sign to eat!!

BUT there are other “signs” or things to think about that may also indicate a need to eat.

We may think we are doing something “wrong” if we are eating when we aren’t technically feeling hungry, yet this may be just what our bodies need! If you *only* eat when you are feeling physically hungry, I’d bet you most likely aren’t eating enough.

In this post we will explore…

A few personal examples of me taking into account “other factors beyond hunger/fullness” when it comes to eating
Different factors to consider when making food decisions, including:
- Tuning into your bodily signals
- Thinking about your daily life situation / overall life circumstances
- Trusting your overall intuition
Some closing thoughts and questions

(more…)

September 27, 2023September 26, 2023 by Libby

Intuitive Eating Day in the Life {Saturday in September}

Happy Wednesday! How is your week going so far?

I have been loving the sunny days lately, fall cooking/baking, and crisper (but not too cold) temps.

Today I’m posting a day-in-the-life recap post full of delicious eats from an intuitive eating perspective!

To review, intuitive eating is a framework of eating designed to guide you in re-learning how to tune into your natural intuition when it comes to nourishing yourself. It is a combination of head knowledge (nutrition wisdom), listening to one’s body, tuning into what simply sounds good, and trusting one’s overall intuition when it comes to eating decisions.

The 10 principles are:

Reject the diet mentality
Honor your hunger
Make peace w/ food
Challenge the food police
Discover the satisfaction factor
Respect your fullness
Cope with your emotions w/ kindness
Movement – feel the difference
Respect your body
Honor your health w/ gentle nutrition

I don’t necessarily think about these principles formally in my head when I go about the day eating, but they do represent a lot of my natural/intuitive ways for navigating my own food decisions. I find the principles to be help to introduce to clients who are working through a disordered relationship with food and all the conflicting messages society tells us about what/when/how to eat.

On to an eats-focused day in the life post! As always, the heart behind these posts is to show an example of what it might look like to navigate food throughout the day from a more natural, intuitive, non-disordered perspective. What/when/how much to eat is always individualized and your eating choices and patterns probably look a lot different from mine!

(more…)

August 16, 2023August 11, 2023 by Libby

Healthy Food Boundaries vs. Unhealthy Restriction

Something I am passionate about when it comes to food is the idea of increasing permission with food. Working on “permission with food” is almost always a big part of disordered eating recovery.

Giving yourself greater permission with food might look like…

Allowing yourself foods that you like but typically avoid because they are “less healthy” (and doing so without guilt or “compensatory measures” like restricting the next day)
Growing in flexibility with how you approach food, such as enjoying a dessert at a time of day you might not normally eat dessert
In general, starting to heal any food rules you might consciously or subconsciously be using to navigate food decisions in a fear or anxiety-based way

Many of us may know from experience that restricting food intake and/or NOT giving yourself permission with food is a surefire way to experience chaos and obsession with food. You can read more on this idea and the cycle of restriction in this blog post. Chaos/obsession with food might look like binge eating, compulsively eating, and/or obsessively thinking about food (whether or not you “act” on those obsessions by eating).

If you are growing in healing your relationship with food and your body, maybe you have started to experience some of the benefits (nutritionally and mentally/emotionally) of giving yourself greater permission with food. HOWEVER, you may also be at a place in your journey of wondering when/if it is “okay” to say no to a food without doing this from a place of restriction…(the place/mentality you are working so hard to leave!).

When making a food choice, is there a healthy/life-giving way to say no to a certain food without it coming from a dieting/restricting mentality?

In other words, what is the difference between setting what I call a “healthy food boundary” versus engaging in unhealthy, disordered eating-type restriction?

Let’s begin to explore this idea in the rest of this post! As always, I’d love to hear any thoughts that you have (feel free to leave them in the comments or message me personally).

To get us thinking, let’s consider an example evening dessert scenario.

(more…)

July 26, 2023July 25, 2023 by Libby

Benefits of Eating Regularly (3 Meals, ~3 Snacks)

Hello friends! How is your week going so far?

I am feeling good this week overall after an energizing weekend at my grandparents’ house enjoying time on the lake. It was pretty much a perfect summer weekend as far as sunshine + weather goes! We waterskied, went on a few boat rides, and experienced a devastating loss to my grandpa in our family card game! 🙂

Today I wanted to do a post on some key reasons why eating regularly is beneficial – both from a nutrition and a relationship with food standpoint.

By “eating regularly,” I’m talking 3 meals and around 3 snacks per day, every 3 hours or so. Some people may prefer/need more like 2 or 4+ snacks, and some people eat a little more often or go a little longer in between meals, depending on hunger cues/personal preferences/schedules each day. BUT, I find these rules of thumb for regular eating rhythms to work well for pretty much everyone. (Since they are based on human biology & psychology!)

You can check out how I might incorporate 3 meals/3 snacks in my everyday eating here.

Oftentimes, a client will come to me eating only 2-3 meals per day and no snacks. Snacks might be viewed as “bad,” and the thought of eating more regularly may at first seem anxiety-inducing or counterproductive. However, it’s common that the client is experiencing a range of symptoms that can be vastly improved upon with regular eating rhythms. Symptoms may include bloating, constipation/diarrhea, obsession/preoccupation with food, binge eating, chaotic eating, difficulty noticing or listening to hunger/fullness cues, lack of hunger cues, slowed metabolism, imbalanced hormones, feeling addicted to food, and more!

Once we begin to understand more what is going on and start to make gentle shifts towards more regular/balanced eating, these concerns start to improve.

Let’s explore some of the main reasons why I recommend eating regularly! (3 meals and ~3 snacks)

(more…)

July 12, 2023July 12, 2023 by Libby

10 Thoughts About Anorexia Recovery {From Personal Experience}

Happy Wednesday!

Today I’m sharing some thoughts on my experience recovering from anorexia (the most intense part of my recovery took place when I was in high school).

While this was an extremely difficult time in my life that I would never want to repeat, I am also thankful for it because of all the personal growth and healing that has resulted from it! While painful at times, beginning recovery has been the gift that has kept giving.

I hope you find the following thoughts and reflections both helpful and encouraging if you are currently recovering from anorexia, or if you are thinking about starting recovery.

If you are recovering from a different eating disorder (or any degree of disordered eating), I think you will also find this post encouraging!

(more…)

June 28, 2023June 27, 2023 by Libby

Some Thoughts on What to Do After a Binge (or Overeating in General)

Experiencing the aftermath of a binge eating episode is typically incredibly uncomfortable both from a physical and emotional/psychological standpoint. Not only are you likely working through feelings of guilt, disgust, and possible shame/embarrassment, but you also have the physical sensations of over-fullness and bloating to tolerate. NOT FUN.

In this post, I want to provide some tips on what to do if you find yourself in this scenario. This could be post-binge OR after any sort of uncomfortable degree of overeating.

To review, an actual binge eating episode is defined as eating (within a 2-hr window) significantly more than most people would eat under similar circumstances. It is also accompanied by feeling out-of-control.

Even if you don’t struggle with “technical binge eating,” regularly experiencing chaotic eating and/or regularly reaching the point of unpleasant fullness is also quite distressing. You may feel a sense of shame, wondering why do I find eating so hard when others seem totally fine??

You are not a uniquely flawed human being if this is something you are wrestling with. There are legitimate physical and emotional/psychological reasons why you may experience your eating spiraling out-of-control at times.

Next time you find yourself feeling overly full or struggling with the aftermath of a binge, I hope you find the following ideas useful!

(Note: a lot of the following ideas/thoughts can be applied to other eating disorder behaviors, including restriction and purging).

Thoughts on What to Do After a Binge (or Overeating in General):

(more…)

June 21, 2023June 20, 2023 by Libby

Intuitive Eating Behind the Scenes {Typical Day}

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to post a new type of post sharing some “behind the scenes” as far as what thoughts/considerations might go into a typical day of my daily eats. This is NOT meant to be a comparison or a “you should eat like me” type of post — HECK NO. More meant to encourage you as far as what it might look like to have a normal relationship with food!

Everyone’s nutrition needs and food preferences are different. In my work with clients, I consider myself to be the nutrition professional and the client to be the expert on herself/her goals/what she likes/what might work best for her. Not everyone’s eating looks the same, so no cookie cutter approaches here! I am all about helping others work towards an intuitive eating way of eating where you grow in listening to your body’s inner signals, considering your thoughts/feelings about food, and trusting your overall intuition, as we are born knowing how to intuitively eat. I hope these types of posts help you grow in your own journey of peace with food and joyful nourishment of your body!

(more…)

May 31, 2023June 6, 2023 by Libby

5 Nutrition & Exercise Goals to Consider (Other than Directly Pursuing Weight Loss)

Something I talk about with clients a lot is the idea that we can’t DIRECTLY control our weight or body size… however difficult that may be to accept, we can’t go out and magically choose to automatically be our perfectly desired size.

That doesn’t mean throwing all care about our health and wellness out the window… far from it!! On the contrary, I see pursuing life-giving healthy behaviors (which we can generally control) as the best path to improved health, not first and foremost fixating on weight loss or changing your body size.

Letting go of fixating on weight is not the same as letting go of caring about your health!

Actually, I see fixating on weight as generally being detrimental to health. You can read some more about my thoughts on weight here.

“Weight loss” or “body change” are not actions we can go out and directly “do” or make happen. Nor do those things necessarily mean improved health! When we instead choose to focus on caring for ourselves well physically through behaviors we can actually do and control, we can trust we are on the path to improved health. When combining this approach with addressing any underlying root issues (such as environmental toxins, hormonal imbalances, gut issues, etc.) that are preventing our bodies from being in balance despite healthy behavior changes, our actions are likely to lead our bodies to the sizes at which they are the healthiest. This could mean losing weight, gaining weight, or staying roughly the same. I see the point as better health, not a specific weight or size goal.

I am all about self-improvement and setting intentions. Not focusing on weight does NOT mean “giving up on health progress.” Instead of pursuing weight loss as a goal, here are 5 behavior-oriented nutrition & exercise goals to consider! Maybe one or two will resonate with you depending on where you are currently at in your own health and wellness journey.