A student of the Mechanics of Intuitive Eating master class emailed me to say she loved the class and got a lot out of it, but had a big question…
How can I really be an intuitive eater when I have so many food sensitivities and allergies?
Honoring your sensitivities and allergies is a huge part of intuitive eating.
Whether you’re aware of them through testing or experimentation, honoring what works for you is fundamental to intuitive eating – not the antithesis.
Avoiding certain foods because they don’t feel good in your body IS intuitive eating.
What can make it feel like the opposite is a restrictive mindset.
When you peel back the decades of diet culture, control, and restriction, knowing your sensitivities is a source of freedom, not limitation.
Why? How?
When you feel good in your body, you’re freed up in your energy – you’re not weighed down by exhaustion, anxiety, or digestive issues.
Food has a huge effect on how you feel, and especially when you have sensitivities, triggers can take you out, zapping your energy and vitality.
So when your doctor hands you the piece of paper with all the foods you’re allergic to, or gives you the news that you have celiac disease, see it as a ticket to freedom.
Knowledge of what works for you and reverence for yourself = freedom.
Freedom in your body. Freedom with food, because you know what works for you.
It’s much harder to feel a sense of freedom and intuition when you’re confused about what works for you… and when you feel like sh*t.
When you feel like you’re playing Russian roulette every time you eat, there’s going to be tension between you and food…
… cycles of restricting and binging, being super careful and then eating everything in sight because you’re fed up.
This dynamic takes you out of your body, and away from your intuition.
But what if I have celiac disease, and my body is REALLY asking for bread?
You get the best gluten-free bread you can find, and you enjoy it. You celebrate the fact that your body will still feel great afterward. That’s it.
There’s really no feeling of limitation when you’re in full celebration of and reverence to your body.
Your self-knowledge is a source of freedom.
When you honor what works for you, you feel wildly free.
When you’re not weighed down with gut health issues because of unknown sensitivities, you can connect with your intuition much more easily.
When you’ve healed your relationship with food, not being able to eat a specific food won’t feel like a big deal.
It all becomes light and easy, when the core wounds have healed, and your mindset has been rewired.
The big shift is in mentality:
Seeing self-knowledge around body and food as power, not something that’s holding you back or messing you up. Because that’s the truth, on a very practical level.
To eat intuitively when you have food sensitivities:
1. Listen to your intuition and celebrate your current body.
2. Get your tests. Know your food sensitivities.
3. Honor your food sensitivities – they’re a source of freedom.
4. When you crave something you’re sensitive to, get the best alternative version and enjoy it fully.
5. When you notice a restrictive thought coming up, rewrite it and practice an expansive, true thought.
If you want to eat intuitively but you have a bunch of food sensitivities, I hope this was helpful for you!
I’ve worked with clients who have all sorts of allergies and sensitivities, and I can confirm there’s always a path toward ease and freedom with food.
Do you have a question about intuitive eating? Post it below and I’ll reply.
Have a beautiful day!
Sending you much love.
XO,
Lula