I glanced down at my bright red nails as the light changed and I accelerated.
He did a perfect job.
I was on my way to lunch after getting my nails done, and I started thinking about how much I used to snack.
Usually, I would have absolutely NEEDED something sweet between breakfast and lunch, and maybe a savory snack too.
There’s nothing wrong with snacking, but what was wrong, for me personally, was WHY I was snacking so much:
I was snacking because I felt dissatisfied after meals.
I wasn’t allowing myself to eat what I really wanted, and I often wasn’t eating enough, period.
I also wasn’t allowing myself to feel my emotions – I was afraid that if I did, they’d never go away.
I was using snacking to compensate for undereating at meal times, and to fill an emotional void.
Today I rarely snack.
Not because it’s bad, but because it’s not the best thing for my body, personally.
I do best with three meals throughout the day, and not much in between.
This gives me a chance to rest and digest between meals.
Today I eat whatever I truly want, whenever I want it, but I no longer use food to soothe myself.
I no longer skip over my emotions.
I no longer try to give food a job it can never do – regulate my emotions.
I allow myself to feel the full spectrum of emotions, I breathe through them as they come up, I journal, I talk them out…
… then I let them go.
I don’t dwell on them.
I move the energy by walking, dancing, and/or simply imagining all that weight and frustration melting into the earth beneath me, to be transmuted for good.
I know that feeling heavier emotions, to completion, is the only way to release them and return to a balanced emotional state.
Today I give my body exactly what she’s craving – but it’s not always the first impulse.
Impulse is not the same as intuition.
On that day, when I was checking out my new red nails at the red light, I thought I wanted Shake Shack, but when I asked my body again, I really wanted Japanese.
This level of discernment – giving myself what I REALLY want – is what helped me stop over-snacking, heal emotional eating, and become a full intuitive eater.
When I first started eating intuitively, over 10 years ago, I would get so attached to eating fun foods like burgers and fries (because I restricted them for so long) that I would often go off impulse rather than intuition.
That’s ok, and it’s a normal and necessary phase of the intuitive eating journey…
… but the deeper discernment between impulse and intuition is what will bring you true emotional and physical balance.
Once you give yourself that space to have the burger and fries whenever you want, the thrill wears off.
Overeating and eating foods your body doesn’t really want no longer sound so appealing.
Your body recalibrates, and you naturally crave a balance of foods that serve you best: Physically, mentally, and emotionally.
This sets you up to have an easy, healthy relationship with food for life.
If you do need to make more specific dietary tweaks at certain times, you can do so from a place of ease, intuition, and self-trust, because you have such a good relationship with food, and so much respect for your body.
Today I’ve been an intuitive eater for over 10 years, and I feel a deeper sense of balance than ever before – an unwavering peace.
I also feel better in my body than I ever have:
I’ve naturally healed my PCOS and completely regulated my hormones, my skin is glowing and clear (after years of acne and rashes), and I live a deeply peaceful yet adventurous life in Costa Rica, with frequent travel.
>> If now is your time to break restrictive cycles, become an intuitive eater, and reach your physical goals, click here to learn more about the Mechanics of Intuitive Eating Master Class.
If you’re ready to dive in, sign up today and you’ll receive the video recording in your inbox within 24 hours.
With love,
Lula
Photo: Rodolfo De Jesus David