You’ve most probably heard about intuitive eating and mindfulness around food before, am I right? But, maybe you don’t exactly know what it means or if you do, perhaps you don’t know where to start or how to incorporate it into your life?<\/p>\n

One of the ways in which I’ve been addressing my past disordered eating has been learning the technique of ‘tuning into’ myself and actually listening to my body and what it’s telling me. This especially applied to when I felt like bingeing, understanding when I’m full and differing hunger from boredom, sadness or a need to use food as a ‘soothing’ mechanism instead of sitting through the discomfort.<\/p>\n

We all have different eating-habits due to a variety of reasons. Those who are suffering or, have suffered in the past, with an abnormal relationship to food, can usually acknowledge that food has both been what’s been causing them a tremendous amount of pain, but it’s also been the ‘reward’ or ‘relief’ when either something good or bad has happened to them. And so, the evil circle continues, and we teach ourselves that food solves everything, whether it’s on good or bad. We turn to food and quickly we create habits and patterns for ourselves that aren’t healthy.<\/p>\n

Studies show that food can have the same effect on our brains the way drugs or alcohol can have on addicts. Because food is enjoyable, when we chew it releases dopamine in our brains (the feel good ‘drug’) that then sends a signal to the rest of\u00a0 our bodies, making us feel amazing. Hence, why addictive people may fall into disordered eating, and like I suffered from, binge eating. Not knowing when to stop, and feeling a lack of self-control when around food.<\/p>\n

This is where Intuitive Eating can come in.. But remember, if you are still struggling with disordered eating in the sense of anorexia, bulimia or binge eating, please seek help from professionals that can help you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This article is in no way, shape or form targeted at\u00a0reducing food\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0deprivation<\/strong>. Its intention is simply to share my story with intuitive eating and is a guidance only.<\/p>\n