Flexible Eating: Your Body Knows What You Need to Eat

Do you think that you can't trust your body to make food choices? Let me tell you, this is not the case… It knows really well if you're ready to listen.

 

You really can trust your body if you try and embrace the idea of flexible eating and mindful eating. Today I'd like to share with you a simple example of how my body did exactly what it needed to do to balance itself out – and yours can do it too.

Protein Bars for Lunch…

One day, I had a breakfast and then went to work. Not too much time had gone by when I started to feel really hungry.

I wasn't too surprised though because the day before I ate less than usual. I just wasn't hungry for all that much, so the hunger showed up the next day. That alone is an example of how smart our bodies are, and also a reminder that we don't need to eat the exact same number of calories every day!

However, I wasn’t prepared for that hunger and had left the house not too well prepared. All I had in my bag was protein bars. And I was HUNGRY!

I ate one and waited a bit…

Still hungry!

Knowing that I can’t have lunch until 3 more hours and have no time to pick anything up because I was literally driving between three work locations, I ate another bar. Two sweet bars that aren't even “real meals” and that I usually use take bites of to satisfy my sweet tooth… and now this was my meal.

You may think that don’t I talk about moderate eating? Eating 2 bars doesn’t sound like too moderate. That sounds too much, and especially too much “not clean” food, right? Where’s all the veggies and vitamins?

You're right, it was more bars than normally. But here's the important thing: sometimes you have to do what you have to do. It's important to not make a big deal out of it, eat what you have access to, and move on.

From Sweet Protein Bars to Fresh Salads

When I finally had finished working and had the time to sit down and eat, all I really wanted was a big bowl of veggies and protein. I had no interest in anything sweet later anymore either. That's because I had already had a lot of sweet, processed foods, but almost no vegetables or natural protein that day.

Your body can regulate the amount of food it needs, but also the type of foods it needs. That's why once you stop being at war with sugar (or any other trigger foods) and start eating it once in a while, you WILL NOT want it non stop. But it does take little bit of mindfulness to hear what you really need.

Join the Moderate Eating Challenge!

This 10-day 10 Percent Solution Moderate Eating challenge is meant for women who struggle with over eating and binge eating, only to restrict their food again once the binge is over.

The goal is to learn to eat your favorite things without bingeing. In this challenge, you learn 4 practices that help you get to know your body better and eat things in moderation.

Note – this challenge is NOT for those who are currently recovering from hypothalamic amenorrhea! You are still in recovery and can't rely on your hunger signals to figure out what you need. Check out this guide to learn how to eat for HA recovery.