I was reading a blog post about intuitive eatingthe other day. The author was talking about the correlation between intuitive eating and weight loss and wanting to make peace with food. I wrote my response to her post...a really convoluted affair for sure. I know that intuitive eating works for some people. I also know that intuitive eating is the goal that I want to be at when I reach my goal weight. I will say that for me intuitive eating HAS to go hand in hand with some kind of check and balance system in place. (the numbers on the scales....a pair of skinny jeans that HAVE to fit otherwise there becomes a full out panic attack, etc) .
For me intuitive eating and losing weight doesn't go hand in hand at this time. I'm ok with that. I'm still overweight so obviously there is something that isn't clicking in the brain and body. This is fine with me.
But peace with my food. Wow...there is the kicker. I've often talked on my blog about missing the innocence of eating. The innocence of not worrying about calories, fat, carbs or any number of other things. And that is when I realized that I CAN have peace with my food. I simply have to Purchase Peace!
How do you purchase peace? For me I purchase peace by earning the food through exercise. Oh yes, my hike through deep snow the other day...that purchased me peace with what I chose to eat for dinner! A good run in the morning gives me peace with my food for the day. (I can still go way off track and ruin that peace...but I'm just generally speaking here!)
My brother rides his bike...A LOT (crazy insane amounts of miles) and I've heard him on more than one occasion say "I can eat whatever I want because I rode 50, 60 or whatever miles today" It's not that he is overindulging, he earned those calories.....he earned the peace. The peace was purchased via those miles on his bike!
As soon as I read that first post about intuitive eating and peace my mind was formulating this post. But first I wanted to catch up with my other blogs. And I came upon Shelley's blog and it was just more 'peace'
She was writing an update on how she was doing with making better choices which was a goal that she had made for this year. I read along and then came to a paragraph about the snacks and tasty treats at a bakery that they visit after running and how she doesn't count those tasty morsels when she is talking about making better choices....and she said this.. "those are bonus treats that come with running" Ohhhhhh, so can I just go out on a limb and say that she "purchased peace" with a nice run?????
Yes, purchased peace is awesome...and let me tell you. The food that you eat when you 'purchase the peace' tastes FANTASTIC!
I did make it to the gym this morning...and I 'purchased a bit of peace' with a few miles of running. I will still have to be careful today, but if I am, I can enjoy ice cream and cake tonight to help celebrate my niece and nephews birthday!!!
I faced the scales this morning....almost the same as last week...and almost the same as right around Christmas...the beginning of the love bites challenge. Not what I wanted but at least no gain! I've got one week to show at least a teensy weensie little loss for the challenge!!
5 comments:
I love this! We can purchase peace for sure! I am hoping once I drop some weight this will be my life :)
I would like to be an intuitive eater too. I think, like you, once I get to my goal weight, I just might be able to be one with a little help as you described.
One day, we'll both be at our goal weights and we can blog about intuitive eating!
Lori
What an interesting phrase - purchased peace. I've never heard of it, but it makes perfect sense...and yes, I guess I DO purchase those Saturday morning treats with my long run! Thanks for the shout out, and for the new way of looking at this! :)
I'm not sure that I agree with Purchased Peace. I guess I do feel like I can eat a little more if I do some high intensity exercise, but definitely not if I've done only moderate or light exercise. But, I think its a slippery slope. After all, I don't really burn that many calories on a 3 mile run, so I personally could really get in trouble using that run as a reason to eat something higher calorie. I'd rather just work the high calorie treat into my regular calories and have peace knowing I burned a little more than average that day. But, I do think that it's really important to have food peace and any way you can get there that works for you is OK.
I'm late in catching up! But reading your posts is so interesting because that is exactly what my husband is doing: he wants to get into a regular exercise habit so that he can still eat a lot. And to lose weight he wants to just eat whatever he burns and bank the rest so to speak. Now he has about 150lbs to lose but that is kind of his dream scenario: exercise to purchase peace with food! I have to say, that doesn't work for me, I don't like exercise enough for that although I do like being a lot fitter these days and feeling more energetic. But exercise and food are separate matters for me and when I talk about peace with food I mean detaching any emotions from it, such as guilt and comfort. When I "purchase my peace" I still attach emotion to my food. I think. But you know what? This is EXACTLY why honoring our differences is so important. Because ultimately we all have to find what works for us and honoring THAT. I will tell my husband about this, I think it will encourage him :) xo
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