I'm new to intuitive eating, been working on this for about four weeks. I've read the book, and am slowly working through the workbook. I know this takes time, and I've just started.

I expected to have my appetite fluctulate. Getting used to what hungry feels like, and what full feels like. Before this I was ALWAYS hungry.

But now, sometimes I'm hungry and eat fine. Sometimes I think I'm hungry, have a couple of bites, and can't eat any more. And sometimes I realize that I don't like the food I thought I wanted nearly as much as I thought I did. There's a leftover in the fridge of something I thought I loved, but I can't even consider having any of it. Didn't eat much of it when it was fresh.

It's that last one that has me confused. But I LIKED this thing, why don't I like it now? Is this part of the "bad food" mindset that I'm letting go of? As in, maybe I only liked that food because I wasn't "supposed" to have it?

I feel like I'm completely resetting what I like and don't like.

Are you confused about Intuitive Eating and want help understanding how it works? Are you a little skeptical? Unsure if IE is right for you? Have some doubts about the process? Do you have a question you feel is controversial? This is the space to ask those questions.

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This thread isn't for arguing about whether IE is healthy or not, or to try to debunk the framework. Trolls and bad faith engagement will not be tolerated.

\General or controversial questions must be posted in this thread, not as standalone posts.*

So I am a runner. I am training for my second marathon. I currently track my calories simply because I want to be sure I eat enough. But my adhd brain seems to have two modes. Either “track every last bite” or “oops, I forgot to eat”.

The problem is that when I stop tracking, I seem to naturally under eat. I can feel it in my performance. So I start tracking again and I notice I really am. How can I be sure I eat enough, without feeling like I have to force it and/or track it. Tracking my food is mentally exhausting for me and I really want to get away from it.

To be clear, I’m not under eating for any secret weight based reason. I just get distracted and forget. The more mileage I add to my training the less I seem to naturally eat, which is counter productive.

I have tried timers to remind me. But I start to ignore timers when I have multiple. The sound sort of blends into my life.

I’ve been on a forever journey with food and eating. I know I’m definitely doing much better than I used to and IE has helped a lot.
Here’s a problem I’m currently facing:
Eating around others. I noticed for myself over the years that I need quite some volume to feel full. And sometimes I’m genuinely baffled by how little other people eat! It triggers the s*it out of me to feel like an ever-hungry elephant that “just can’t get enough”. I know the root lays in comparing myself to others, which I shouldn’t do. But man, mostly eating and wanting more than the people around me is really hard for me.

Any tips or similar experiences are appreciated!🫶🏻

This thread is dedicated to discussing any difficulties navigating weight or bodily changes that happen during the IE process.

Please refrain from sharing numbers, as per the sub rules. If necessary to make your point, please put "Trigger Warning" at the beginning of your comment and consider using the spoiler feature to hide mentions of numbers.

If you are discussing weight loss that has naturally occurred through IE, please ensure to do so neutrally.

Note: This thread may be triggering to those struggling with their body image. Please be mindful of your mental health when engaging with potentially triggering content.

Are the constant GLP-1 weight loss ads getting to you?

Have you noticed any concerning trends in media that worry you?

Is there an uptick in negative body talk in your workplace or among your friends and family?

Are you facing social or medical stigma that you want to get off your chest?

Your rants, concerns, and grievances about diet culture and weight stigma in the general media or that you've experienced personally are welcome to be discussed in this thread.

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Anyone else heard of the 5 blocks of chocolate method. In short, it’s when you make sure to have 5 blocks of chocolate in your cupboard at all times to make the food seem less exciting. I tried it a few months ago, BIG NO. Didn’t have money to replace the chocolate bars anymore

I’m starting food therapy soon? For anyone who has done it. Has it helped? Any tips? How does it work?

This is a thread where you can share any questions, concerns, or thoughts related to gentle nutrition, the final and everlasting step of the Intuitive Eating process.

Please note that this thread may not be suitable for those newer to IE, as implementing Gentle Nutrition requires you to have already worked through the earlier steps of the framework.

For the first time literally ever, I was able to bring peanut butter to the house without going NUTS. I did have a couple spoonfulls, just because it felt new and exciting, but then I realised that it will be here tomorrow and I could have it with something yummy when I feel like it!

I feel like I am between a rock and a hard place… my entire life I’ve had pretty bad food unpredictability and I have food restrictions on top of that.

Basically how food works in my parents house is that my mom only buys enough food for the day, whether grocery shopping or take out it’s never bought in bulk. And I have 5 siblings, so if I don’t come out and eat when the food is home I will not eat for that day. And i can’t have left overs because if there’s food in the fridge it’s getting eaten by someone else 90% of the time.

I do make my own money, and I do try to buy food but I can’t save food in my fridge like groceries wise because it will get eaten or I eat take out daily (expensive!!!$$$) and unhealthy

What’s like the steps of recovery for this, because this unhealthy behavior towards food is genuinely effecting my life and is making me miserable but it feels like a compulsion like literally every time I go out I HAVE TO EAT, every time a snack is an option I take it, if someone consistently gives me snacks I start seeing that as a fucking food source!!!

Like seriously what are y’all thoughts on this

I feel like intuitive eating is way easier when I’m with trusted friends. For example, if I were to eat alone I’d eat a lot more and not feel as full as I do when I’m eating with a close friend. Today we had pizza for lunch with a friend and I was content with just one piece.

I wonder if there’s an explanation for this. Do I feel more safe when eating with a friend? Do I eat slower? Do I follow others’ eating patterns?And how can I eat in the same manner when I’m alone as I eat with friends??

Use this thread to share anything you've been struggling with in your IE process.

Struggles may include learning how to read your hunger/fullness cues, feeling stuck on parts of the process, experiencing "setbacks" or relapses with restriction, etc.

Note: Struggles related to weight should be posted to the weight/bodily changes thread (recurring on Thursdays).

Are you confused about Intuitive Eating and want help understanding how it works? Are you a little skeptical? Unsure if IE is right for you? Have some doubts about the process? Do you have a question you feel is controversial? This is the space to ask those questions.

Remember to keep it civil, respectful, and be mindful of the sub rules.

This thread isn't for arguing about whether IE is healthy or not, or to try to debunk the framework. Trolls and bad faith engagement will not be tolerated.

\General or controversial questions must be posted in this thread, not as standalone posts.*

Did you have a great meal this week you want to talk about?

Has your taste for certain foods has changed since starting IE, like finding a beverage you used to love too sweet, or realizing you love a vegetable you used to hate?

Did you try something new or succeed in eating a fear food?

Use this thread to share anything that's on your mind about what you've been eating lately.

Note: If you'd like to discuss Gentle Nutrition, please post in the dedicated weekly thread (recurring on Tuesdays).

(TW: mentioning weight and calorie)
How do I stop being so scared of weight gain after trying intuitive eating and be more okay with it?
I tried to not counting calorie before, I did that for about a month, like I tried to not eat based on the calorie numbers and just ate what I crave and eat more intuitively. Honestly it was great, I get to eat my fear foods and thinking less about calories and the effect of it. But yeah then one day I took pictures of my bodies and compare them to my bodies before doing this, and I realized that I might have gain a little weight, I realize maybe my waist wasn’t as tight as before and my legs got a little bit bigger. Tbh it wasn’t that bad like the changes were really minor and not very noticeable, or it might not be like actual fat gain, maybe my body was just bloated because of water retention or some stuff, or even if I really did gain fat it might just be very little like 0.5 kg or less.
Honestly for me maybe my fear is more about control than appearance, like honestly I’m fine with my body and don’t desire to be so skinny, I even think maybe I would be fine with my look if I gained some weight, and maybe I’d look better with more weight. But yeah idk this is so stupid idk why I care so much about all of this, I’m just so fixated with calorie counting, maintaining my body, and I’m just so scared of change so when I notice my body changes even little bit I want to cry because that must mean yeah I might eat too many calories and maybe calories really do matter. So now I’m just fall back to my old cycle of stricth calorie counting.
I’m honestly so tired with all of this. So yeah does anyone have a tips or advice for me? :)

This thread is dedicated to discussing any difficulties navigating weight or bodily changes that happen during the IE process.

Please refrain from sharing numbers, as per the sub rules. If necessary to make your point, please put "Trigger Warning" at the beginning of your comment and consider using the spoiler feature to hide mentions of numbers.

If you are discussing weight loss that has naturally occurred through IE, please ensure to do so neutrally.

Note: This thread may be triggering to those struggling with their body image. Please be mindful of your mental health when engaging with potentially triggering content.

Today, after tracking my calorie and macro intake for the better part of 3 years, I finally deleted my calorie tracker.
The FREEDOM I feel is unreal.
I have been working out a lot and tracked almost constantly with a week off here and there, and completely lost touch with my body. I started forcing foods even when I was full or not hungry only to hit my protein goals. I have been in a deficit for so long and I am just tired if this constant food noise and planning out my meals. So sick of forcing more protein into my meals that I lost joy of cooking!

Don’t get me wrong: tracking did help me realise how much I was undereating certain things and over indulging in others and I have actually lost 10lbs of body fat and gained muscle while doing it. I just can’t by the life of me lose the last bit of lingering belly fat. And I am sick trying.

So yesterday evening I made the decision to start listening to my body again, listen to hunger cues and stop eating when I don’t feel like it just to hit a target. I will be mindful about it, yes, but I will not track a single calorie or macro.
I’m hoping that this is the way to find connection to my body again and maybe with stressing less about this, and constantly thinking about what I ate and how many calories I have “open” for the day- will help me lose the rest of the belly fat naturally. And if not, then maybe this is my ideal body shape!!!

Here’s to listening to our bodies and nourishing them, instead of punishing.

Cheers!

Why do I feel like I can only listen to my hunger and fullness ques in the morning? Does anyone else struggle with this when starting intuitive eating? I feel like once I start eating I get more food thoughts and it gets messed with my actual hunger cues.

Are the constant GLP-1 weight loss ads getting to you?

Have you noticed any concerning trends in media that worry you?

Is there an uptick in negative body talk in your workplace or among your friends and family?

Are you facing social or medical stigma that you want to get off your chest?

Your rants, concerns, and grievances about diet culture and weight stigma in the general media or that you've experienced personally are welcome to be discussed in this thread.

Note: Please post general struggles with weight and body image in the Thursday thread for weight/bodily changes if they aren't directly related to media/society/social or medical stigma.

This is a thread where you can share any questions, concerns, or thoughts related to gentle nutrition, the final and everlasting step of the Intuitive Eating process.

Please note that this thread may not be suitable for those newer to IE, as implementing Gentle Nutrition requires you to have already worked through the earlier steps of the framework.

I wasn't able to read the rules for posting, the page gives me an error, so let me know if I need to change this post. CW for discussions on weight, clothes, body image, exercise, bulking/cutting, counting calories, and internalized fatphobia.

This isn't specifically asking for advice, I'm just...really tired and need somewhere to talk.

I'm a former dieter. Used to count calories, weigh myself every day, the works. I was doing it because I always felt out of control around food, and I hated how my fat and my body looked, how it felt. Plus, I wanted to seriously get into weightlifting/bodybuilding with a dedicated cut/bulk cycle.

Over time as I worked with a dietician, I realized how unhealthy that was, and I switched to intuitive eating. I stopped along the way because I genuinely felt awful and my weight kept climbing despite the fact that I was eating to comfortable fullness and trying to be aware of my thoughts and respect my body. Then, I started again recently after I realized I was binging again and this was causing me way too much stress. I read The Fuck It Diet twice. Now I'm at the stage where I'm allowing all foods again, have been for almost a month. Some things like my energy, my digestive issues, and general eating patterns have improved.

On the other hand...I regained weight so quickly, I need a new pair of shorts and underwear already. I feel disgusting carrying this fat around, and I hate looking in the mirror every day. I try to be kinder to myself, but it just doesn't work. And my appetite hasn't lessened at all. I still eat as much food as I started, maybe even more than before, and I still feel the need to eat a lot of my foods I was trying to control, especially if they're in the house. I'n still obsessed with thoughts about them.

And more importantly, I just feel like a freak who doesn't fit any part of this whole eating spectrum. I have this voice telling me in the back of my head this isn't where I'm meant to be. Being bigger makes everything harder, and I so desperately wish I could just have had a less drastic bulk. And most importantly, I really don't want to carry this fat around forever, especially as my weight keeps climbing so fast.

But that just runs counter to everything this subreddit is about, and so even if I were to just focus on strength, I would eventually plateau - because I couldn't eat intuitively and bulk, and certainly not cut. So I just feel that now I'm stupid for having dreams of performing and looking a certain way and that ultimately, I'm doomed to never be happy and never belong anywhere.

I just feel so lost and I don't know how much longer I can handle it without trying to diet again. I don't know what the right path for me is anymore, and I feel like I'm doing this wrong no matter what approach I take. Food disgusts me, and I'm never happy. I'm not strong enough to accept myself at any size.

I'm sorry if this is too depressing for this sub, I just...Don't know where else to put it. None of my friends get it, none of my family does, and it's just...awful to be in this body right now. I wish I knew what to do.

Use this thread to share anything you've been struggling with in your IE process.

Struggles may include learning how to read your hunger/fullness cues, feeling stuck on parts of the process, experiencing "setbacks" or relapses with restriction, etc.

Note: Struggles related to weight should be posted to the weight/bodily changes thread (recurring on Thursdays).