I Never Would Have Given Myself Permission to Eat This Before...Real Life Intuitive Eating

June 11, 2024• byleahk

Today’s blogpost is featuring a Real Life Intuitive Eating Moment (RLIE moment) from my intern, Laura. She’ ll be walking you through her internal dialogue when she recently decided to have an ice cream sandwich for dessert. The goal of sharing these RLIE moments is to help you see inside the mind of an intuitive eater.

When our food choices aren’t governed by rules and diets, we use our instincts, emotions, and logic to determine what to eat.

Take it away, Laura!

Last night after dinner I was having a bit of a sweet tooth. I knew that there were these mint oreo ice cream sandwiches in the freezer so I went and got one to enjoy because that’s what sounded good. I know that I’m about to start my period soon, and this is the usual time where I start craving chocolatey things.

During this particular week of the month I also tend to notice an increase in my appetite as well as some bloating— things that used to trigger me to restrict in the past. I know that this is a normal part of my cycle, and ice cream was what my body was telling me it wanted, so that’s what I ate. Sometimes you just need some comfort food.

Back in my disordered eating days, this would have gone a lot differently…

While eating my ice cream sandwich I reflected on past instances where I would’ve denied myself something like this because I was scared of how much sugar it contained. Sweets have always been my favorite type of food, so this was a constant battle I would have with myself. I had also already snacked on some chocolate earlier that day, which would have been driving my diet-culture mindset insane. In the past, I probably would have obsessed over that ice cream all night, and maybe opted for some fruit instead, which wouldn’t have satisfied me. I probably would have ended up snacking on various things I could find in the house later.

It was a nice realization that something that would’ve caused me so much panic in the past no longer has that power over me. I know that having a big sweet tooth one day won’t hurt me, but I know that past habits of restricting after days like these will. I don’t need to feel guilty about allowing myself to eat something that was going to make me happy at that moment. Enjoying good food is a wonderful thing.

It’s so important to listen to your body’s cravings! Just because you already ate something sugary today doesn’t mean you can’t eat something sugary later. Sure, it might not be the most nutrient-dense food but eating is also about the satisfaction factor, and that ice cream definitely hit the spot.