It has taken me days to sit down and write this because my mind tries to overwhelm me whenever I try to be productive. I can also feel my anxiety butting in more often, and it doesn't help that I have been existing on coffee and running of very little sleep.

I sat down this summer with a book on Intuitive Eating and it really opened my eyes to how disordered my thinking has been on dieting, health, and fitness. I like to think of myself as a fairly intelligent woman, but some of these lies and traps have their barbs around me so tight I can't separate what's "me" and what isn't anymore.

Add onto that the pressure to be thin, especially after having children, and it's a recipe for pure and total disaster.

Once upon a time I didn't experience food guilt.

Once upon a time I didn't categorize food as "good" or "bad."

Once upon a time I went about my day without thinking about my next meal hours before the time to eat arrived.

Once upon a time I ate because I was alive and because I liked what I ate.

Now, I feel shame after each meal if it isn't perfectly "healthy," beat myself up for eating a food from my DO-NOT-CONSUME list, obsess about what to eat and when to eat and how to eat, and end up overeating because I feel like I have no control.

AFFIRMATION #1: I am in this world, but I do not conform to the rules of this world. I am being transformed by the renewing of my mind to the perfect and pleasing will of God.

Intuitive Eating is taking things back to basics. I love the thought of dumbing it all down and just brushing off what all those food docuseries are trying to tell me to fear. Intuitive Eating allows you to get your power back. It takes the focus off of those negative rules that dieting inflicts and tells the nasty food police to bugger off!

I need Intuitive Eating in my life for a few reasons:
1) I don't want my food to control me,
2) I don't want my children to face the same obstacles as I am, and
3) I want to inspire other people to kick their diets to the curb and enjoy food as God meant for us, too!

Intuitive Eating is comprised of 10 principles:
1) Reject the Diet Mentality
2) Honor Your Hunger
3) Make Peace with Food
4) Challenge the Food Police
5) Feel Your Fullness
6) Discover the Satisfaction Factor
7) Cope with Your Feelings Without Using Food
8) Respect Your Body
9) Exercise to Feel the Difference
10) Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition

Of course, I'd love to lose weight. However, I'm not having the same experience that I used to have because I'm having trouble believing in myself with this all-or-nothing attitude I've picked up. I'm not making a living being healthy and fit, but I still want to enjoy the body God gave me and take care of it. So, at first I can't focus on pure weight loss, I'm going to have to focus on loving myself and taking care of myself in the beginning of the process and it will all start to balance out once I can really overcome this perfectionist mindset.

I've started working through the Intuitive Eating Workbook and will be documenting those activities and exercises here when I can. I figure, if I'm going to start showing my body the love and care it deserves, then I need to start doing the things that I enjoy - like writing on this blog! I'm going to have to start exercising for more than just "losing weight" but because it makes me feel good to get up and dance or kickbox!

And that's my glow-up plan for the rest of this year. A lot of grace, a lot of gentle nourishment, and a whole lot of love as God blesses me with life to continue on this journey. Essentially, I want to go back to basics and eat for nourishment and pleasure and what makes my own unique God-created body feel its best.

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. ROMANS 12:2

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! I look forward to writing all about my Intuitive Eating journey!