Hey ya’ll. How’s it going? We’ve actually been getting rain here in Kentucky. It’s much needed, and raining always seems to put me into a more creative headspace. And I hadn’t blogged in a while, so I had the urge to chit chat about my recent experience with intuitive eating.
Although I’ve been actively practicing this way of ditching diets for 7 years, I still learn something new ALL.THE.DARN.TIME! That’s the best part! Not only to feel free around all foods, I now know how to decipher what I really like verses what I think I should have. A huge step away from eating disorder behavior.
So, the other day I got groceries. I love grocery shopping now (most of the time). It's fun to see what's new on the shelves.
This time, parsley starred me in the face. The green little thing.....I took her home like a new puppy. My inner chef wanted to try and sprinkle it on my food to be fancy. I’m a real mad scientist when it comes to my plate sometimes. We eat with our eyes first, right? I blame Food Network.
But this moment, after trying parsley again, I realized I’m NOT a parsley gal. Nope the flavor is NOT my cup of tea.
Where does this have to go with intuitive eating? I'll tell ya...
I spent years trying to follow every diet. I compared my food to others plates, compared my choices, and ate things I didn’t even like. Let’s be honest, who really loves Bocca burgers, fat free cheese, and steamed (no seasoned) veggies?
I spent months trying to find out why the heck and how the heck cabbage soup would make me loose fat, or how sweet potatoes were a superfood. And how do you really say or spell acai? I still get tongue tied when saying it.
One this is for certain, I've learned food sucks when you're not really even enjoying what you like to eat. If we're eating on auto-pilot, what's the point of savoring the flavor? When you're living by a fad, beside the salad bar, or behind shakes, or points to consider…
Through intuitive eating, I’ve been able to have a better relationship with food and this has allowed me to have a better relationship with myself.
Now that I’m a parent, I never want my child to join the “clean plate club” if he's pushing away his carrots. If he decides nuggets are better than broccoli on a Tuesday and chicken is only allowed on Friday’s, I'm ok with that.
I say all that to tell you….
I want to encourage you to do the same for your kid. If we don't allow them to choose their own food without guilt or shame, without labels, without comparison, we are setting them up for failure!
I can promise you, WITHOUT question, putting labels on food we enjoy takes away joy.
Back about this parsley incident….Now that I know I'm really a parsley gal, I'd much rather chomp on basil or cilantro, I encourage you to think way back to when pizza was always on the menu and kale never came until your 20s, or in my case, my 30s. I want you to get real, get real with your kid and get real with yourself.
It’s time to realize there is a better way. A more miraculous way to set them towards food freedom and into a place of self-love, self-care, and away from dieting.
Are you ready?
In the meantime, I will get onto my day without parsley.
Any questions, let me know. I’d love to chat with you.
Love,
Kayla
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