The first day that we were driving down south I sat in the back seat smashed up against camping gear
…..shoving my face with rice crackers and nut butter. ok..admittley not the worst things i could be eating.
However, I knew that I wasn’t hungry. I was bored. I wasn’t full on binging..but I was over-eating.
I stopped. Put them away and then started counting the points in my head. It’s exhausting having to look at food as points/calories/lbs/kgs/’naughties’
I flung my head back, shut my eyes and said in my mind ‘what I want from 2010 is to intuitively eat’
That’s it. I don’t want a man. A nice date. God to come from the Heavens. To win the Lotto.
I want to love my body enough to feed it properly.
We hiked Bluff Knoll. My body, 100lbs lighter made it up the mountain. My legs never gave out on me. My mind did..then I overcame that. The view was amazing. The sense of accomplishment was worth it.
We then went to the campsite where we were staying and started talking to a guy who was washing dishes who was part of a group of four..two couples. We invited ourselves over to their table and I started chatting to a woman who is a ultra-marathon runner.
I go ‘So, when you eat how do you know how much to eat? Do you worry about weight?‘
She looks at me with a tinge of ‘what the hell are you talking about?’ look in her eyes. She ponders and goes ‘I look at food as fuel. If I eat that, then it directly impacts my running, thinking, sleeping. I don’t worry about weight. I don’t say no to anything…some things may take a bit more encouragement to eat (sugars, white flours), but I don’t limit myself. Instead I think of how food helps me live the life that I want. It’s my fuel’
I looked at her and wanted to hug her. But I didn’t. I just stopped.
Food is Fuel.
Food isn’t a weight loss mechanism
Food isn’t something that is naughty
Food isn’t to be shunned, shoved, purged, limited
FOOD IS FUEL
For the rest of the glorious weekend I asked myself ‘Michelle, will that fuel you the way that you want to?‘
Yes, I had wine. I had chips. I had cookies. I didn’t binge on any of them. I just said ‘this amount (moderated) will fuel me’
I enjoyed food. I didn’t count points. I didn’t obsess. It enjoyed this sandwhich so much…I am tellin’ ya.
I enter 2010 with the constant reminder that food is my fuel.
How do you look at food?
~M
eatingjourney.wordpress.com 
GIRL YOU FREAKIN ROCK!!!!
Its interesting to me that every time I mention food as fuel I get lambasted (seriously–is that even a word? it is the first which pops to mind :)) about how I “need” to enjoy food and deprivation is wrong.
Its interesting to me that when I deem food as fuel it doesnt at ALL MEAN for me that I dont love what I eat.
It simply means that it fuels my mouth and tastebuds AND my bod.
I went too long just fueling the ‘buds and causing the bod to grow fluffy and tired.
xo xo,
I totally agree with what you’re saying. It’s not deprivation. It’s actually listening to what your body wants and needs.
I’m glad that you talked to the that chick. That is exactly how I view food. I know that if I eat 15 cookies that my run will be crappy later. If I have 2 or 3, then add in a cheese stick and an apple later, my run is perfect. I have pasta 2-3 times a week. I love it. Bacon and butter are eaten freely in my house but it is all about portion control. Do I have foods that I know that I will have zero control over myself if they are in the house? Sure. I just don’t buy them or if I do I make something out it that I can give away to friends. Good luck!
that’s where I’ve totally gotten. I know when I am ‘slipping’ that I am losing focus. It’s been very easy for me to re-focus myself by focusing on it being fuel.
When I’m at my best I view food as fuel to help my body look, feel and perform at it’s best. When I’m a ball of stress…I either over or under eat. I’m working on this.
I wish I under-ate š Knowing that, and getting down with your feelings is the most important thing.
I love, love, love this post, Mish!
I am trying- NO, GOING- to live my life this way. I am teaching myself, studying and I WILL learn this way of eating and looking at food this year. THIS YEAR. We will do it – this is OUR YEAR!
you are. that’s the beauty of the journey. you are.
I am trying this approach, but it is difficult. There is such a comfort to counting calories, but this just makes so much more sense!
I totally know what you mean. I am hear to say that after I eat a meal I don’t count points..no. However, I will find that after some meals I count points ONCE i’ve finsihed eating. I don’t think that I’ll ever get over counting points. However, I don’t go to a resturant anymore and think ok ‘I have seven points what can I eat’. I may do that sometimes…but knowing that I can order ‘anything’ and stop when I am content and fueled is more important to me. Perhaps just try one meal where you eat..then count calories. That’s what Angela @Ohsheglows did. Hon it’s taken almost a year. It’s a day-by-day thing and don’t beat yourself up about it.
Spoken like a true triathlete — food is fuel! Just get the yummiest, most efficient and fun fuel you can. And leave the rest.
That sammie looked amazing.
I think of a car. It doesn’t take more than it can to run properly.
Great post! I definitely need to remind myself more often that food is fuel. I give into cravings way too much and then end up going way overboard.
Great post, I am a couple of years into my intuitive eating journey and don’t feel the attachment to food that I used to. But the food as fuel thing is still working it’s way into my patterns and the grooves of my mind. We will get there, no doubt, it just take trust in yourself that you are exactly where you need to be and that each step is an important part of the journey.
For me food is fuel and fun. I want to enjoy what I eat so I make the nutritious fuel fun. I cut apples up and eat with Almond butter like a kid as Ants on a log or I make pizzas into silly toppings and try to be weird and try all the stuff at whole foods that looks odd. Making it fun like a game makes me more likely to stick with the healthy stuff than the bad stuff.
Wonderful picture of you! Very powerful and inspiring.
I think of food as food. It’s fuel, it’s nutrition, it can be social, etc. I try not to think of food as comfort. That’s what got me in trouble in the first place.
I’m thankful that I now think of food as fuel because it did not used to be that way.
Food is also FUN!
I agree w/ the Food being Fun. It’s so much FUN when you’re not thinking about how much it is worth in cal/points. if that makes sense.
More people should learn about intuitive eating. But some who know about it have a hard time wrapping their heads around it. I’ve been unconsciously doing IE for a while now and I’ve been trying to convert my boyfriend to it. But it’s hard especially when people don’t acknowledge things that they need to change.