Blogs About 'Intuitive Eating'
Do you want to eat like a “normal” person?
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
“I just want to eat like a normal person.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this! I don’t like the word normal – especially when it comes to how we eat. It implies that there is only one “normal” way to eat. What does “normal” even mean? I prefer to use the word natural. Most of us are born natural eaters. In a diet and weight obsessed culture it’s not surprising that so many people struggle to sustain a natural relationship with food. There are so many diets...
Am I Hungry?
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
Diet culture presents hunger as an enemy. In the world of dieting, hunger is an inconvenience, something to overcome. When we are dieting or following rules, we disconnect from our body because “the plan” dictates how many calories, points, grams we are “allowed” to eat regardless of hunger. In reality, hunger is your body’s way of communicating a basic need for survival. Hunger is necessary for life. It’s not something to be avoided or feel ashamed of and if you consistently ignore your...
Intuitively Eating Chocolate
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
I was first introduced to Cadbury’s Mini Eggs at the start of the pandemic by a client in Portland. I had no idea what they were – I thought they were like M&M chocolate balls. Over the last month my client sessions have been filled with discussions about Cadbury Mini Eggs. I was disappointed that I couldn’t find any in South Africa. Until last week, on my weekly shop - there they were! I excitedly filled my basket with packets of them. Of course, the impatient me wanted to try them...
Lessons From My Dog
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
In early December I lost my beloved Labrador after 14 years of pure love, devotion and constant companionship. He was a gift from a dear friend on my daughter’s 4th birthday and it didn’t take long for him to become my gift. His name was Scuro, which means dark brown in Greek and Italian. Scuro had a healthy appetite, I am not sure what he loved more – food or walks? They say dogs resemble their owners, in many ways his relationship with food was like mine in my dreaded dieting days. He would...
It's Never Too Late To Trust Yourself
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
I meet many people who struggle with their relationship to food. The one thing they have in common is that they believe that they are alone in this struggle. In the retreats and courses that I facilitate, one of the greatest eye-openers for most participants is how many other people also struggle with food. Their deepest desire is to feel free around food to no longer feel obsessed about food and weight to stop their suffering around food and their bodies to develop trust in themselves to let...
Anyone For Tea And Cake?
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
This week, my husband and I decided to take a day off and spend it in nature to replenish. One of my husband’s favourite past times (other than cycling) is afternoon tea and cake. Tea and cake. One of life’s pleasures. I remember how this outing used to be torture for me. Whether I was on a diet or not, I would dread it. Such a seemingly simple thing, yet fraught with drama and an endless debate in my mind. Should I? Shouldn’t I? Maybe I’ll just have tea and no cake (I’m not...
The 5 Big Benefits of Intuitive Eating and Eating Mindfully
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
The benefits of Mindful and Intuitive Eating are endless but these are the 5 biggest benefits of practicing Intuitive Eating and learning to eat mindfully... 1. You will stop fighting food Do you look at people who leave half a cookie on their plate and wonder how they do it? Chances are they don’t like the cookie OR they have never told themselves they shouldn’t eat cookies? The more food rules we have the more preoccupied we feel with food. The more you restrict certain foods the more you...
10 Steps To Conquer A Buffet Meal With Joy And Delight
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
In my dieting days I had such mixed feelings about buffets. On the one hand they would terrify me – the choice, the desserts, will people judge me if I go back for seconds? And on the other hand I was thrilled by the abundance and choice. I was excited at the anticipation of tasting delicious food! Before becoming a coach, I worked in tourism and was privileged to travel extensively, staying in beautiful safari lodges and luxurious hotels where the buffets were lavish with a mesmerising display...
Food Freedom Is Possible
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
I turned 50 this year. It also happens to be the year I feel the most relaxed and at peace with food and eating that I ever have felt. More than half my life was spent in a constant battle with food. From the age of 13, I was on and off various diets. Hating my body no matter my size and obsessing about being thinner. My life was a series of diets – I was either on one or off one and when I was off a diet it was one big binge. I spent so many years out of control with my eating and miserable with...
The Long & Bumpy Path To Peace With Food
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
Many of my clients ask me about my experience in ending a 27 year long diet roller coaster ride and setting sail in the unchartered waters of Intuitive Eating. Intuitive Eating is a set of principles and a process that helps you recover from dieting and craziness around food. I was a chronic dieter, losing and gaining weight every year for 27 years. When I discovered the non-diet approach it was like winning the lotto. I loved the idea of giving myself unconditional permission to eat what I want....
Give Yourself Unconditional Permission To Eat What You Want!
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
WHAT??? Y.E.S. Anything you want. This is Principle 3 “Make Peace with Food” in the book Intuitive Eating by Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole. If you haven’t read the book and you want to change your relationship with food, I highly recommend it. What does this principle actually mean? It means: No more forbidden foods. No more restriction. No more good foods / bad foods. Take away the food rules. Remove guilt and deprivation. Eating what you really want. No more...
Do You Have A Healthy Relationship With Food?
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
When we think about our relationship with food, we tend to focus on WHAT we are eating. A healthy relationship with food is not just about what we eat but also WHY and WHEN and HOW we eat. The main causes of an unhealthy relationship with food are: Diets, restrictive eating and choosing to eliminate food groups for non-health reasons. Body dissatisfaction and negative body image. Emotions – from trauma to stress to mild emotional discomfort. Physical discomfort and pain. Environmental...
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“From our first meeting - two faces on Zoom across the world from each other, there was a sense of familiarity and comfort that was a healing balm for a lifetime of food struggles and dieting. Without realizing how much damage I had done to myself by adhering, for decades, to restrictive food plans and rigid diet programs, Xen had a way of redirecting the harsh and negative self-talk and sending me forth each week with compassion, mindfulness and a new way of seeing myself in the here and now. Gone are the maybe somedays, and if-only, and when-I’m-smaller thinking. Now I am committed to the imperfect and rocky path to listening to my body, accepting my perfect imperfections, and rejecting diet mentality. Those negative voices will revisit me from time to time, I know, but Xen has offered valuable tools for meeting each day as a fresh start - another choice, another chance. Her devotion to this work and her belief in her clients is a remarkable gift; I am so fortunate to have found her. It is never too late to let go of the drama and embrace joy, ease and self-acceptance.”
“I felt hopeless and helpless in my daily struggle with mindless eating for many years. Then I found Xen which is exactly what I needed! My decision to work with her helped me to finally repair my relationship with food. It's changing my life for the better, one day at a time. Now I have control over the food, instead of it having control over me, which is the way it should be. I highly recommend Xen to anyone who has a desire to overcome similar food struggles. Xen, thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
“I reached out to Xenia because 2021 started on a tumultuous note for me. Between deaths, businesses suffering, hospitalizations, and job losses in our personal circle, I felt depleted and found myself being available for everyone but myself. Then I was hit with an unexpected health diagnosis, which was the last straw as it meant giving up “healthy foods” and workouts that I leaned on for my well-being and stability. Despite working in wellness (Yes, coaches and healers are vulnerable too!), I found myself reaching out to desserts for comfort. I like to live a life of permissions (not labels or deprivation leading to bingeing), so I wanted to work with someone who approached healing from a place of mindful compassion. I didn’t want to be my own client. Xenia was great in reminding me to be kind to myself. Working with her, brought me peace and helped shift my mindset. I love how desserts and I look at each other now.”
“Working with Xenia was amazing. She armed me with a bunch of tools to help me through difficult times. Xenia is the kind of person who really cares for helping you in the long run. Her work will forever have an impact in my life.”
“Working with Xen was a game changer for me. After working together for a few months my relationship with food radically changed. I no longer felt like a failure. I now have the tools to nourish my body with foods that feel good in my body. I don’t feel guilty about eating cake or chocolate, I also don’t overeat cake and chocolate. I no longer feel the need to exercise to compensate for my eating. I feel much more free around eating and I am more accepting of my body. Xen has a nonjudgmental and compassionate approach to coaching and really supports you in the process.”
“Working with Xen has been very empowering. Her approach is so refreshing from the usual. I have learned that I am in charge and that I get to choose what I put in my body and how to move my body in a way that I like! I get to make my own choices. It’s so liberating. Once you get a taste of freedom with food, there is no turning back to old ways! Thanks Xen for guiding me along the way to freedom.”
“This is the answer for those of you that struggle with food and all that surrounds it. Xenia said that I could make peace with food and it seemed at the time like an impossible dream. Turns out it isn’t. I recommend Xen and the mindful eating / intuitive eating approach unreservedly. If you have any questions about my experience, please get in touch. Thank you Xen. My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”
“Xenia was a walking, living, breathing example of what can be done. I laughed and cried my way through a short course in this fascinating and invigorating programme with her, and have gained a designer tote full of coping skills that go way beyond containing kilogrammes. I feel infinitely lighter. I am doing this for me and, yes, you can do this for you too! And believe me, I’m cynical!”
“I don’t obsess about food like I used to. I am thinking differently about food and feeling so much more relaxed around all types of food. It’s wonderful to have pleasure and satisfaction from eating.”
“I learned a new way of thinking about food. I have learned that food is not the enemy and that it can actually be enjoyed with no guilt.”
