The 5 Big Benefits of Intuitive Eating and Eating Mindfully
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
14 September 2020 | Written by Xenia Ayiotis
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 will want them. The secret is to allow those foods without guilt and judgement.
2. You will learn how to let go of “all or nothing” thinking
Embrace the “middle way” – that is the biggest skill we can learn to make peace with food. Dieting, food restriction and over-exercising often leads to backlash behaviour. Most of the time dieting leads to overeating or binge eating. Mindful Eating is the middle-way between restriction, rules and all-or-nothing behaviour.
3. You will learn how to trust yourself and your body
When we have subjected ourselves to many diets and rules we lose trust with ourselves. We lose trust with our bodies. We eat because we have to, or because the diet tells us to. We eat foods we don’t want. Some of us have forgotten what hunger feels like – we know the 2 extremes – starving or stuffed. Our bodies have an innate wisdom and will tell us what to eat, how much to eat and when to stop. By eating intuitively and mindfully, you learn to distinguish the difference between body hunger, head hunger and heart hunger.
4. You will learn to cope with stress & difficult emotions with or without eating
Emotional eating gets a bad rap. It is seen as a sign of weakness. Actually, emotional eating is simply a coping tool – not a coping failure. Most of us were not taught how to deal with difficult emotions and it’s human nature to avoid feelings of stress, anxiety, anger, boredom, frustration and loneliness. Some people overwork, others shop, some of us eat to cope. The way through this is awareness of our triggers and to respond with care.
5. You will learn how to CHANGE with KINDNESS
You cannot hate yourself into change. Change happens slowly, with patience and acceptance. Beating yourself up into change is not going to result in sustainable change. Healing and transforming your relationship with food and your body is not about restriction, deprivation, control and willpower. It is not about doing things perfectly and linearly, rather it’s more about setting the intention to change and committing to baby steps – not giant leaps – towards that change. Sometimes it’s 3 steps forward and 2 steps back and another 2 steps sideways, like a salsa dance, but as long as you keep moving, over time you will see, that you have undergone a transformation.
Hello, I'm Xen. Welcome!
I help women all over the world drop the struggle with food and their bodies to create a life of peace and freedom.
Sign up for my FREE 21-day eCourse “The Mindful Eating Moments” and get started on your journey to feeling free around food.
I respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
You might also be interested in blogs about:
“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.”
