Surely allowing yourself to eat as many easter eggs as you want can’t be a good thing, right? This is a question I frequently get asked. Read on to find out more about intuitive eating at Easter!
Is it just me or does it feel like shops put their Easter eggs on display earlier and earlier each year? The heart-shaped chocolates for Valentines day have barely left the shelves when in flock the chocolatey yellow-foiled chicks, smiling bunnies and eggs of all sizes. Egg sales soared during the pandemic as people shared and consumed the creamy-sweet Easter food during this unpredictable time (1). The sharing and consumption of chocolatey food can be delicious, joyous and comforting.
However, in a world of ‘a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips’ and constant fear-mongering about peoples’ ”ever-growing waistlines”, chocolatey goods can come with a plethora of emotion. Chocolate, like many other tasty foods, is often associated with being an ‘unhealthy’ food that should be limited or avoided for fear of weight gain.
When you are in the grips of disordered eating or trying to ‘be good’ and eat the ‘right’ things, it is quite likely that you’re relationship with chocolates and easter eggs includes worries of eating more than you intend to, feeling out-of-control and feelings of guilt shame. You might eat a small amount of an easter egg and tell yourself ‘that’s enough now, I shouldn’t eat anymore’, only to find yourself returning soon after for more. If this is you, there is nothing wrong with you, this is a natural biologically-driven response to restriction.
in the context of disordered eating, any relationship to the tasty eggs can be laden with feelings of guilt, shame and trying to control how much of the food you do eat (and feeling like a failure when you eat more than what you promised to stick to). Intuitive eating, however, sits in contrast. An intuitive eater will allow themselves to eat as much as they desire in order to feel satisfied and then move on with their day. No guilt, no shame, no obsessively thinking about the easter egg that’s in the cupboard and wondering how long you can hold out from opening it. Intuitive eaters are present with the easter egg, enjoying the chocolatey taste and creamy texture. They eat until they feel satisfied and that’s that.
Eating Intuitively can actually help, rather than hinder, your relationship with the chocolatey egg-shaped goodies. Intuitive Eating is both a process and a practice (if you’re interested in hearing more about intuitive eating, you might find this podcast episode useful). Intuitive Eaters listen to, and trust their body to guide them in their eating patterns.
But if I allow myself to eat whatever my body wants, I won’t stop eating!
The idea of trusting your body to tell you when you are hungry and satisfied can be scary, especially if you have spent years dieting or disordered eating. If you swing from feeling really ‘on it’ and ‘eating healthy’ to feeling like you’ve pressed the f*** it button and that you’ve blown it with your eating habits, it makes sense that you might associate the idea of intuitive eating with this f*** it stage. I hear you. If you are ready, and you wish to try eating intuitively this easter, try the following 3 tips:
Tip 1:
Aim for true satisfaction and choose your favourite eggs this Easter. Out with the low-calorie, Free-from, diet eggs and in with the creamy, tasty and chocolatey, wholesome Easter eggs.
Tip 2:
Nourish yourself! Make sure you’re eating enough though the day. Even if you feel like you’ve eaten too much the night before. Your body needs nourishment on a daily basis no. matter. what. It can be tempting to pull the reigns tighter and restrict the morning after an evening of easter eggs but undereating will simply set the stage for another binge the next day.
Tip 3:
When you choose a food to eat, enjoy it! So many of us will eat foods while thinking ‘I shouldn’t be eating this’ or ‘I’ll make up for this later’. This kind of thinking distracts you from being fully present with, and fully enjoying the tasty food in front of you. I’d like to invite you to be present with your Easter goodies. Feel the texture of the foil as you unwrap it. Notice the different smells – are there notes of caramel? Is it nutty? Finally, take a bite. Connect with the tastes and textures in your mouth.
Intuitive Eating can truly be liberating, but it is not always easy. If you would like support with your relationship with food, feel free to contact me on the email below or book your Free Discovery Call.
References
- BBC News [accessed 30/03/23] https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56574794 Easter egg sales ‘soar by almost 50%’
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