Satisfaction Factor
Satisfaction Factor
#96 - Approachable Practices to Integrate Intuitive Eating & Anti-Diet Work Into Your Life
Ever wondered why you intellectually understand intuitive eating & anti-diet concepts but struggle to truly live them? In this episode, we're giving you 5 actionable practices to help you move from theoretical knowledge to practical application.
We're talking about:
- Why it's not enough to learn about intuitive eating & anti-diet concepts; we have to actually practice them
- The importance of tailoring intuitive eating & anti-diet practices to fit your unique needs, experiences, and identities
- How we can take big concepts & break them down into approachable practices or goals
And if you do want to get some support in this work, Naomi has a few options for you! She has 3 spots open for 1:1 Intuitive Eating & Anti-Diet coaching! She also offers individual pay-what-you-can coaching calls called Mindset Reset calls. And lastly, she's currently trying to gauge interest for a fall cohort of her group coaching program, Nourish & Bloom, so be sure to join the waitlist for that if you're at all interested.
Stay in touch with the pod on IG @satisfactionfactorpod!
And here's where you can continue to find us:
Sadie Simpson: www.sadiesimpson.com or IG @sadiemsimpson
Naomi Katz: www.happyshapes.co or IG @happyshapesnaomi
Welcome to Satisfaction Factor, the podcast where we explore how ditching diet culture makes our whole lives more satisfying. Welcome back to Satisfaction Factor. I'm Naomi Katz, an intuitive eating and body image coach. I'm Sadie Simpson, a group fitness instructor and personal trainer. So before we dig into this week's episode, just a reminder that if you want to support the show, we've got merch. We've got a handful of designs up on TeePublic that can be printed as stickers, t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, tote bags or whatever else you like. T-shirts and sweatshirts come in sizes up to a 5X and you can check that out at the link that always lives in our show notes.
Speaker 1:So in our last episode we talked about some things to know if you're navigating intuitive eating and anti-diet work on your own like as opposed to with professional support, and one of the things that we talked about is that you can't just learn intuitive eating intellectually.
Speaker 1:You have to actually practice it and apply it. So you know, one of the things that I kind of talked about in that episode was that a lot of the people that I work with have read the intuitive eating book. They probably you know a lot of them listen to intuitive eating podcasts or follow intuitive eating people on Instagram and they very much intellectually know what the framework of intuitive eating entails and what anti-diet work entails. They know that you know that diets fail. They know 95% of diets fail. They know that diet culture is harmful and oppressive and doesn't align with their values. They know all of those things and they're also really frustrated and kind of struggling to make intuitive eating work for them personally in their lives. Like they just feel like there's this gap between the intellectual knowledge and how they actually feel in their own bodies, in their own lives, and that's totally normal. That's a really common experience, I think, maybe even a universal experience, perhaps a Canon event, I think that.
Speaker 2:That is a great way to put it. This is a Canon event.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's because intuitive eating anti-diet isn't something you just learn intellectually, like it's something you do, it's a practice and it's going to look different for everyone. So it's great to learn things intellectually, but we have to also figure out how what we know intellectually applies to the gap between intellectual understanding and internalized belief. Like we need to see how the theory applies to our actual lives. So like it doesn't matter if you can recite the entire intuitive eating book backwards and forwards Like you could host your own podcast on intuitive eating book backwards and forwards, like you could host your own podcast on intuitive eating. But if we're not actually practicing and applying the principles, we're going to feel stuck, we're going to feel frustrated and we're going to have a really hard time moving through that cognitive dissonance that we've talked about before, that sense of like what you believe for other people versus what you believe for yourself.
Speaker 2:Well, and I feel like we've probably said this before on multiple episodes, but there's really not very many ways you can do intuitive eating quote unquote wrong. And I think this idea of figuring out how to put the stuff you've intellectualized, is that a word?
Speaker 2:put the stuff you've intellectualized. Is that a word intellectualized yes, you've learned um into practice in a way that's really practical for yourself, is like it's so important. But it can be really hard because we tend well, I say we, I'm talking about myself, but this is, this is also the universal we. We tend to want to have a framework or like a set of guidelines to follow and like we like rules and things like that. But there's there's certain things, especially within this framework, more subjective, and that you know, things are going to differ from person to person.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. It's just, you know, we have that one episode that I'm going to get the title wrong and the number wrong, but I believe it is called Is Intuitive Eating for Everyone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the title too, and kind of the whole point behind that is like, yes, but not in the same way, it's not going to look the same for everyone, and so, like, honestly, that might be like a good sort of companion episode for this conversation about, like, why intuitive eating as written in the book isn't necessarily as helpful as a practice that you're tailoring to yourself. Yeah, so you know, we mentioned this in the last episode. Also, one of the first ways that we can, you know, put this stuff into practice is get the workbooks right. Like, do the workbooks? They're not perfect because they're just like the book, they're very kind of one size fits all and so they're not going to take into account every nuance of individual experience and stuff like that, because they can't Like. The whole point is they're trying to be useful to the biggest number of people in the broadest possible way, but they are a great way to start. And so, just a reminder, those workbooks there is the intuitive eating workbook, um, which is by evelyn tribley and elise res. As always, a content warning for that that they did not update the workbook when they updated the book in 2020. And so the workbook still has some slightly diet-y, slightly like health-ist not fully. You know weight-inclusive stuff in it, so just kind of be aware of that going in. It's a really great tool and use it with caution. I also love the your Body Is Not An Apology workbook by Sonia Renee Taylor. That's especially good for like unpacking diet culture as a system of oppression. That's a super, super helpful workbook. It's something I use with my clients. And then there's a new workbook out called the Emotional Eating, chronic Dieting, binge Eating and Body Image Workbook and that is by Christy Harrison, judith Metz and Amy Pershing. And all of these things should be available. You know, pretty much anywhere you buy your books.
Speaker 1:But today we want to talk about some other ways to get started on actually applying this work and also kind of ways that you can tailor it to yourself as an individual. Because, like, what does it mean to actually apply this stuff? The principles are big concepts, the, you know, quote unquote, end goal, although you know we talk all the time that there isn't really an end point to this. It's like lifelong work.
Speaker 1:But the sort of other side of the work is getting to. That other side is like a big concept and you know we can't just flip a switch and suddenly know how to eat when we're hungry or stop when we're full or give ourselves unconditional permission with food or respect our bodies, which are all like the big intuitive eating concepts, like we don't know how to just do those things. They kind of mean nothing. There's like no concrete meaning or understanding behind those things when we're coming out of diet culture and especially when we're early in this process. So we're going to talk about some smaller practices that are going to move the dial towards those bigger things.
Speaker 2:I feel like this is this is a good either starting point for somebody kind of like dipping their toes into it in intuitive eating, but also I feel like this is a good refresher, even for folks who have been doing some of this work and maybe you're finding that they're getting stuck on certain areas or they just need some little like tidbits and things they can kind of grab a hold of and put into practical application. So I think this is a good episode that's going to be applicable for folks in like for different reasons and in different ways.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely Like these are. These are practices that are good to start and they're also practices that are good to come back to Like again in the last episode. One of the things we talked about is that it's really common to hit these points in this work where we feel like we've hit a plateau or like we feel a little stuck, and these kinds of practices, even if you've done them before coming back to them, can be really really helpful in like navigating through those plateau points. You know we also we want to clarify when we say these are small things, we don't mean that they're easy things.
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 1:I know these. These are things that are going to take time and work and practice and they're going to feel uncomfortable and they're going to feel frustrating. But, like, despite all of that, they also are going to be approachable in ways that the big concepts really aren't right off the top. But yeah, these are not things that are like a one and done. These are practices that we incorporate over a period of time. They're going to bring stuff up that we're going to have to process and navigate. Like it's not they're not checkboxes by any means so like, they might overlap, but you can feel free to pick the one that feels the most approachable and doable and start there. So like, don't dive into the thing that seems the hardest. Pick the easiest one. They all build on each other. So like, pick the one that feels easiest and start there and like, gain a little confidence with it, gain a little foundation with it, gain some practice before you move on to one that feels harder.
Speaker 2:I feel like that's just good advice for life in general too.
Speaker 1:It totally is. And I feel like, just, we have a tendency to think that, like, if it's easy, then it's not worth it, and so we're like, oh, that one seems easy, so I should probably pick one that's more challenging. No, do the easy one first.
Speaker 2:And it feels kind of good. Then then I know you said this isn't a checkbox, but then it does feel like it's like okay, I can kind of do this thing, or I kind of accomplished something, and it gives you a good sense of like I feel, good feeling.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly A hundred percent. You know it's. It's funny, I feel like it's like so we've talked before. I've recently gone back to a Pilates practice and, like you know, I used to be an instructor. I know the choreography, I understand how to do the movements, I know how to use the equipment, like all of these things, and so I keep catching myself feeling like I should try and move into like a higher level class instead of just like the level one classes and then having to be like no, like you're enjoying the level one classes, they feel good, you don't need to move into something that's going to kick your ass just because, technically, you could Like give yourself time, get the foundation, like build the joy and the ease with it. And then, if you feel like you want to try something else, you can, but you don't have to do it just because you can or just because it feels like, oh, if it's more challenging, it's more worthwhile. No, so yeah, just human nature, but, yes, you do not pick the easiest one. And then, as you feel ready and by ready I mean like really ready you can move to the next thing.
Speaker 1:Remember that it's not a race. Again, this is lifelong work. There isn't really an end point. It takes the time it takes. Feel free to get really really comfy with one practice before you move on to another one or before you add another one, because a lot of times they kind of sort of run simultaneously where, like, it's not so much that you stop doing one and move to the next one, it's that one becomes almost like background and you can add another one. Um, and then also one last disclaimer a lot of these practices that we're going to talk about are like noticing practices, so meaning they're about paying attention to our internal dialogues, to our narratives, and that can be really really helped along by journaling in some way or another.
Speaker 2:Now again, we've talked about this before I hate journaling, iroh journal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, hate journaling. It is not my thing. It is one of my least, least favorite things. So I want to be really clear that when I say it's helped by journaling, I don't necessarily mean like capital J journaling like this, like curated practice of journaling I'm talking about. It could be as simple as jotting down a note on a piece of paper or in a notes app on your phone, just so that you can like have kind of a running list of the things you're noticing. You don't have to, you don't have to write anything else down. You don't have to process it in writing, you don't have to like you know we're going to talk about some like interrogating questions that you can ask about these things, ask yourself about these things as you notice them. You do not have to do that in writing. Just the first, like as you notice something, just jot it down so you don't forget that you've noticed it, because that happens.
Speaker 2:And yeah, in the most informal and easy and low stress way you possibly can.
Speaker 1:I can get on board with that. I think, right, yeah, same, okay. So let's dive in. So we're going to do, we're going to talk about five kind of practices here.
Speaker 1:The first one figure out and by figure out I mean kind of notice what weight loss and weight gain mean to you. So, like, what I mean by that is, what general beliefs do you hold about weight loss and about weight gain? And then, on top of that, what are your beliefs specifically about your own weight loss and weight gain? Because something that shows up often is that they're different. How you feel about it for yourself might not be how you feel about it generally, and that's an important thing to notice that you are holding yourself to it. Like your feelings for yourself are not the same as your feelings for anyone else. And then you know and when I say you know, what are your feelings, these are things that could just like you can sit down and write it out. This one is something that you can kind of just sit with and contemplate if you don't feel like writing it out. You also might notice, for whatever reason, in different contexts, that certain narratives come to mind. So, for instance, if you notice that you've gained weight, what happens in your head? Write it down. Write it down, just jot it down. And then, when you're interrogating again, like, is this different from a general belief or is this a belief that only applies to you?
Speaker 1:Where did you learn these beliefs? Did you learn these beliefs? So, like a lot of times, we learn this stuff from our parents, from friends, from social media, from our, you know, from diets that we've done in the past. Sometimes it comes from healthcare providers, because there's a there's so much weight stigma built into that you know. Just identify the source and get as specific as you can about the source, because that helps us to recognize one that it's not actually our internal voice. Like, this isn't a belief that we've built for ourselves. This is a belief that we have internalized from an outside source. And two, the more specific we can be, the more likely it is that we're going to be able to be like we're going to question whether this is a reliable source. You don't have to do that right now, for right now, just where did you learn this? And then, next layer do these beliefs align with your lived experience, with the facts that you know and with your values. You don't have to dig deep into that. This can be a yes or no, and you know. For instance, if your general beliefs about this stuff differ from your beliefs for yourself, then it's a pretty clear indication that the answer to that is no, and that's important information.
Speaker 1:At first, like as you're doing this, don't worry about reframing these narratives, don't worry about reframing these beliefs. That is a whole other layer and we want to chunk these things initially down into the smallest task, the most doable thing that we can. Reframing is an important layer and when you're ready, feel free to head to my website, happyshapesco, and you can download a free workbook that can help you with the reframing process. But at first, just gather the information, notice the discomfort, notice when the beliefs don't align with what you know and what you value.
Speaker 1:Especially early on in this process, we tend to have like a lot of noise in our heads and it can just feel like a jumble, like it's really hard to even tell what's happening. You can just like. You just feel like this constant, like buzz in your head, like it's just noisy, and so being intentional about note, like pulling specific things out of that noise, like today I am, or for the foreseeable future. I'm not going to try and figure out what all the noise is. I'm just going to try and pull out this specific information that can be really helpful to like, start to get a handle on the noise kind of sort through it and get clear on where the work needs to happen. So I'd say that's like the first kind of bite-sized practice to look at.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like the idea of starting really simple.
Speaker 2:And then I mean for folks that are ready. They may want to grab your resource and kind of do the reframe and dig a little bit deeper. But I think starting simple like I feel like that's the overall theme of this episode, like it's the CliffsNotes version start simple and then broaden and dig a little bit deeper from there. But I think it's great to have options for people in both ways, because there may be some people that are like okay, I've done this, you know little kind of first exploration questioning, and they might be ready to dig a little bit deeper and I think that resource will be super helpful for them too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally Again, reframing is great, but like you can't, you can't start with the reframing. So two things. First of all, you can't start with the reframing. You have to know what you're reframing first. So you have to take some time to notice and gather the information so you even have something to start with to reframe. And you know it can feel really daunting to be like, oh my God. So like every time I notice something I have to go through this whole thing of reframing. Like that's too much at first. So like just do one part first and then you can build on it. Bite size. Practice number two get clear on. And by get clear on I mean notice your food rules.
Speaker 2:I almost wish and I'll see in editing if I can figure out how to do this. I wonder if I could put a chomp like bite size chomp.
Speaker 1:I don't know if we have a sound clip for that or not? That would be really funny, yeah. So chances are we can name a handful of our food rules like right off the top of our heads, but when we've spent an entire lifetime in diet culture, most of us have so many unspoken food rules that we don't even know what they all are anymore. Yep, are anymore? I mean, I've told this story like seven gajillion times about finding myself in the yogurt aisle of the grocery store like years after starting this practice, and being like wait, why can't I have vanilla yogurt? Oh shit, I can have vanilla yogurt. That's a weird food rule that I didn't know I had. So like you're not going to identify every single one of these in this, every single one of your food rules in this practice, certainly not the first time you do it, impossible. So just know that.
Speaker 1:But you know there is a way to sort of dig a little deeper into the things that don't necessarily come right off the top of your head, and that is to notice when you're saying no to a food or when you're choosing one food over another. Notice how you're talking about food and ask yourself why. So you know that might look like. So that might look like oh, I wish I could eat that. Okay, why can't you? What's the rule? I can't keep that in the house. Okay, why, what's the rule? I don't eat X. Okay, why, why don't you eat that? Maybe you'd say like oh, x is better for me or is a better choice than Y. Sure, why is it better? I should eat X? Should is always something that we should pay attention to. Why, why should you eat that? And then also, you know, when you start to have noticed that you have maybe some emotions around things that you're eating, like I feel bad because I ate X, okay, why, why do you feel bad about it? Where is the guilt coming from? Where is the shame coming from? What is the rule we've broken?
Speaker 1:And then, once you have some food rules identified and again jot them down, but once you've identified them, again come back to where did you learn them? That's such an important part of this process, kind of always, because first of all, we're going to notice patterns and that's going to give us some feedback on like oh, maybe that's something I need to shift, like, maybe that's a relationship where I need to set boundaries, maybe that's a newsletter I to shift. Like, maybe that's a relationship where I need to set boundaries. Maybe that's a newsletter I should unsubscribe from. Maybe that's you know somewhere where I should maybe look for a different provider, or you know things like that. Not something that needs to be done in this step, but identifying the source of where these things are coming from is going to give you information that will help later.
Speaker 1:Are these rules for everyone, or are these just rules for you, similar to the you know beliefs about weight loss and weight gain? Do we feel the same way about this for everyone, or is this just something that applies to you but everyone else is fine? Or is this just something that applies to you but everyone else is fine? Again, do these rules align with your lived experience, with your facts, with your values? You don't have to go very far with this one. Just a yes or a no and again, like we don't have to do all the reframes here yet, for right now we're just gathering the information and then maybe, once you've identified some stuff and especially if maybe you're picking up on some themes around like nutrition and stuff like that explore some non-diet education about food. This does not have to be your new obsession. If it is fine, like okay, but it can just be like casual.
Speaker 1:Personally, I am a huge fan of the nutrition for mortals podcast. For this. I think we've mentioned this podcast once before, and one of the reasons I love it is because a lot of intuitive eating podcasts don't actually talk about nutrition and food very much, and so this one actually does and can debunk some of the food rules and food myths that we carry with us because of diet culture. And then, of course, there's like tons of folks online for this too, like tons of anti-diet dieticians that you can find on Instagram and stuff, who love to debunk food rules and food myths. So, you know, see who you can find online. Also, you know, be careful, make sure you're talking to your. Make sure it's a registered dietician. You know, be careful, make sure you're talking to your. Make sure it's a registered dietitian, make sure it's somebody who is not talking about weight loss and is really focused on, like, anti diet, weight inclusive, nutrition and health information. Bite size Practice number three Notice how you talk to yourself. Notice how you talk to yourself.
Speaker 2:Right, like both that when and the how of it is important, and this works for both food stuff and body stuff. The when and the how. I think that that I think about that even like right now. I feel like the wind is something that we forget about sometimes, because I know there's certain times of the year, certain times of the month, for sure, that, like how we speak to ourselves about our bodies and our food and our exercise, like all that sort of stuff. It is like a freaking roller coaster, like it. It just varies so often. So I think we we talk a lot the how, but I think that you pointing out the when is like a biggie right there.
Speaker 1:Truly, it was so funny. I want to say like recently I was getting ready to leave the house and I caught a glimpse of like my profile in the mirror and I was like, oh, I look good. And then I was like I cracked myself up because I was like I look exactly the same as I did last week and the week before and the week before that, but I am ovulating right now, and so I feel like just the, the best thing in the world right now.
Speaker 1:Give yourself like a week or two and then that'll change exactly. But like that's the thing is. It's like it's so interesting to see how the positive self-talk is also cyclical, like oh my gosh, it is. It's one thing for me to like, like. I know that, like the week of before my period slash of my period, I, my body, talk it. Well, my body talk actually isn't doesn't change very much because I'm very aware of it, but my feelings about my body are not the greatest, as is true for most of us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that sometimes that, like those feelings could turn into body talk. So I think that's something to be like aware of too. So that's that's important.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's just. But it's funny to see how, like even the pot, even looking at myself in the mirror and thinking good things about myself, it was like, oh yeah, that's cyclical too, that like our bodies, that like, for better or for worse, just don't change that much from week to week. It's all just how we feel about it. So, yeah, the when and the how, and again, like this is both for food and body stuff, because it's you know, there also might be certain times that we talk to ourselves harshly about what we're eating, how much we're eating stuff like that, and what we want to notice again, not just what we're saying to ourselves. We do want to pay attention to that. So, like, what narratives are showing up? Are there maybe repeats? Are there certain narratives that show up more often than others? Are there patterns to that? But also, when do they show up? Again, are there patterns? Is it cyclical? Does that have to do with where you are in your menstrual cycle? Is it stress related? Do you certain narratives come up more often when you're stressed out? What's the context of these things, you know? Is it like oh well, when I'm in public, when I'm around new people, certain narratives show up, as opposed to when I'm around people that I'm more comfortable with and stuff like that, like just all of this, the context of all of these things matters a whole lot. And so, again, the when and the what, and then, once you've identified, again, jot them down.
Speaker 1:Once you've identified them, where did you learn them? Is this something you heard your mom say while you were growing up? Is this something you heard on TV growing up? Is this something you picked up along the way because of past diets or past exercise programs or things like that? Once again, does this align with your lived experience, the facts that you know and your values? Again, this is still more about noticing than reframing. But also, if you have the capacity, once you've identified this stuff, the thing to really ask yourself is would you talk to literally anyone you cared about this way and, if not, what would you say to them? Instead, if they came to you feeling the way that you're feeling, what would you say to them If you overheard them say to themselves or somebody else say to them the thing that you're saying to yourself in your head, what would you say to like, contradict that, to set it straight To you know, disrupt the conversation to protect them essentially. So that's number three. Number four start learning to listen to your body, and I phrase that very specifically to make it really clear that this is a first step in a much longer process, because listening to your body is not a switchy flip.
Speaker 1:Most of us have been disconnected from our bodies for years because of diet culture, because of dieting, because of grueling workouts, all kinds of stuff. Some of us have been disconnected from our bodies through other things, like trauma perhaps, and if that's the case, reconnecting might feel not just hard but triggering. And so, if that's you, this work might be something that you want to do with a licensed mental health professional, as opposed to just diving into on your own as like a bite-sized starting goal. It's not going to be a bite-sized starting goal for everybody. This also might be especially hard for neurodivergent folks or folks who are on certain medications. Something to keep in mind and all of this to say this is hard for a lot of reasons and you are not doing anything wrong if this practice doesn't work for you. Trust your instincts, trust your responses, like if you're thinking about these different, you know bite-sized practices and this one makes your whole body tense up. Maybe this is not a great one to take on on your own. Maybe this is something that you want to seek support for. Jump right in to hunger and fullness cues when you're relearning how to listen to your body, because those things tend to have a lot of narratives attached to them, especially early in this process, and that can just completely get in the way of being able to like actually connect to what's physically happening in your body.
Speaker 1:So we want to start to rebuild that connection to our bodies in a more neutral way. That's not necessarily about food and eating, and so there's a couple of things we can do. The first is just body scans. We're like literally just periodically, sitting quietly and checking in with our bodies from head to toe, or vice versa. Honestly, I tend to like to actually work from the bottom up, like start with my toes and work up, but whatever and just I mean notice what feels sore, what feels stiff, what feels achy, are some parts warm, are some parts cold, are you itchy, are you fidgety, are you relaxed, are you tense, like these are all physical sensations that we can start to notice in different parts of our bodies.
Speaker 1:And so just periodically doing a body scan it doesn't have to be anything formal. You're not tracking anything, you're not writing it down, you don't have to like, it's none of that. It's just a practice of, every once in a while, taking a moment and just trying to like, tune into the physical sensations in your body. Another thing that we can do, that we can kind of add to that a little bit, is noticing where in your body you feel cues, like having to pee, like being tired, like do you just feel tired in your eyelids, or do you feel tired in your muscles, in your back, in your neck, like, are there parts of your body that feel tired beyond just your eyeballs? Does that change when you are more tired or less tired, like when you're very tired, does it feel one way, and when you're just a little bit tired it feels a different way. Ditto for having to pee. When you super duper have to pee, does it feel different from when you have to pee just a little?
Speaker 2:Yes. Yes, I like that, though Cause I think I mean mean stuff like that are feelings that we're normally used to having, like we have these sensations and urges and things like that, and these are things that we recognize because they've happened to us for our whole lives and hunger has too but we've suppressed those hunger feelings for so long. So taking something that we haven't maybe suppressed as long and using that to apply it to hunger and fullness and whatever else is, I love that.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and so like tiredness and having to pee are two really like easy ones, a little more advanced, but also helpful anxiety when do you feel anxiety in your body? But also helpful anxiety when do you feel anxiety in your body. Stress when do you feel stress in your body, just sort of adding on to the sensations that you can start to notice. And again, physical sensations, so like when you feel anxious, you might feel like you've like it might feel like noisy in your head or something like that, but that's not a physical sensation. Like noisy in your head or something like that, but that's not a physical sensation. Heart racing, that's a physical sensation. Butterflies in your stomach, that's a physical sensation. And so noticing where in your body you feel these things and then kind of lastly, you can sort of add another layer to these things with something that's called the universal attunement question, where basically you do a body scan and then you assess whether your body feels pleasant, unpleasant or neutral and I always encourage people to feel free to pick your own words. If those don't really like resonate with you, that's totally fine. And what I love about this added layer is that it can help us start to tease out physical sensations from narratives, so like, in addition to starting to hone the ability to connect, so like, sense those physical sensations, it also helps us start to tease out, like what's a physical sensation and what's in my head, like what is a story about? The physical sensation I always love to use, like the example of, like you've just done a really intense workout and your first instinct might be to say, like, oh, I feel really good Because you have the sense of accomplishment, you feel like you've worked really hard, you feel like you did something that was good for you, and like all of those things. But if you were answering just from the sense of what's happening in your body, like just from the physical sensations, maybe your knee feels a little sore, maybe your lungs are burning a little bit, maybe you've got jello arms, like maybe you've got a little bit of a headache. Maybe physically the sensations aren't as good as the narrative in your head tells you you feel, and so this is an opportunity to start to tease those out a little bit and then eventually you can build on these skills. You can start adding in hunger cues, like where you feel them in your body. If you don't feel them regularly, you can start using body scans to like check in periodically and see if, when, where, you might feel them. But there is no rush to get to that point. You want to stay with this other, more neutral stuff long enough to get really comfortable with it and like really clear on what we mean by physical sensations.
Speaker 1:Bite size, practice number five, our last one for today, is both and statements. So getting out of binary thinking is a really big part of intuitive eating and anti-diet work for like a lot of reasons, and this can be a way to start incorporating that where, like, we kind of have to hold two things at the same time. It's also a really great way to deal with the cognitive dissonance that tends to come up about like what we believe versus what we feel initially, and it's a way to do that even before you start to really dig into like full reframes. So the first part of the both and statement is acknowledging the discomfort that you're feeling. So like name it. Like name what you're feeling. Are you uncomfortable in your body, are you anxious about food, are you sad or angry about body changes and so forth. We've talked about this before. We really want to make sure that we're not trying to like bypass all the negative feelings that might happen here. It is not stupid to feel that way, which is something that I hear people say all the time. It's so stupid that I feel bad about this. No, it's not stupid that you feel bad about that. It's super valid that you feel bad about it and we want to honor that and we want to name that. We don't want to pretend that this work like just feels great and it's all sunshine and rainbows and we're just going to blast by the negative feelings and pretend they're not happening.
Speaker 1:Again. It's that beach ball analogy that we've talked about a million times. From Brie Campos Like you can only hold that beach ball underwater for so long, the second you let it go, it's going to pop right back up and it might splash you in the face. It might hit you in the face. It's just not. We don't need to hold the beach ball underwater.
Speaker 1:So the first thing is name the discomfort. Then we add an and statement that aligns with our lived experience, the facts that we know our values better than whatever the narrative that's in our head does. So that might look like I feel sad that I had to buy a larger size and I know that my body deserves to be comfortable, or, and I know that clothing sizes are bullshit, or, and I know that clothing is a human right and we should all have access to it in different sizes. It might look like I feel anxious about eating this bagel, and I know that I deserve to take pleasure in food, and I know that carbs are the body's preferred energy source, and I know that there's no such thing as good food and bad food. Like. These are all ways that. These are examples, not scripts. Like always find your own thing that makes sense and try out different things, right, like.
Speaker 1:So some people find that it's really helpful to like tailor the both and statement to the narrative. So, like, for each narrative there's a both and statement that's really really specific to the narrative, but for a lot of people, that's just too much to remember or to come up with in the moment or whatever. So it's also okay to come up with one both and statement that's kind of universal to different situations. Make it up at a time when you are not stressing about things, when, like, you have a clear head and you can think about it and use it for every one of these situations. And you know, maybe that's like. This feels hard right now, and I know that all foods fit. This feels hard right now and I know my body deserves respect and it can be that simple. That simple and it both acknowledges the feelings that are coming up and holds the truth of what you actually believe and know to be true, even if it doesn't feel that way in the moment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like that. I recently we talk about both and a lot on this podcast. But I recently was talking to one of my personal training clients who is of the baby boomer generation and she's so cute, like she'll come in and say stuff and kind of like self-correct just some of the things that she says, and she was like am I, am I speaking millennial? Speak to you, because my kids always like make fun of me for the things that I say, so I have to correct myself and speak like a millennial to them. And she was telling me the other day she was like the both and is such a millennial thing to do. So I feel like us millennials, if we can both and other situations, we can both, and like food and body situations too absolutely both and is a hugely millennial deal.
Speaker 1:But it's also like, honestly, it's that, it's binary thinking, it's that like so it's not like, yes, it's millennial, it's also, it's also therapy speak, which is a very millennial thing exactly it's all of that stuff and it's because, like, we spend so much of our lives and past generations have spent so much time just being so stuck in the either or and like that it has to be one thing or the other and only one thing. Like it's black and white, only one thing can be true, and like the reality is, most of the time, more than one thing is true. And like the world would just be such a better place if we all could acknowledge that. These are all. You know. These are five little like bite-sized practices.
Speaker 1:Of course, there are a ton of other ways to practice and apply intuitive eating in real life too. So this list is far from comprehensive. You know, you can practice advocating for yourself and for other people. You can practice shutting down diet, talk with friends. You can practice setting boundaries. You can practice eating foods that were previously off limits. Like there's so many options to like how you can apply this stuff to your own life.
Speaker 1:So if you are doing other stuff, great, do not feel like these are prescriptive, that these have to be the only things that you practice. Not even in the slightest. Like absolutely not Whatever feels good for you to be doing actively applying to your life. Do it, that's great, fantastic, and each of the practices that we've talked about here is going to really help lay the foundation for intuitive eating principles, and anything else that you do is going to build on those skills and those practices and like the skills that these practices help cultivate. So, yeah, do your own thing, pick one of these, do both, both, but either way, the the application is the biggest thing, um, and we really hope that this was helpful for those of you trying to take intuitive eating out of the book and into your lives oh, that was a great finishing line.
Speaker 1:Every once in a while just like a slogan happens in my head and.
Speaker 1:I'm like, let's use that. I like it. I also just want to say again that, while we've talked a lot in the past two episodes about how to do this stuff on your own, if you do want to get some support in this work, I do have some options for you. So I do still have one-to-one intuitive eating and anti-diet coaching spots available, and that comes in packages of six, nine or 12 months. I offer payment plans and other accessible pricing options, and those packages include weekly Zoom calls, voxer messaging, access between calls, copies of the intuitive eating workbook and the your Body Is Not An Apology workbook, and you can get all of the information about coaching and you can submit your application on my website, happyshapesco, under the work with me tab. In that area, you're also going to find information about mindset reset calls, which are like individual pay what you can.
Speaker 1:Coaching calls, which are like individual pay what you can. Coaching calls, where you can talk with me about specific sticking points without a long-term coaching commitment. And then, lastly, again in that work with me tab, you will find information about my Nourish and Bloom 40-week group coaching program. That includes weekly written content, monthly group calls, monthly journaling prompts and an online community space. I am currently trying to decide if I'm going to run a new cohort of that group in the fall, and the way I'm trying to gauge interest is by seeing if people sign up for the waitlist. So if you have any interest in that whatsoever, there is no obligation for signing up to the waitlist, but it will let me know that people actually want to join and then that cohort will exist. So again, all of that is happyshapesco under the work with me tab. Sadie, what's satisfying for you right now?
Speaker 2:What is satisfying for me right now are video games. Like my kid has a switch and so of course I never really get to like play it that much because he's the one that's playing it. But whenever he goes to bed, like every night, right when he goes to bed, trey and I have our uh, our video game date night. When he goes to bed, trey and I have our uh, our video game date night so we have to kind of sneak and play it, because sometimes if he hears us playing, he's like I want to get up, I want to play, of course, but yeah, we've, we've been, uh, we've been gaming at night. It's been fun, like it's just been something different to do than just sit there and scroll on my phone forever. So it's, it's been fun we haven't played games in forever.
Speaker 2:Like I mean, he still plays video games sometimes, but I like I haven't played. We had a wee like, yeah, 10, 15 years ago. But it's been fun to to reincorporate video games into my life that's awesome.
Speaker 1:What kind of games have you been playing?
Speaker 2:oh, I've mostly mostly just old games, because we have like one of those where you can play mostly dr mario, like stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Dr Mario is one of my all-time favorite games in the entire world. We also have a Switch and like that is one of the few games that I will actually play on it. Also and I'm telling you this live on the podcast because I feel like everybody should know about it Switch has a game called vampire survivors. That is the most like meditative, like just chill and like weirdly satisfying game ever yes highly recommend well, if you like dr mario, have you ever played wario's woods?
Speaker 2:no, it's very similar to dr mar. It's like a puzzle, kind of match the monster to the bomb, whatever. But if it's on like whatever, whatever subscription thing that Dr Mario is on, wario's Woods is on that. If you like Dr Mario, you'll like Wario's Woods. Very exciting and I'm definitely going to check it out.
Speaker 1:What's satisfying for you right now? Okay, so this is super weird, but it is unbelievably satisfying for me. So, like for the past year, I have had the itchiest inner ears.
Speaker 2:Like I just gosh me too.
Speaker 1:Okay, this is. This is why. This is why I wanted to talk about this again like live on the podcast, because I can't be the only one. So the other day I was just scrolling on instagram and somebody like I got like a suggested post and it was this like menopause coach person and she was talking about itchy ears as a perimenopause symptom.
Speaker 2:And I was like wait what?
Speaker 1:And I Googled it and it's totally a thing. And this has not fixed my itchy ears at all, but just knowing that that's what's going on is like so satisfying to just know, because I've been. I've been like driving myself bonkers about it. I'm like why is this happening? Like what is wrong with my ears? Is it my haircut? Do I need to get a different haircut? Like I could not figure out what was happening and then I just happened to have this like suggested post pop up in my Instagram feed that just like shown a light on this issue that's been making me so frustrated for like a year.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh. Well, this is totally non-medical advice because I am not a medical professional. But they make this ear oil and it's like I don't even know what's in it. But you can look it up like online, and at drugstores they have it and it helps a little bit. Like you, you drop it in just kind of like eardrops or whatever, um, and it kind of soothes the. It doesn't last forever, but it does soothe it and you let it like run out like regular eardrops too.
Speaker 1:But yeah, look up ear oil. I am totally, and that also totally makes sense, because when I googled it it turns out I think it's the decrease in estrogen like thins the membranes and that dry, makes the skin dry out, basically, um, and so ear oil to like re-moisturize the skin totally makes sense as a solution yeah, they say you can do like olive oil and stuff like that too, but I just bought the stuff at the drugstore. I feel like I would feel weird about putting olive oil in my ears, Like why?
Speaker 2:why would I feel weird about?
Speaker 1:that, but I absolutely would. That's a hot tip. Thank you for that.
Speaker 2:Well, if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple podcasts or Spotify, and you can find us on Instagram at satisfaction factor pod.
Speaker 1:That's it for us this week. We'll catch you next week.