I reader emailed me and said she’d love to see a post with some daily eats that includes commentary on why I chose to eat that. Like a “behind the scenes of intuitive eating” sort of thing. So here we are! If you email me a blog topic you’d like to see, I promise I listen. I take all reader emails and reply to as many as humanly possible (which actually is almost every single one – I try my hardest. I love you guys.) and then copy your blog topic requests into a sticky note on my computer so I always have a large pool of topics to choose from. So know that I hear you and love to write about what you guys want to read.
I’m going to run you through what I ate on Tuesday this week. There may have been a taste of this or a lick of that (what…you don’t lick the nut butter spoon?) but overall, this is a pretty typical day. With these type of “daily eats” posts plzzzz keep in mind that intuitive eating is going to look different for everyone. My body may or may not need what your body needs – we likely have different needs. The point of this post is not for you to compare what you eat to me or for you to simulate my eating. Rather what I hope you glean from this post is the thoughts that go into making a food decision. When I first began practicing IE, food decisions required a lot more thought and attention as I figured out my body. That’s normal. In the beginning it feels hyper focused as you learn this new skill. Over time though, the decision making on what to eat becomes more subconscious and intuitive where it might take me 30 seconds to figure out what to eat.
Ok onto the eats!
I shared this breakfast on IG yesterday. I use to be really into oatmeal years ago. Like everyday without a doubt I would eat banana oatmeal with peanut butter. Then in nursing school I went through a huge pancake phase. Like almost everyday I ate pancakes. Over the past year or so, it’s been all about the TOAST. I mix it up with the occasional bowl of oatmeal or plate of pancakes…but most days I’m eating a rendition of toast – either with eggs or yogurt. Within the first hour waking up, after drinking some coffee, I get hungry. “Toast sounds good. Do I want savory or sweet? Both! Ok so avocado on one half and cream cheese + jam on the other. Eggs or yogurt? I’m craving more savory than sweet this morning so eggs it is. Scrambled or fried? Drippy yolk for sure to dip the avo toast in. What kind of fruit do I want? Well….I am craving some nut butter so let’s do a banana and smear almond butter on it.”
I’ve eaten this breakfast often enough that I know this will usually hold me over for 3ish, maybe 4 hours. Somedays it’s only 2 hours. I don’t know why that is, but my body knows it’s hungry in 2 hours and that’s all that matters. If for some reason I start feeling really full about 75% of the way through (that’s happened, but not often) I either one, finish the breakfast if I know I won’t have time to eat before lunch because sometime if logistics aren’t ideal, part of intuitive eating is getting a little overly full because you know you won’t be able to eat again for a while. If I can snack whenever, I just set the plate aside and finish it in a hour or so.
You might be thinking…wait, there are so many other choices with that breakfast! What about butter on the toast or peanut butter and banana on the toast for sweet instead of cream cheese. Or what about apple and almond butter? As you strengthen your IE skills, you realize that you don’t have to ruminate over every food decision because you will have plenty more within that same day where you can eat whatever you want. It’s easy to make a decision and move on with your life. But that takes some time so give yourself patience and space to do that.
Mid morning snack. I have a growling stomach by 10 or 11am. So I usually need a snack with protein, carbs and fat to hold me 1-2 hours until lunch. Especially if I do 30 minutes of barre3 after I wrap up morning work and clients. And 95% of the the time, I’m craving sweet. So I grabbed a couple banana pb chocolate chip cookies from the freezer.
Lunch this week was pasta with Rao’s vodka sauce that I added sautéed mushrooms and zucchini to. I prep some stuff for lunch usually every week, which makes it so I’m not making a decision based on my craving in that very moment. I’m eating what I prepped. So I’d say I’m usually satisfying around 70% of my cravings with lunch since I decide what to make on Sunday. That doesn’t mean on Thursday I’m like OMG YES PASTA FOR LUNCH. But it’s prepped and easy and still tasty + filling. On the side I threw together a quick salad with spring mix, goat cheese, walnuts, cranberries and balsamic. I topped the pasta with cheese. Lunch isn’t my most mindful meal. I usually plate what looks like a satisfying + filling portion, eat it while working and finish my plate. I might be slightly full but not satisfied – which means I’ll grab something else like an apple or chocolate or a cookie – or I’ll be perfectly full and this will hold me for a few hours or I’ll be a little overly full. If overly full, I’m a little uncomfortable for about an hour after lunch and then I usually only need a small snack later to hold me until dinner. My days often feel very busy and packed with things to do that I usually don’t think much of being a little overly full. All that means is it will take me longer to get hungry, which sometimes is convenient if I’m running around.
If I’m eating pizza for lunch (like I do more regularly when I’m working as an NP because pharmaceutical reps come in all the time with lunch wanting to talk to providers) I’ll be more mindful of fullness because heavier foods + being overly full make me feel lethargic. Intuitive eating isn’t about always getting it right, it’s about doing the best you can to listen to, and therefore care for your body.
This day I wasn’t overly full, but rather satisfied and a happy full after lunch…so a few hours later I popped some popcorn on the stovetop for a snack when I started to notice my stomach was empty and I felt unfocused. I showed you guys how I do this on IG stories on Tuesday – I’ll do it again if you missed it! In the afternoon I get snackier because I’m trying to procrastinate and my mind is less focused. I usually start working around 6:30 or 7am (I never use to be a morning person) so by 3pm I’m like ok, I’m done, bye. I try to recognize (try) when I’m procrastinating with wanting to snack vs being hungry and ask myself what I really need. Usually it’s a walk outside or 10-15 minutes to lay on the floor and chill out for a sec. Keep in mind though, that’s it’s important to make sure you’re eating enough and eating adequate carbs + fats to make sure that “snacky” isn’t coming from being undernourished.
I also ate a couple dates stuffed with pb + chocolate because I wasn’t quite satisfied after the popcorn and knew I had a few hours until dinner. If a meal will be in 1-2 hours, my goal is to not feel hungry anymore. If it’s longer than 1-2 hours I need to feel satisfied and like my stomach is full. Popcorn hit the salty + savory craving and dates hit the sweet craving. Again, I could have chosen a lot of different sweet and salty foods but these came to mind first so I went with it. I can choose something different next time.
I get less hungry as the day goes on, the majority of what I eat in a day happens before 4pm. Usually, not always. I’m still hungry for dinner, but not the same intensity as lunch or breakfast. I made a big batch of red veggie curry on Sunday and have been eating off that all week. I had dinner with some girlfriends one night so that helped break up the repetitiveness of this dinner. If you want to read a bit more about how I meal plan, but still eat intuitively, you can read all about that here. Similar to lunch, pre planned dinner usually satisfies 70% of my cravings. I used this recipe, doubled it, and added snow peas and broccoli. I was going to add chickpeas but then I forgot so for protein I’ve been eating some cottage cheese or sliced cheddar from the fridge while the dinner reheats. Real life. Whatever works. I cooked some TJs rice blend on the side.
Dinner almost always leaves me full, but not quite satisfied. So an hour or so after dinner when my body has digested a bit, Nick and I will always have something sweet while watching tv or hanging out. We’ve had graham crackers hanging around forever so I came up with the idea to stuff some ice cream in between two crackers as a DIY ice cream sandwich and it was fab. They taste better after they hang in the freezer for a few days because the cracker softens. I just stuffed Breyer’s vanilla in between and wrapped them in plastic wrap. I’m excited to make so many varieties of this!
When I eat a bedtime snack, I’m never “hungry” – rather this is for satisfaction and to make sure I don’t wake up in the middle of the night hungry or in the morning starving. I hate waking up and feeling like I need to eat breakfast NOW. Dinner gets me full but a bedtime snack takes me from full to satisfied.
Intuitive eating certainly isn’t perfect, it doesn’t look the same for everyone, and it’s an ongoing process of learning to care for your body in different seasons of life and under different circumstances.
I’d love to hear in the comments where you’re at with intuitive eating (maybe you’re like, Robyn what the heck is intuitive eating?) and what you’re learning. Happy weekend!
Loved this post! Thank you!
so glad you enjoyed!
Hi Robyn,
Thank you for this post! Very useful for those who are still understanding intuitive eating, as myself.
so glad you enjoyed and found it useful!
Love this style of posts and reading what you ate in a day!
I am still in the “This is hard. Why is this so hard?!) phase. It’s difficult to understand what I am really hungry for and how much. My brain also keeps trying to interfere with calories and portion sizes. Ugh. I think snacking is the most difficult. As I am trying to get pregnant, I am really trying to lean into trusting that my body is capable of letting me know when I’m hungry. I don’t do well with a lot of rules around eating, like mandatory snacks, etc so my goal with my dietitian is usually to eat something if I feel hungry. It’s a work in progress, but I have improved so much. Seeing your days of food are encouraging because it seems so normal. Working on figuring out my normal is hard work, but worth it.
Know that it’s a journey and we never arrive – you will always be learning more about yourself <3
Hi Robyn – I’m new to this concept and would love some resources on where and how to get started with intuitive eating. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The book Intuitive Eating and Health At Every Size are fantastic places to begin!!
I loved this post! Since working with you in November of 2014 I have come a long way in my intuitive eating journey but some days/weeks I still question myself. This last week (which was “that time of the month”) my hunger was through the roof, I craved all the carbs and I felt bloated – when this happens those nagging thoughts of disordered eating come back and then I get frustrated with myself. I’ve been eating intuitively – successfully – for 3 ½ years, so I’ve come to recognize that it’s normal to sometimes feel like this, but that doesn’t make it easier. Maybe because of society “triggers” I’ll always have to work to be an intuitive eater. I do think it has gradually gotten easier and feels completely normal and I can eat without guilt – but when these “bad” days/weeks pop up its aggravating. So far I always get through them because I know how much more fulfilling my life is as an intuitive eater. I thank God for you, Robyn, you’re such an inspiration and I look forward to every blog post, live Instagram video and facebook post you share. Thank you!
Dana! So lovely to see your comment :)) Since we live in a diet culture, practicing IE is such an active process because we are working against the grain. So thoughts will often be there and that’s normal – it’s how we engage with the thoughts that matter. I hope that encourages you! Thinking of you!!
“Intuitive eating isn’t about always getting it right, it’s about doing the best you can to listen to, and therefore care for your body.” I love this quote! I think it’s so important to be gentle with ourselves if we feel overly full or haven’t satisfied a craving. During my eating disorder recovery it helped me to think about the bigger picture- when I felt crappy about my eating, I’d think about how this one day of eating won’t impact and determine the rest of my life.
Also, I love that you used the word “fab” when talking about your DIY ice-cream sandwiches. My husband and I are currently living in Germany and just got back from a trip to Scotland and England. They used that word quite often : )
P.S. I too need something sweet after dinner to satisfy me! I used to be ashamed of this, but now finally just embrace and accept it ♥
I love that use that word there too 🙂 So cool you are over there!
Lol I need something sweet after breakfast lunch AND dinner! Usually nothing big just like one oatmeal cookie or 2 pieces of salted dark chocolate or home-baked muffin. Otherwise not satisfied 😊 no shame. Took me a while to embrace that..but it halted overeating for me!
These posts are SO HELPFUL for me. Not because I’m trying to match your portion sizes or veggie intake or any of that other stuff, but because they’re such a good example of what NORMAL eating looks like. I’ve been bombarded with images of kale at every meal and “clean” recipes for so many years now (I did the social media cleanup!), and that’s not intuitively what my body wants all the time. I used to wonder why I would suddenly crave Mac and cheese after a week of salads for lunch and now I understand. It’s balance! Eating balanced is so much more normal. Like, it’s okay to eat a carb at each meal….whyyyyyy did I need permission for that???
Anyway. Thank you Robyn!
I agree with you Mary! Today our version of “normal” is so far from the truth and the same goes for what amount of food we really should be eating to get what we need. it’s probably close to double what we think.
I agree so so helpful. Thanks Robyn! 😊
Annie, Megan and Mary I SO HEAR YOU! I often think we’ve gotten so far away from normal that we get disillusioned with what normal eating is.
I literally kept nodding my head all of the way through this post! I start working early too, so by 3pm, I start to lose focus and begin reaching for snacks on snacks. If I know dinner is in the next 1-2 hours, I satiate myself, but not overly so. If dinner isn’t until after 7, I typically have two snacks – one to satisfy my hunger and the other because it’s a fun food and I’m craving salty, sweet, etc. Also, having *some* food prepped (pasta, rice, chia pudding, banana bread, etc.) is always so helpful during the week. I love that it takes most of the thought process out of what I can eat, but at the same time, because I don’t meal prep a ton of food, I still have freedom to make a decision on the whim. Curious to know, are you good about drinking water? Some days, I feel like I have to force it down, ha. I sometimes am unsure of whether or not I’m hungry vs. dehydrated. If I drink a glass of water and feel hungry, then food it is! But, sometimes, it’s hard to tell.
I try to have a water bottle on me most of the day but like you too…I do have to be mindful of it because it’s not like I’m like YUM WATER! Drinking seltzer helps hydrate me too in a tastier way 🙂
Thanks for this post! It’s comforting to know that it’s OK if you’re hungrier on some days than others. I almost always have to have a bedtime snack, otherwise falling and staying asleep is difficult. Love the graham wafer and ice cream idea!! I will be trying that. YUM!
I love these types of posts! They really help reinforce the normalcy of just eating and fueling our bodies throughout the day.
I’ve been working on my IE skills for almost 7 years.
There are ups and downs when I forget to trust myself, but it’s gotten worlds better the more I relax and practice without self-judgement.
Recently I had a breakthrough–every mid morning for the past couple months I would just have these episodes where anxious thoughts and irritability would just overtake me. For 3 weeks I was like ugh wtf! What’s the matter with my life, I need to change this and this and this and maybe ship my kids off to boarding school.
Then the epiphany–its HUNGER. I’m just hungry, that is all. Nothing a good snack won’t fix. Literally that simple. But my old diet mindset (snacking is bad) even when replaced with IE (snacking is fine and even often necessary ) still somehow i had this ingrained pattern to avoid snacks which *must* be emotional eating, blah blah.
Anxiety and irritability that is fixed by a meal is called HUNGER.
So simple.
YEs!!! we get signs of hunger that are outside of just the typical stomach growling hunger. Loved that you pointed this out!!
Robyn,
As a 60 year old grandmother who continues to struggle with intuitive eating and eating for emotional reasons, I thank you for an instructive post. I have struggled with eating (usually sweets) when not at all hungry, and could really use a post on eating between meals with no hunger at all and how to curb this. This type of eating leads to a serious lack of energy and , to be honest, guilt. Even though I know your posts are geared for the younger crowd, many of us post-menopausal women need you, and follow you, too!
Nancy
Hi Nancy! I know I have some older women readers and I hear and see you!! I’d love to write most posts gears to you all 🙂 I would encourage you to make sure you’re eating ever 3-4ish hours for blood sugar regulation Even if you’re not hungry. That’s a huge first piece of the IE journey is regulating hunger cues. Hope that helps 🙂
Great post! I think I’ve been eating intuitively without even realizing it, and I’m kind of digging it! Because I work away from home, what I eat in a day depends on what I bring with me into the office, but I do notice that I don’t feel forced to consume certain meals/snacks I bring and I pay attention to my hunger cues. Some days I’m chomping at the bit to eat my homemade energy bites (dates + chocolate + oats + almond butter!) and other days, I’m fine without them. It’s freeing to listen to your body and its needs and not focus solely on hitting macronutrients. I tried that, it stressed me out and my performance in the gym actually suffered from being overfed. Interesting how everyone’s bodies work differently. For me, the intuitive eating + intuitive exercising feels great. – Kaitlyn | http://www.poweredbysass.com
This is such a helpful post!!
I like to see how much you eat because it feels like, wow, girls can eat like that! In an encouraging way because it seems to be the healthy (in a holistic way) choice for you. I still struggle a lot with having a meal that keeps me full and complementing with dessert. I will eat very little in the main meal and way overeat with snacks. Which may be okay but isn’t because I feel guilty, the food isn’t as nutritious, and actually I feel like I overeat and isn’t satisfied at the same time haha. So thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Hi Isa! I’d encourage you to eat until fullness in the main meal and then eating dessert to bring you until satisfaction…this can take time so it’s okay for it to take time to figure these things out 🙂
Thank you for this post, it was very helpful and gives me back a little bit of hope! I’m still over analyzing everything so it’s nice to see that a little further down the line, decisions are easier and faster and more smooth.
I’m at the stage where I have FINALLY thrown my scales in the trash as I am convinced that it was setting me back (a higher weight would depress me so I would binge and a lower one would make me happy so I would binge!). we’ll see how it goes but I feel like already, my mind is quieter.
Thanks for your comment, Annie- this was helpful to me! I feel like I have the same reaction to the scale. Numbers can be such a determinant of our happiness, yet they can also be so arbitrary and irrelevant! Thank you for your honesty.
Cheers to no more scales dictating your life – that’s a huge step Annie!!
But why KALE with the eggs????
Did you think you need vegetables with every meal?
No. But I do think I like to eat satisfying food and I enjoy kale with my eggs. Sometimes I enjoy them without.
I also love and appreciate this post! I am still catching areas where I have thoughts or behaviors that are restrictive. I think I’m still working to eat enough, and that is often confirmed when I see what people eat when they aren’t restricting! I also have held on to this idea that I “shouldn’t” eat dessert every night, but when I do I feel weird about it. However, I 100% agree that I’m never “hungry” for dessert but always crave it and feel so happy and satisfied after!
Thank you for this post! I applaud you for bring so responsive to your readers – understanding this is a big commitment since you have so many readers!
Where I am at in my IE journey – *finally* “broke up” with MyFitnessPal (I hope for good) – still feeling uncomfortable without numbers but rather feelings and intuition to guide me, but also feeling hopeful with posts like this and some of the freedom within the discomfort that I have been feeling of letting go of meticulous calorie counting.
I love your discussion here about all your food decisions. Your conversation about the time and energy it used to take you in making your food decisions really hit home. I can remember when I was really wrapped up in my disordered eating that thinking about what I was going to eat was exhausting. Many times on my “cheat meal” days if something wasn’t absolutely perfect I would be crushed. I can remember one day purchasing a breakfast sandwich as my “cheat” and then being devastated that they had given me the wrong order. I’m happy to say now, that I definitely don’t give my food that much thought. If something isn’t right, I’m more like, Oh Well and then move on.
As someone just starting to learn about IE seeing it applied in a practical, everyday kind of way is really helpful! Thanks! 😊
Great post. Mindful eating is a process and takes patience, especially when you’re just starting out.
http://simplehealthstyle.com
Thanks for sharing this! I like how you mentioned that some prepped meals satisfy “70% of your cravings” and that it doesn’t always have to be perfect! Also love that ice cream sandwich idea!!
Robyn,
You are helping me in my intuitive eating journey more than you’ll ever know. I love it when you show what “normal” eating can be. I’m so thankful for you.
Love,
Julie
Julie your comment means so much to me – thank you for letting me be a little part of your life and journey <3
I LOVE this line: “Dinner gets me full but a bedtime snack takes me from full to satisfied.”
I feel like I need to be more i tune with this, and be more okay with eating after i’m full for satisfaction/dessert.
This post was lovely, and a great reminder of normalcy.
Thanks
🙂
so glad it was helpful for you!
So helpful! Thank you for what you do for IE and nutrition and healthy living in general. Each time I feel pulled down the rabbit hole of my ED I always see a post from you and I’m reminded to be gentle with myself. I love that you enjoy healthy balanced meals as well as indulgences too. Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!
So glad this can be a positive space for you Sarah!!
Great post! I’ve been working on intuitive eating for years (I sought out therapy for ED in 2006) but it’s only been in the past few years that I have been able to get over thinking it is the “hunger fullness diet”. I usually get full with a very small dinner too. I think it’s because I feed myself when I’m hungry during the day, rather than trying not to spend all of my calories or points.
Love this post! I’m struggling right now to figure out how to eat intuitively and this was so helpful. Thank you!
Looooovveeee this post! So helpful for those of us who are still learning how to listen to our bodies. I could so relate to your comment about how it used to take you longer to choose something to eat. I was standing the the kitchen today constantly changing my mind because I couldn’t figure out exactly what I wanted. Then I finally remembered wait, this doesn’t have to be perfect. So freeing! It’s also going to help me a lot when I’m packing lunches for the next day (I’m a university student) to remember that okay, what I pack probably isn’t going to totally satisfy every craving, but that’s okay. If it fills me up and leaves me mostly satisfied, it’s done the job. Thank you so much for such a wonderful read! I’d really love to see another post like this sometime!
I’ll do more after seeing the positive response to this one 🙂
LOVE the simple way you put this – “If it fills me up and leaves me mostly satisfied, it’s done the job.”
I love posts like this! I’m definitely learning to listen to my body and how my cravings change in different seasons of life.
I so appreciate these posts, they help me see what normal eating is. I just started working with a great IE dietitian and it was so freeing to be told that my body isn’t a machine and it’s going to need a different number of calories every day. Some days I might eat 3,000, others I might eat 1,700 and that is normal. For the longest time I thought I couldn’t go above x number of calories. Knowing that fluctuations in hunger are normal and that calories are arbitrary has been so helpful for me. I do also still struggle with knowing what I want to eat sometimes, which can be kind of anxiety inducing. Seeing posts like this help me to know that things will get better.
fluctuations in hunger, fullness and body size are all normal! sounds like you have a helpful RD – I love that for you!
This is SO helpful – thank you for sharing!! I’m still beginning my intuitive eating journey and feel like it takes so much focus to pause before I eat anything and think “Am I craving this? Am I eating it because it sounds satisfying or because I feel like I should/have to? Will this keep me full for x hours?” etc. So it’s helpful to hear this will become more automatic with time and practice 🙂 As a nutrition student, I always think about getting in a proper ratio of carbs/fat/protein, so I also actually do the snacking on protein on the side of a meal if I know the meal itself doesn’t provide much 🙂
I love these posts Robyn! It really helps.
I have read every single word of this post and every single comment! As a person that is new to IE as of October 2017 I couldn’t be more thankful for a real-world example of “normal” thinking and eating. I have read so many of your posts and feel your genuine desire to help others and your compassion so deeply. Thank you for being a gift to all of us.
Jenifer! I’m so glad this post has resonated with you so much and been so helpful 🙂 Thank YOU for reading.
These are my FAVORITE kinds of posts. I will just echo what others have said: Thank you for being an example of a “normal” eater. So so refreshing.
Robyn, thanks so much for this! I have ditched following any ‘what I eat in a day’because they were too triggering for me! But this is different, such a new approach! I know you don’t have time to do that on all your weekly eats posts but this one has some gold which really makes a difference: ‘sometimes intuitive eating is about eating ahead if you know you wont have time’ , ‘dinner leaves me full but hardly satisfied’ or when you say you’re satisfied 70% when you already have meal prepped! Gold! Please try and debunk some of those myths tat are flying around in this way because it is super helpful!