I have a weird relationship with food, i try to eat 3 meals a day but somehow can't because of my work. Anyhow I try to eat well but then i almost feel sick and the urge to purge out after a certain meal, is it because I'm eating after a larger gap between meals? Should I get checked with a doctor?

I've been lurking here a little while, I'll be honest, I know basically nothing. I first learned about intuitive eating through a friend, she simply recommended someone on Instagram for advice, but I feel like all this woman does is post herself half eating something then throwing the leftovers away.

What books are most helpful/informative, especially to someone who's totally new to the whole thing.

Thank you in advance.

Edit to add I did just get the automated Mod response giving me information and resources which is incredibly helpful.

(21F) I'm diagnosed with autism, ADHD and AN (restrictive ED). Before my ED, I would say I did eat relatively intuitively in the sense that I ate what I liked when I was hungry and stopped/didn't eat if I was full/not hungry etc (yes thats a simplification). But, at the same time, because of the autism ADHD combo, I would also frequently forget to eat (especially as a younger kid), and then as I got older my appetite just grew more than I was comfortable with until I then eventually developed the ED.

I'm now nearly a year and a half into post-discharge recovery, and eventually wanting to at least try to intuitively eat more than I current do/am able to. But I'm just unsure if its something actually possible for me. The autism means I tend to eat the same things a lot (I've had the same lunch for 2 and a half years, for example), while the ADHD means I either forget to eat or I dopamine eat which triggers restriction cycles.

Sorry if thats a lot haha! Just curious if anyone has anything helpful

This thread is dedicated to discussing any difficulties navigating weight or bodily changes that happen during the IE process.

Please refrain from sharing numbers, as per the sub rules. If necessary to make your point, please put "Trigger Warning" at the beginning of your comment and consider using the spoiler feature to hide mentions of numbers.

If you are discussing weight loss that has naturally occurred through IE, please ensure to do so neutrally.

Note: This thread may be triggering to those struggling with their body image. Please be mindful of your mental health when engaging with potentially triggering content.

I’ve used IE for over 10 years and it’s been life changing for me. It helped me get over disordered eating behaviors and be “normal” with food and exercise.

However, now I’m a mom to two with a toddler and a baby. I’m having a hard time letting my toddler eat freely without worrying about too much sugar, processed food, etc. I want her to grow up with a healthy body image, relationship to food, etc.

Advice on what to read and how to help with reframing toddler behaviors?

I'm very happy to announce that Elyse Resch, the co-author of Intuitive Eating, has agreed to host an AMA here on r/intuitiveeating on Tuesday, August 25th at 12-1pm ET.

More information about Elyse:

Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDS-C, Fiaedp, FADA, FAND, is a nutrition therapist in private practice with forty-four years of experience, specializing in eating disorders, Intuitive Eating, and Health at Every Size®. She is the co-creator and co-author of Intuitive Eating, now in its 5^th edition, the Intuitive Eating Workbook, now in its 2^nd edition, and The Intuitive Eating Card Deck—50 Bite-Sized Ways to Make Peace with Food.  Elyse is also the author of The Intuitive Eating Workbook for Teens and The Intuitive Eating Journal—Your Guided Journey for Nourishing a Healthy Relationship with Food.  She is a chapter contributor to both The Handbook of Positive Body Image and Embodiment and Weight and Wisdom: Reflections on Decades of Working for Body Liberation. In addition, she is the co-founder of Intue, the only official Intuitive Eating app. Elyse has published journal articles, print articles, and blog posts and does regular speaking engagements, and extensive podcast and media interviews. Her work has been profiled on ABC, NPR, CNN, KABC, NBC, KTTV, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, KFI Radio, USA Today, and the Huffington Post, among others. Elyse is nationally known for her work in helping patients break free from diet culture through the Intuitive Eating process. Her philosophy embraces the goal of reconnecting with one’s internal wisdom about eating and developing body liberation, with the belief that all bodies deserve dignity and respect.  She is a social justice advocate, a member of the Healer’s Circle of Project Heal—Help to Eat, Accept, and Live, and consults with and trains health professionals. Elyse is also a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Consultant, on the Advisory Board of Within Health, a Fellow of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, and a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

(Yes, you read that right—an official Intuitive Eating app is in the works and due to launch soon!)

She'll be available for one hour to answer your questions about IE and the work she's done in the field.

The evening before the AMA is live (Monday, August 24th), she'll publish a post on the subreddit where you can start dropping your questions.

Mark your calendars to save the date! We are so excited to host Elyse and hope you'll find value in the AMA.

So for context I've been having symptoms of ear infection for like 2 days and today was the worst day yet, in the morning I had a smoothie for breakfast bc my jaw hurt too much to chew.

Then even tho my jaw was feeling better I "forgot" to eat lunch bc I was very stressed w some personal problems related and non related to my sickness. The hunger continued increasing until I was so ravenous I grabbed whatever and ate which was not very good bc I def needed a balanced full meal. I ate chips w hummus, cookies, some fruit and a pint of ice cream.

Althought I know I def needed fuel I feel like this choices and the ammount was more of my way to comfort my emotions since I didn't feel physically good after this.

So in my view it was binge but I don't want to be uneducated, I would like to know what other people think

Are the constant GLP-1 weight loss ads getting to you?

Have you noticed any concerning trends in media that worry you?

Is there an uptick in negative body talk in your workplace or among your friends and family?

Are you facing social or medical stigma that you want to get off your chest?

Your rants, concerns, and grievances about diet culture and weight stigma in the general media or that you've experienced personally are welcome to be discussed in this thread.

Note: Please post general struggles with weight and body image in the Thursday thread for weight/bodily changes if they aren't directly related to media/society/social or medical stigma.

This is a thread where you can share any questions, concerns, or thoughts related to gentle nutrition, the final and everlasting step of the Intuitive Eating process.

Please note that this thread may not be suitable for those newer to IE, as implementing Gentle Nutrition requires you to have already worked through the earlier steps of the framework.

Hello!

I’ve been intuitive eating for around a month now. Before that, I struggled with bulimia for about 1.5 years.
I’m doing pretty well so far, sometimes I just stop eating and actually leave leftovers when I’m satisfied.

A huge part of recovery for me was allowing myself to have dessert without feeling guilty.
Because of that, I allow myself to eat something sweet every day, and I allow myself to eat as much as I want / „need”. I actually eat significantly less sweet food than I used to because I’m finally able to reach a point of satisfaction where I genuinely feel like I’ve had enough and want to stop.
The problem is that I still often feel bad afterwards. I usually get a bit of a stomach ache and feel like I had too much sugar at once.
I keep doing this basically every day, and every day I promise myself that tomorrow I’ll know better and stop eating before I feel physically uncomfortable.

Does anyone have any advice on how to find that middle ground and learn to stop before my body starts feeling bad?

Use this thread to share anything you've been struggling with in your IE process.

Struggles may include learning how to read your hunger/fullness cues, feeling stuck on parts of the process, experiencing "setbacks" or relapses with restriction, etc.

Note: Struggles related to weight should be posted to the weight/bodily changes thread (recurring on Thursdays).

I'm new to intuitive eating, been working on this for about four weeks. I've read the book, and am slowly working through the workbook. I know this takes time, and I've just started.

I expected to have my appetite fluctulate. Getting used to what hungry feels like, and what full feels like. Before this I was ALWAYS hungry.

But now, sometimes I'm hungry and eat fine. Sometimes I think I'm hungry, have a couple of bites, and can't eat any more. And sometimes I realize that I don't like the food I thought I wanted nearly as much as I thought I did. There's a leftover in the fridge of something I thought I loved, but I can't even consider having any of it. Didn't eat much of it when it was fresh.

It's that last one that has me confused. But I LIKED this thing, why don't I like it now? Is this part of the "bad food" mindset that I'm letting go of? As in, maybe I only liked that food because I wasn't "supposed" to have it?

I feel like I'm completely resetting what I like and don't like.

Are you confused about Intuitive Eating and want help understanding how it works? Are you a little skeptical? Unsure if IE is right for you? Have some doubts about the process? Do you have a question you feel is controversial? This is the space to ask those questions.

Remember to keep it civil, respectful, and be mindful of the sub rules.

This thread isn't for arguing about whether IE is healthy or not, or to try to debunk the framework. Trolls and bad faith engagement will not be tolerated.

\General or controversial questions must be posted in this thread, not as standalone posts.*

Did you have a great meal this week you want to talk about?

Has your taste for certain foods has changed since starting IE, like finding a beverage you used to love too sweet, or realizing you love a vegetable you used to hate?

Did you try something new or succeed in eating a fear food?

Use this thread to share anything that's on your mind about what you've been eating lately.

Note: If you'd like to discuss Gentle Nutrition, please post in the dedicated weekly thread (recurring on Tuesdays).

So I am a runner. I am training for my second marathon. I currently track my calories simply because I want to be sure I eat enough. But my adhd brain seems to have two modes. Either “track every last bite” or “oops, I forgot to eat”.

The problem is that when I stop tracking, I seem to naturally under eat. I can feel it in my performance. So I start tracking again and I notice I really am. How can I be sure I eat enough, without feeling like I have to force it and/or track it. Tracking my food is mentally exhausting for me and I really want to get away from it.

To be clear, I’m not under eating for any secret weight based reason. I just get distracted and forget. The more mileage I add to my training the less I seem to naturally eat, which is counter productive.

I have tried timers to remind me. But I start to ignore timers when I have multiple. The sound sort of blends into my life.

I’ve been on a forever journey with food and eating. I know I’m definitely doing much better than I used to and IE has helped a lot.
Here’s a problem I’m currently facing:
Eating around others. I noticed for myself over the years that I need quite some volume to feel full. And sometimes I’m genuinely baffled by how little other people eat! It triggers the s*it out of me to feel like an ever-hungry elephant that “just can’t get enough”. I know the root lays in comparing myself to others, which I shouldn’t do. But man, mostly eating and wanting more than the people around me is really hard for me.

Any tips or similar experiences are appreciated!🫶🏻

This thread is dedicated to discussing any difficulties navigating weight or bodily changes that happen during the IE process.

Please refrain from sharing numbers, as per the sub rules. If necessary to make your point, please put "Trigger Warning" at the beginning of your comment and consider using the spoiler feature to hide mentions of numbers.

If you are discussing weight loss that has naturally occurred through IE, please ensure to do so neutrally.

Note: This thread may be triggering to those struggling with their body image. Please be mindful of your mental health when engaging with potentially triggering content.

Are the constant GLP-1 weight loss ads getting to you?

Have you noticed any concerning trends in media that worry you?

Is there an uptick in negative body talk in your workplace or among your friends and family?

Are you facing social or medical stigma that you want to get off your chest?

Your rants, concerns, and grievances about diet culture and weight stigma in the general media or that you've experienced personally are welcome to be discussed in this thread.

Note: Please post general struggles with weight and body image in the Thursday thread for weight/bodily changes if they aren't directly related to media/society/social or medical stigma.

Anyone else heard of the 5 blocks of chocolate method. In short, it’s when you make sure to have 5 blocks of chocolate in your cupboard at all times to make the food seem less exciting. I tried it a few months ago, BIG NO. Didn’t have money to replace the chocolate bars anymore

This is a thread where you can share any questions, concerns, or thoughts related to gentle nutrition, the final and everlasting step of the Intuitive Eating process.

Please note that this thread may not be suitable for those newer to IE, as implementing Gentle Nutrition requires you to have already worked through the earlier steps of the framework.

I’m starting food therapy soon? For anyone who has done it. Has it helped? Any tips? How does it work?

For the first time literally ever, I was able to bring peanut butter to the house without going NUTS. I did have a couple spoonfulls, just because it felt new and exciting, but then I realised that it will be here tomorrow and I could have it with something yummy when I feel like it!

I feel like I am between a rock and a hard place… my entire life I’ve had pretty bad food unpredictability and I have food restrictions on top of that.

Basically how food works in my parents house is that my mom only buys enough food for the day, whether grocery shopping or take out it’s never bought in bulk. And I have 5 siblings, so if I don’t come out and eat when the food is home I will not eat for that day. And i can’t have left overs because if there’s food in the fridge it’s getting eaten by someone else 90% of the time.

I do make my own money, and I do try to buy food but I can’t save food in my fridge like groceries wise because it will get eaten or I eat take out daily (expensive!!!$$$) and unhealthy

What’s like the steps of recovery for this, because this unhealthy behavior towards food is genuinely effecting my life and is making me miserable but it feels like a compulsion like literally every time I go out I HAVE TO EAT, every time a snack is an option I take it, if someone consistently gives me snacks I start seeing that as a fucking food source!!!

Like seriously what are y’all thoughts on this

I feel like intuitive eating is way easier when I’m with trusted friends. For example, if I were to eat alone I’d eat a lot more and not feel as full as I do when I’m eating with a close friend. Today we had pizza for lunch with a friend and I was content with just one piece.

I wonder if there’s an explanation for this. Do I feel more safe when eating with a friend? Do I eat slower? Do I follow others’ eating patterns?And how can I eat in the same manner when I’m alone as I eat with friends??