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Dr. Kerri Fullerton ND

Intuitive Eating. Health At Every Size (HAES) Doctor

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Recipes

How Intuitive Eating Rekindled My Love Of Baking

February 7, 2020 by Kerri Fullerton

Today I needed a break. I’d been at my computer for hours and was starting to feel tired and uninspired.

Meditation didn’t feel right – I was concerned that I’d fall asleep.

I had a walk planned for later.

So I decided to do some baking.

Now, this is a pretty big deal. I remember taking baking breaks while I was studying for my regulatory exams. They were more an emotional distraction than they were a true act of self-care, but that story is for another time…

Today, I turned on the tunes and grabbed my ingredients.

While I bopped around the kitchen, I can’t tell you what I was I thinking about.

I can tell you what I was NOT thinking about.

I was not wondering if I’d:

  • binge on the cookies or the dough
  • done enough exercising to warrant eating cookies
  • been good enough this week to eat cookies
  • get fat from eating cookies
  • get over the guilt for not resisting wanting to bake cookies

If you’ve read my about me page on my site you’ll know that licking a spoon was what killed my last weight-loss attempt. What a stark difference to today where I not only licked the beaters and spatula*, but I also forgot about the cookie dough balls in the freezer!! It was 3 hours later before I even ate a cookie.

*yes I know that eating raw cookie dough comes at a risk – I’m willing to take it

This is one expression of the food freedom that I’ve found. My journey has been anything but a straight line, and the work has been worth it. Intuitive eating has given me the tools that I need to enjoy cookies and not worry about eating all of the cookies. In fact, I freeze the cookie dough balls so that I can bake a few cookies when I want them and they’re fresh and gooey every single time. That alone would have caused serious anxiety during my dieting and binge days. They would’ve called to me every single day. I wouldn’t have waited for them to thaw or to cook before they’d be in my mouth.

Freezing cookie dough balls means freshly baked cookies in under 15 minutes!

So what’s different? Why do I feel safe now?

I learned to practice self-compassion.

Weight loss programs and cultural norms told me that cookies were a sometimes food and that they had to be eaten in moderation and not at all if I believed that I was addicted to sugar (which I did, for a long time). I was trained to be ‘on the wagon’ or off.

Self-compassion gave me the skills to live in the middle.

Unconditional permission to eat.

The third principle of Intuitive Eating is Make Peace with Food. It’s poorly understood and often referred to as Permission to Binge.

Here’s how I understand it:

  • I’m a grown woman with the affluence to access food whenever I want it.
  • I have full autonomy over my food choices.
  • Simply put, I can eat whatever I want.

I also understand that I’m not free of the consequences of eating whatever I want. So I know that if I eat a lot of cookies, I won’t feel well (I’ve done it enough times to know this is true).
Since I respect my body and I want to feel good, I only eat enough cookies to feel satisfied. That number varies every time and knowing that there’s no maximum I can refer to my body to tell me when I’m done.

I honour my hunger and my biological need for food.

Letting myself get over-hungry leaves me more vulnerable to pleasure foods (my term for calorie dense, junk food, fast food, sometimes foods, play foods etc). By eating enough food regularly, I’m not trying to eat a meal of cookies (again, something that I’ve done enough times to know that it doesn’t feel good) and since I’m not starving, I can count on my body to tell me if cookies are what I’d like right now (shocking truth – sometimes I don’t want a cookie even when they’re there)

If you’re new to Intuitive Eating and this still seems impossible, please be patient with yourself. Check out Kristin Neff’s work on Self-compassion. And if you can, find a IE certified counsellor to work with. The nuances of IE are where the magic lies and the freedom exists. That stuff is harder to get by simply reading the book.

Dedicated to helping you find peace and power with your body,

Gluten-free baking tip:

Keep a bowl of water nearby so that you can keep your hands damp while forming the cookie balls. It helps keep the batter from clumping up on your hands.

https://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes/how-to-make/chocolate-chip-cookies-gluten-free-2/

Filed Under: Food Addiction, Intuitive Eating, Recipes Tagged With: food addiction, food freedom, intuitive eating, recipe

Finding Great Recipes

February 4, 2019 by Kerri Fullerton

Finding Great Recipes

New recipes can provide some much needed variety to a menu that’s getting old.

On average, families rotate between 10-12 recipes, and that’s being generous. We’re creatures of habit.

And there’s good reason for that. New recipes, as exciting as they are, require a lot more thought. First, to find the recipe. Then, to ponder the ingredients (ex. Do I have those? Do I know what that is?). And then finally, the preparation. Since it’s new, it’s not second nature (ie. Harder to manage the kids AND cook).

A common mistake that I see being made is trying too much, too fast. Whether it’s a new weight-loss plan, or just trying to improve your nutrition, I see women getting overwhelmed and consumed by food. And then when life happens (‘cause it always does) they end up feeling like a failure.

My recommendation is that you don’t try more than one new recipe per week. That way you can try out new things, find some new recipes for your rotation, without going crazy.

Now, where do you find said recipe?

Well, I like choose from Chef’s and here’s why.

They care a lot about the quality and freshness of the ingredients. Chef’s like to use what’s local and in season wherever possible.

A Chef is “satisfaction driven” vs “nutrition driven”. Their primary goal is to create a satisfying and tasty meal. It’s about the flavours and textures. There’s a love present that I just don’t see with most “nutrition driven” cooks.

Satisfaction: The Hub of Intuitive Eating
Satisfaction is the Hub of Intuitive Eating

Am I saying that nutrition is unimportant? Heck no. But what’s the point in a nutritious meal that nobody will eat?

Have you ever done that? I sure have. I remember when I stopped using sugar. I had muffins, bean salads, and granola that nobody would eat. And when I got honest, I didn’t like them either.

So now, I use the least amount of sugar that I can while still making it genuinely satisfying and enjoyable.

Here are a few websites that I like to check out when looking for inspiration:

Jamie Oliver often has some great ideas that are rich in tasty vegetables and easy to make.

Michael Smith is another Chef that I follow. I find his dishes so full of flavour.

Often I’ll end up searching a site with many Chef’s featured like https://www.epicurious.com/ or https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/

There are too many to list for sure. The point is, find someone who LOVES food and let yourself be inspired.

Let’s be honest, the nutrition gurus can’t seem to make up their minds about what’s healthy and what’s not. And everybody seems to have ‘evidence’ to back up their claims.

Try not to get caught up in the hype.

Where do you find food inspiration?

Get my Mindful Meal Planning Webinar

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: healthy eating, intuitive eating

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