
If you have ever looked into intuitive eating or an intuitive lifestyle in general, but felt like you couldn’t handle not tracking your food or scheduling certain workouts, it might be a problem with needing to be in control. This lack of control is exactly why being more intuitive can be so challenging, but understanding why is a great first step to moving past it.
Signs of Needing Control
First, let’s figure out if needing control is in fact what you are currently struggling with. People are often surprised by this revelation because they don’t feel like they are a “controlling person”, but there are many ways to need control in your life.
Some signs that you need control in your life include tracking your food or mentally calculating calories even if you don’t write them down, having multiple apps on your phone that track your food, water and exercise, having rules about what you can and can’t eat, having a strict workout schedule, and not trusting yourself when it comes to your habits.
It can be so subtle sometimes. Maybe you don’t track everything you eat, but when you are planning to eat out with friends, you always check the menu first and look at the calories of each item before deciding what you will get. This is not listening to your body, but rather trying to find a way to control how much you eat based on arbitrary rules.
Is Control Always a Bad Thing?
There isn’t anything inherently wrong with wanting a little more control in your life, but when it becomes rigid and keeps you from living a healthy, balanced lifestyle, that is when it can be an issue.
If you find that you can’t fully commit to being an intuitive eater without at least writing down what or how much you eat, or still sticking to your workout routine, then control has become a problem for you. Intuitive living requires a lot of trust in yourself and your body.
How to Start Relinquishing a Little Control
Now, let’s start looking for ways to let go of the reigns a little bit. You might not be ready to let go of all the control, but here are some things that can help:
Write down what you eat, without amounts or calories. If you aren’t ready to not know what you’re eating, go ahead and write it down, but leave out quantities and numbers.
Add a new exercise that isn’t on your workout routine. If you still want to complete your workout routine and aren’t ready for intuitive workouts, then just start by adding at least one new form of movement.
Delete your apps. Get rid of any app that is “Tracking” what you do. Calorie counting apps, water tracking apps, fitness tracking apps, all of them.
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