Week 1: Bye Bye Intermittent Fasting
I went all in. I left Kerry's office at noon on a Tuesday and ate a granola bar that was in my car just because — I wasn't even hungry for lunch yet. I came home and raided my snack cabinet, ate my meal-prepped kale salad, and then baked chocolate banana oatmeal bread AND pumpkin pillow cookies with my kids. I probably ate three huge pieces of the bread along with four cookies. Obviously, I wasn't even hungry for dinner, but I ate it anyway.
I realise that this is NOT intuitive eating done properly, but Kerry explained that there's a transition period, that can last from a few days to a few weeks, where you might just go all out and eat chocolate cupcakes for dinner and devour an entire bag of tortilla chips with guac. She said that after a while, you know eating that way won't make you feel good, and self-regulation will kick in. You'll be able to indulge your cravings when you want to, but for the most part, you'll feel compelled to choose healthy foods, stick to appropriate portion sizes, eat when you're hungry, and stop when you're full.
That night I felt like absolute crap — so bloated and with abdominal pains from overeating, that I had a terrible night of sleep. I woke up still bloated and in pain, so I had to skip CrossFit. I ate all that day, and all through the weekend — no restrictions on what foods I ate, how much, or when.
By the end of the first week, I was hating intuitive eating because it brought back all my old habits. I was having trouble saying no to certain foods I normally would easily turn down, knowing they'd make me super bloated, and I was eating to the point of feeling uncomfortably full. But I pressed on, hoping by week two, the self-regulation Kerry talked about would begin.