Skip to main content

Guest Post: Intuitive Eating and Joyful Movement - Kalin Herbach, RD

Intuitive Eating and Joyful Movement
Kalin Herbach, RD
Photo Credit: Emma Nicole Photography

We are living in a time in our society where people are becoming hyper focused on their health, so much that it’s resulting in stress and anxiety around eating and exercise. The whole point of making “healthy” choices is so that you can enjoy your life more, but the pursuit of “perfect” health can end up taking all of our time and energy, so there is very little life left to enjoy. We are going to focus on some guiding principles to support you in nourishing your body for movement, in a way that doesn’t add more rules to your routine. I hope this provides you with some helpful strategies, but remember that you know your body best!


First and foremost, my hope is that moving your body:


-      Brings you joy
-      Improves your energy
-      Helps you cope with emotions/stress
-      Promotes better sleeping habits 


Having a positive relationship with movement is the first step in caring for yourself. Keep this same perspective in mind as we dive into strategies for fuelling your body.

Embrace Permission and Structure


A common concern my clients have about intuitive eating is related to planning and structure. Embracing an intuitive relationship with food doesn’t mean that you can’t plan. In most cases, preparing meals and snacks ahead of time is an essential step to ensure you are feeding your body adequately. Along with this, I support my clients in giving themselves full permission to eat, and let go of all the food rules like “I should eat X food before/after a workout”. This allows you to truly discover what works best for your body!

Before and After Movement


On average, most individuals feel best when the gap between meals and snacks is no longer than 2-4 hours. Whether you include movement in the morning, afternoon, or evening, plan to have a meal or snack a few hours before to help with energy. A common concern with morning movement is that having breakfast before feels like too much. If this applies to you, try having a snack before, followed by breakfast afterwards.

Guiding Principles for Meals and Snacks 

Instead of focusing on making sure your plate is perfectly divided, aim to include the following in your meals:
-      Carbohydrate
-      Fat
-      Protein
-      Fibre 
I love thinking about meals in this way, because it helps broaden the variety and type of meals you can make for you and your family, while still ensuring that all the components are there to help nourish your body. 

Through experience with clients, a snack tends to be most nourishing and satisfying when it contains more than one component. Aim to include a carbohydrate source along with a fat, protein or fibre.

Depending on the type of movement, you may find it helpful to have something that is more easily digested before. Here are some ideas:
-      Toast or banana with nut butter
-      Granola with milk
-      Muffin with piece of fruit

After engaging in movement, aim to have your next meal or snack within an hour to provide your body with adequate nourishment. Pay attention to what you naturally gravitate towards and get curious about what feels good. Here are some snack ideas:
-      Homemade energy bites
-      Smoothie (Greek yogurt, 2 kinds of fruit, milk and some type of fat – hemp hearts, nut butter, ground flaxseed, avocado etc)
-      Greek yogurt with fruit and/or granola

“But I Don’t Feel Hungry After”


It can be quite common to feel like you aren’t hungry after movement. Sometimes, honouring what your body needs means that you choose to eat because you know it’s best for your body, even if you don’t feel the physical sensations of hunger. This could be after movement, or another example would be if you know you won’t be able to eat for the next 6 hours, so you choose to have a meal or snack. 

Get curious and give yourself permission to find what works for YOUR body!

If you would like support in this process, feel free to connect with Kalin or her colleague Barbara at Pine Integrated Health Centre:

Website: Pine Health

Instagram: @kalinhrd

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chewy Sweet & Tart Granola Bars + the #naptimehustle

#naptimehustle ... what do you do to take advantage of this sweet sweet time? If your house is anything like mine, this is a time where all is quiet and I have anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours of baby- and toddler-free time to get some things done...depending on the day. Obviously, with a five month old, her naps are a little less predictable and this makes me even more thankful for my toddler's predictable two hour nap (knock on wood they last awhile longer!). Some days I take advantage of this "me" time to enjoy a long uninterrupted shower. Other days I clean feverishly. The odd time, I will sit down with a fresh cup of coffee or tea and enjoy the silence and stillness. Then there are my baking days. I love time in the kitchen to create. I do enjoy sharing this time with my hubby and my girls, but on the rare occasion I take advantage of nap time to whip up something delicious. I turn on some music and get started! Now, I do have a tip for keeping the Litt

Deep core activation while recovering from a cesarean birth

Yes! It is true! We welcomed our sweet baby girl to the world earlier this month and have been in awe of her ever since. I will post about our birth experience and more about her very soon.  In the meantime, I have been asked multiple times in the past few weeks about my transverse abdominis (TVA) or deep core activation techqniques; how I used these techniques throughout my pregnancy and how I am re-introducing them to my daily routine as my body heals from our cesarean birth. To begin, I did not know about these techniques when I was pregnant with Brooke, our oldest daughter, who was born in April 2014. I had a great recovery after her delivery (also cesarean), as I was cleared to begin upper body exercise with slow integration of lower body exercise at 4 weeks postpartum and cleared to begin core work and running at 6 weeks postpartum. I felt great! That being said, my core already feels so much stronger than it did at 2 weeks postpartum with Brooke. I already feel like myself an

Cold Winter Blues

It is cold. It is winter. It is dark and energy is low. These are some of the toughest days to get moving and stay active! It has been a busy week getting back into the swing of classes. With a new year comes new routine and a new way of challenging yourself! Please post below what YOU are doing to get yourself sweating up a storm this month ...  I am excited to read all your brilliant ideas!