Ep 92 The Difference Between Mindful Eating and Intuitive Eating - and Why You Need Both with Paige Smathers RDN

More Than What You Eat

Even if you are doing your best to practice intuitive eating and reconnect with your body, it’s easy to let the old mentality of “rules-based eating” slip back in and have that negative self-talk return.

It can be especially frustrating if you feel like you're trying to be ‘mindful’ of your food choices but keep failing and falling back to old eating habits.

But are you truly practicing mindfulness, or is your attempt to be mindful setting you back into your ‘rule-based’ eating & negative self-talk?

If you’ve noticed yourself reverting back into food rules & judgemental thoughts and feel like ‘mindfulness’ is not working and you aren’t eating intuitively (and maybe you are reading this and feel completely confused because you don't really know the difference between mindful eating and intuitive eating) then today’s podcast episode is for you!

We are joined by Paige Smathers, a Registered Dietitian who supports people in finding and learning to make peace with food and body image in a compassionate and self aware way.

In this episode we discuss how mindfulness and intuitive eating can (and should!) work together to help heal your relationship with food and body image, how not to use mindfulness (the ways in which it can backfire!), the potential pitfalls of self-esteem and the critical role that self-compassion plays in our food freedom journeys, as well as the importance of learning to accept failures (and reframing them! Because you can’t really fail!) as part of the process to make forward progress.

In this episode we cover:

• [3:13] Paige’s journey to becoming an intuitive eating dietitian.
• [7:16] The impact compassionate self talk can have on those struggling with disordered eating
• [8:36] The differences and similarities between mindfulness, mindful eating, and intuitive eating and how both are needed to eat in alignment with your body
• [24:28] How Intuitive Eating is portrayed on social media and why its not the full picture
• [27:39] Self-compassion research: what does it show, what is it, and what role it plays in intuitive eating
• [34:51] The benefits of self-compassion in your life and how to practice it more on a daily basis

Rachel’s Resources:

• Are you a Food Freedom Professional seeking to boost her coaching confidence with clients using the Intuitive Eating approach? Get immediate access to the FREE video training, 3 Steps to Boost Your Coaching Confidence: https://rachelgoodmanrd.kartra.com/page/food-freedom-for-professionals
• Stop feeling out of control with food using the FREE eguide: 3 Steps to Stop Feeling Out of Control with Food (hyperlink to https://rachelgoodmanrd.kartra.com/page/7NG39 )
• Join Rachel’s online course Living Free: rachelgoodnutrition.com/program
• Follow Rachel on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dietitian.rachelgoodman/
• Want to share your thoughts or feedback on this episode? Contact Rachel at [e-mail]

Paige’s Resources:

• Follow Paige on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/paigesmathersrd/

Check out Paige’s Website https://www.positive-nutrition.com/