Are you ready to leave dieting behind, but are too afraid to make that final leap and embrace intuitive eating? Are you looking for a way out, but aren't sure where to turn? Listen now to hear some great tips to transition into this part of the food peace journey. Subscribe and leave a review here in just seconds. This episode is brought to you by my PCOS summer series: Empowering Your PCOS Journey. You CAN make peace with food even with PCOS and I want to show you how. This series and our Facebook group will be with you every step of the way. Episode's Key Points: Diets don't work, and losing weight doesn't actually fix any of our problems! Dieting = MISERY! Healthy eating includes pleasure! If a certain eating pattern HURTS, then it's definitely a diet, and it's definitely not health promoting. We give food way too much power and brain space... we should only really have to think about food when it's meal time! Food preoccupation can lead to unhealthy eating behaviors. Compassion is key! It's super common to avoid "healthy" or "diet" foods like fruits and veggies, or to overeat when you first abandon dieting and restriction, all in an effort to overcompensate and make sure you don't fall back into disordered behaviors. So if you catch yourself engaging in these behaviors, just be kind and understanding to yourself. This is all a part of the mess of figuring out your own internal hunger, fullness, and satiety cues. And it won't last forever! This is a PROCESS! Food peace isn't a fast journey. Be curious about your eating behavior rather than judgmental. This will allow you to uncover the root of your food preoccupation! You may have to think about food a lot when you first start the intuitive eating journey, but this won't last. Think about learning how to drive or riding a bike... you have to think about it at first, but once you get it, it's intuitive. If jumping into intuitive eating still feels too scary, try experimenting with check-in times instead! Set an alarm so that you can check in with your hunger every three-ish hours throughout the day, every day. Make sure your check-in times go all the way until you're asleep, and do an intentional body scan to check in with your hunger, fatigue, and other bodily needs. Eventually, this will get you into the habit of checking in with yourself consistently, but not obsessively. Making peace with food is HARD, especially because we live in a world that hasn't recovered yet. Find a dietitian and/or therapist, group therapy, or an online course to help you on this journey! Show Notes: Link to subscribe to the weekly FREE Food Peace Newsletter. It is sent out every Tuesday morning and no spam EVER. By signing up, I will also send you Love Food's Season 1's Food Peace Syllabus. Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch Evelyn Tribole's Love, Food Episode Paige Smathers' Nutrition Matters Podcast, Love, Food Episode, and online course Erica Leon's Love, Food Episode and online course Christy Harrison's Food Psych Podcast, Love, Food Episode, and online course Eating Disorder Dietitian Julie Dillon RD blog Do you have a complicated relationship with food? I want to help! Send your Dear Food letter to LoveFoodPodcast@gmail.com.  Click here to leave me a review in iTunes and subscribe. This type of kindness helps the show continue! Thank you for listening to the Love, Food series.