Mindful Eating vs. Intuitive Eating: for Busy Career Women

In today’s fast-paced world, many career women juggle hectic schedules, taking every opportunity to get more accomplished. This leaves little time for self-care, especially when it comes to eating for nourishment.

However, if you disregard self-care for too long, you’ll get less accomplished AND suffer the physical, emotional and mental health consequences.

This is where mindful eating and intuitive eating come in ultra-handy. They both help you regain control over your relationship with food and your body.

So, let’s explore the differences between these two approaches, mindful eating vs. intuitive eating: for busy career women. Then, you can see which one resonates best with you.

Mindful Eating: Savor the Moment

Mindful eating is like a mini-vacation for your taste buds, designed to bring you back to the present moment. Here’s how to eat mindfully:

Eat without Distractions

For a few minutes, put work emails and meetings aside. Focus solely on your meal. Put away the laptop, turn off the TV, and create a peaceful eating environment, even during a short lunch break.

I admit, sometimes I don’t do this, but when I do, I feel refreshed and enjoy my lunch so much more. I also pay way more attention to how much I’m eating, so I know when to stop. This is a helpful skill for weight loss.

• LISTEN OR READ: Mindful Eating for Weight Loss (Podcast Episode)

Savor Each Bite

Take your time to chew your food slowly and deliberately. Pay attention to the flavors and textures as if you’re exploring a new hiking trail or beach on that mini-vacation.

Listen to Your Body’s Signals

You’re in tune with deadlines and what other people need from you, so why not be in tune with your body too?

Mindful eating encourages you to notice hunger signals and fullness cues, helping you make better choices about when and how much to eat. Of such importance when it comes to healthy eating habits.

• LISTEN OR READ: Food Craving vs. True Hunger (Podcast Episode)

Awareness of Emotional Eating

As a career woman, you’ve likely faced stressful days. Mindful eating can help you distinguish between eating due to true hunger and eating to escape from uncomfortable emotions. Just getting better at this awareness will help you break an emotional eating habit.

• LISTEN OR READ: The 2 Biggest Emotional Eating Mistakes (Podcast Episode)

A Moment for Gratitude

When your schedule is so busy, it’s tough to remember to take a moment for gratitude. Mindful eating allows you to appreciate your food and the nourishment it provides. This gratitude can bring a sense of balance and calm to your hectic work life.

• LISTEN OR READ: Mindful Eating Even When You’re Busy (Podcast Episode)

Intuitive Eating: Trust Your Body

Intuitive eating is about listening to your body’s wisdom and rejecting diet culture. Here’s how to do eat intuitively:

Break Up With Dieting

Say goodbye to restrictive diets and the constant pursuit of an ideal body, like it’s a bad relationship. Intuitive eating shifts the focus to overall well-being, allowing you to concentrate on your career without diet distractions.

• LISTEN OR READ: Getting Out of the Dieting Cycle (Podcast Episode)

Honor the Hunger Cues

Don’t ignore your body’s hunger cues. Proper nourishment gives you the energy and clarity needed for a successful workday. This also helps your body and brain re-learn its normal hunger cues that may have been ignored for too long.

• LISTEN OR READ: Food Craving vs. True Hunger (Podcast Episode)

Don’t Judge Food or Yourself

Release the “good” and “bad” labels on food. Don’t feel like you need to eliminate the foods you’d consider to be less healthy. Enjoy all types of food, reducing cravings and naturally leading to healthier choices.

While you’re at it, don’t judge yourself for eating certain foods. Of course you prefer to eat chocolate or chips over broccoli. Who doesn’t? Don’t judge yourself for wanting and eating delicious food.

• LISTEN OR READ: Self-Compassion and Your Eating Habits (Podcast Episode)

Manage Emotions in Other Ways

Find healthy ways to cope with uncomfortable emotions such as stress, tension, and worry. That way, food won’t be the thing you feel you need to cope with the.

Find something you can easily do at your work desk and at home when you find yourself eating in response to emotions or your day.

• LISTEN OR READ: Emotional Eating at Work (Podcast Episode)

Learn to Like & Respect Your Body

You don’t have to love your body’s natural shape and size, but learning to like it, and have respect for it, promotes healthier eating. Eventually, you can move into loving your body’s natural shape and size, but this can feel difficult at first.

When you like and respect your body (and what it does for you each day), you’ll treat it better. You’ll also walk into work more confidently when you like and respect the body that is allowing you to do so.

• LISTEN OR READ: Feeling Better in Your Body (Podcast Episode)

Final Notes:

As a busy career woman, you deserve a healthy relationship with food that supports your success. Whether you choose mindful eating to savor your meals in the midst of a busy day or intuitive eating to empower your body and mind, there’s no “wrong” way.

The key is to find an approach that aligns with your goals and values. When I help my clients change their eating habits, it’s not so much mindful eating vs. intuitive eating, but a combination of the two.

By establishing healthier eating habits despite a busy work schedule, you’ll navigate your personal and professional life with greater ease, mindfulness, and self-compassion. So, it’s well worth trying something out and seeing what works well for you.

I can help you incorporate healthier eating habits that help you elevate your life, even as a busy career women.

Book a FREE 60-MINUTE CONSULT with me by clicking the teal-colored button below.