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intuitive eating

Proceed with Love & Caution

September 23, 2020 by gracefulfitness 3 Comments

{The following post was inspired by a call for help from a dear friend who has found themselves very uncomfortably overweight and at a loss with how to proceed. I think they wanted exercise or “diet” tips but I know from personal experience that diets and exercise are basiclly bandaids on broken bones when it comes to weight. The following is the most honest and useful response I could muster.}

Weight loss and weight maintenance is an in-depth and intense process of tuning-in to yourself.

On the surface, the equation is simple; to lose weight, the calories in through consumption must be less calories out (through both movement and basic metabolic function). In order to maintain your weight, they need to be equal.

That’s the good news, the hard facts.

The reality is, we are humans with all sorts of complications interrupting the math.

As I see it (and feel it, and experience it) the main complications arise when we are not honest with ourselves, when we ignore ourselves, and when we defend ourselves to ourselves.

This deep level of dishonesty tends to be BFF’s with shame.

And what does shame do? Shame makes us want to turn up the blinders on deep, honest self-evalution. Shame pushes us towards defensiveness and numbness.

Brene Brown’s research on shame has helped me understand how shame is a really shitty conduit for change.

Believe me, I’ve tried the shame tactic with both myself and some of my closest loved ones many, many times.

Not once did it functionally produce the change I was shaming for.

I was kind of bummed when I realized this. Shame felt such an easy go-to when it came to trying to illicit change in both myself and others.

Damnit, the easy way wasn’t going to cut it.

So, what does work?

Honesty.

Over the last several years I have come to really dislike feeling super full after a meal. It signals to me that I wasn’t paying attention, that I wasn’t being honest to the needs and desires of my dear, sweet self.

I’m talking about really, truly overeating. I’m talking about those times where the majority of cues about what and how much you ate are coming from external sources; how beautiful the food is, how much food there is, how much other people are eating, how much you paid for it, how much time went into the preparation, what time of day it is…

We are always going to be influenced by the external but I deeply believe that in order to serve ourselves best, the majority of cues need to come from inside.

It is all within you.


Make it your mission to find that concept powerful & empowering rather than scary and hopeless.

When I stopped overeating regularly (it still happens sometimes, of course) and started feeding my deep, true hunger needs, I shed close to 10 pounds. It felt like it fell off me. I was exercising less than the previous 10 years (another topic for another day), my appetite was strong but not overpowering like it was when I was stuffing my stomach on the reg, and the familiar regret of “crap, I overate again, I’ll try again tomorrow to ‘be good’” disappeared.

The ever-wise Deepok Chopra has a concept that can apply beautifully to this task of tuning in to your true hunger and tuning out the external noise: S.T.O.P

Stop, pause.

Take a breath, focusing on your breath for even one inhale-exhale will help cue you into you.

Observe, now is the time to key into both the internal and external. Are you truly hungry? If so, for what? What are the external factors contributing to the moment? What external factors are going to challenge your ability to deeply listen to your internal needs and cues. How do you want to feel when you are done eating, both physically and psychologically?

Proceed with caution and LOVE.

I use this technique multiple times before and during eating. It is a practice, not a destination, and there are times I let my practice go and there are times when it is the last thing I want to do but in the big picture I know that it serves me best not to overserve myself with calories, guilt, or shame but rather with the perfect plate of honesty, self love, and nutritious, delicious food.

If this post resonates with you at all, or if you have any questions/want help with the concepts above, please don’t hesitate to reach out, publicly or privately.

All my love, Faith

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Posted in: body image Tagged: brene brown, depok chopra, intuitive eating, weight loss

Intuitive Movement & The 5 Minute Breakout

July 31, 2020 by gracefulfitness Leave a Comment

I’m a mover.


For as long as I can remember, I’ve been deeply connected with my body.
As a farm girl who grew up in the ‘80s (no internet!) and started dancing at 6 years old, moving my body consistently was a way of life from the beginning.

Along came my teens and 20’s and an internal narrative/external feedback of “the gym is where you get skinny” and alas I spent a decade or two doing hundreds of hours of “I Should” workouts; “I should be doing this hour of cardio” “I should be running 3 days a week”…


Along with crows feet and increased self assurance, my 30’s have been a time of learning intuitive eating and intuitive moving.


With both moving and eating, I’m releasing the attachment to “Should’s” and developing an internal check in; “what does my body & spirit need right now?”


Some questions I ask myself when evaluating how/if I am going to move:


•what’s your energy level/how well rested are you feeling?


•how have you moved so far today? this week?

•what’s your “why” today?

This last one is interesting, and perhaps most important on the list. If, after careful observation, my ‘primary “why” is because I “should”, often I choose to move in ways I don’t consider exercise. I take a mellow walk, I work in the garden, I clean the house, I stretch or roll a little. Or I make the choice not to move, without guilt, without regret.


However, I am a mover.

My inertia is to stay in motion. The choice to idle is rarely longlasting for me.

If you need a little gentle accelleration, I’ve got you!

I’m creating a library of 5 Minute Cardio Interval Breakouts (instead of Workouts, get it? You get a break from work!) for my YouTube Channel.

Each Breakout is 5 minutes designed to get your heart rate up a bit, move you in a variety of ways, and give options for how high or low intensity you want to move. I am not using any equipment for these and I am intentionally not doing any exercises on the hands or even down on the floor because I know that can be limiting to some people.

My intention is accessible, you don’t need a lot of space or time to do these Breakouts, just the answer from your body “yes, I want to move”.

(Or even, “meh, I’m not totally against moving, let’s give it a try and check in again”…an object in motion…)

Here’s the latest Breakout!

I would love your feedback on it; the level of challenge, the variety of movement, etc.

Happy moving!

P.S. I am still in the running for Hers Magazine’s Ms. Health & Fitness 2020 (!!!!) and would so appreciate your support by taking 15 seconds to vote for me each day through August.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE

  • You will have to connect to a valid FaceBook page to vote.
  • Voting is free and you can vote ONCE A DAY.
  • Voting ends August 6th for round two.
  • If inclined, I would be so grateful for ‘shares’ of this post or my profile page for the contest.

There are several rounds to the voting process, so daily votes make a HUGE difference, thank you in advance!!!

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Posted in: interval training, workouts Tagged: 5 Minute Breakout, HIIT, home workout, interval training, intuitive eating, intuitive moving, youtube

I am Faith Levine, a movement instructor, home gardener, mountain biker, hiker, pickle maker, closet poet, and best of friend to some of the most amazing women in the world.

I’d love to hear from you,
gracefulfitness@live.com

Header photo: Meredith Coe

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Hi, I'm Faith! New? Check out I Am for my story, I Cook for recipes, and I Move for some motivation to get moving! I'd love to hear from you, e-mail me gracefulfitness@live.com
Header photo: Meredith Coe

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