Tips for Navigating the Honeymoon Phase of Intuitive Eating

So you’re new to intuitive eating and the freedom you feel with food restrictions gone is an exciting phase where you get to reconnect with all of the forbidden foods and actually enjoy eating again. Hello, honeymoon phase! The problem comes when you get stuck here. These are your tips for getting unstuck and navigating the honeymoon phase of intuitive eating.

Principle 3 of Intuitive Eating “Make Peace With Food” teaches us we need to give ourselves unconditional permission to eat all foods and not restrict the type of food or the amount of food.

Restrictions are from dieting. Unconditional permission is a core principle of intuitive eating.

You can learn more about this in Episode 7 of Intuitive Eating for Christian Women, where we explore Principle 3 of intuitive eating, Make Peace With Food, and explain how this principle aligns with scripture. Listen to the podcast episode HERE.

The problem becomes when we get stuck in the unconditional permission idea without taking all the other principles into account. This is very common in the beginning of your intuitive eating journey, which we like to call the “honeymoon phase”.

The honeymoon phase of intuitive eating

Many of us (myself included) experience an exuberant period of eating all the treat foods and play foods and it feels good…. until it doesn’t.

At some point your body will start telling you it feels uncomfortable and you might be overdoing it.

We can get stuck there because we’re afraid of going back to restriction.

Some of us still need to prove to ourselves that we really do have unconditional permission to eat. This is part of healing from dieting.

The idea that I have the freedom to do it, so I’m gonna do it! is so common in this phase. This is almost rebellion or backlash against your years of dieting. For me, this freedom felt like drawing a line in the sand that says I am NOT going back to restriction, fear and dieting.

But when our bodies start talking to us and we when start feeling bloated or uncomfortable with this honeymoon phase of eating, we worry we are going to get stuck there as anxiety and doubt creep in.

So many women fear that once they take the brakes off, they will lose control or they won’t be able to stop. This fear is a common objection women have to even trying out intuitive eating for themselves. It keeps people from starting and it can keep people stuck at the beginning of their journey.

On the podcast Intuitive Eating for Christian Women we describe this as the “honeymoon phase” because it’s new and you’re having a party with food after years of not being able to enjoy it. 

I’ve learned from my own experience and from walking this out with other women, it’s very common that the honeymoon phase needs to be longer when the period of restriction has been longer.

For instance, if you’ve been dieting since puberty (like me) your honeymoon phase where you give yourself unconditional permission to eat might need to be for months before your body believes you that you’re really not going to restrict access to food again.

When you feed yourself unconditionally, giving yourself permission to eat any food, at any time, in any way, you’re building up trust with your body and letting it know it does not need to be in diet/starvation mode anymore.

The pendulum swing from restriction to permission

Dieting is extreme restriction, that’s one end of the pendulum swing. The honeymoon phase is the pendulum swinging all the way to the other end. You’re going from restriction to permission.

The permission can feel extreme in the beginning. That’s OK.

You’re not meant to stay in the honeymoon phase. As you learn to listen to your body in the context of unconditional permission to eat, eventually the pendulum will come back to the middle.

This middle is a balanced, peaceful place where you are still giving yourself unconditional permission to eat, but you’re doing so in the context of ALL the other principles of intuitive eating.

Tips for navigating the honeymoon phase

Are you feeling stuck in the honeymoon phase of intuitive eating where all foods are allowed and you’re giving yourself unconditional permission to eat but you’re not feeling well in your body?

Here are some tips for navigating the honeymoon phase of intuitive eating, allowing this part of the process to run its course, and finding your way to the balanced middle and the peaceful path of an intuitive eater.

Tip 1: You’re not alone

The first thing you need to know about the honeymoon phase is that you’re not alone. Everyone goes through this phase, although the length of the phase will vary based upon the length and extremity of your dieting history.

So you’re NOT the only one feeling like you’re losing control around food!

This is actually a normal part of the process and it’s a gift in that it is showing you a stark contrast to what dieting was doing to your relationship with food.

You’re not alone and you can walk through this phase, which can be very challenging in the beginning, with other women who are on this journey. If you haven’t joined the Intuitive Eating for Christian Women private Facebook community just for podcast listeners, come join us!

Of all the questions that come forward in the group, How do I navigate the honeymoon phase? is one of the most frequently asked questions. So come get some support and accountability and remember you’re not alone.

Tip 2: Mindfully approach your fullness

In the honeymoon phase of intuitive eating, many of us get stuck on the novelty of the principle Make Peace With Food where we are giving ourselves unconditional permission to eat.

For dieters, this is so radical and different that the novelty of unconditional permission to eat makes us feel like we’re on our honeymoon and we can eat anything we want, however much we want, whenever we want, in any way we want.

Experiencing this freedom is part of the process of learning this principle. But this principle is only 1 of 10. And this principle must be applied in the context of all the other principles of intuitive eating.

The first principle to examine with unconditional permission to eat is the principle of feeling your fullness.

For example, my favorite play food is Publix white-on-white cake. When I was having a honeymoon phase with this food, the first thing that helped me move through that phase was feeling my fullness and really bringing all my mindful eating practices into play while I’m eating the cake.

I’m not standing in the kitchen scarfing it down just because it’s there. I’m sitting down with a plate and a fork and eating it slowly, savoring each bite, and listening to my body as I’m eating it.

There are so many mindful eating tips and practices in relation for feeling your fullness, for more on that check out Episode 9 of Intuitive Eating for Christian Women. You can listen to the episode HERE.

The idea here is you’re taking your unconditional permission to eat food (mine = cake) and really listening to your body while eating it. Your body will tell you when to stop, if you listen.

So if you’re struggling in the honeymoon phase and eating to the point of feeling bloated, uncomfortable or feeling poorly because you’re overdoing it on certain foods, chances are you’re not listening to your body. So the first step is to listen to your body.

So before you try to restrict any foods (don’t do that!) just bring some mindful eating practices to the table and FEEL your fullness as you’re eating that food. TRUST that your body will guide you.

Tip 3: Mindfully check out other principles and apply them

Just like we’re not applying unconditional permission to eat in a vacuum in Tip 2 above, fullness is not the only principle that we need to consider.

The other principles that come into play especially in the honeymoon phase are satisfaction, honor your hunger, respect your body and cope with our emotions without using food.

The satisfaction factor

For satisfaction, ask yourself am I eating this play food just because I can, because now it’s not off limits? Are you actually enjoying this food or just eating it because you’re allowed to?

Check in with your satisfaction and make sure that you’re eating the foods that you choose to eat, want to eat, that you’re craving, that you actually enjoy.

My husband is a huge fan of nacho cheese Doritos and Cheetos. He really likes the cheesy flavor. Those are treat foods that will sometimes be in our house. In my honeymoon phase I would eat them because they were there and I was allowed to. It was almost like there was a mental block and I forgot I don’t actually like those foods.

I vastly prefer Lays plain potato chips or tortilla chips with salsa. Those are my preferred chips for a crunchy, salty bite. Doritos and Cheetos flavor actually doesn’t really appeal to me even though I love cheese. I think they taste fake!

So why I would over do it on those foods when I’m not actually being satisfied by them is a complete waste and a misapplication of the unconditional permission to eat principle.

Yes, I do have permission to eat those foods. But permission is just giving me a choice. Why would I choose to eat something that I don’t actually like?!

One of my favorite sayings in intuitive eating that I come back to again and against is “If you don’t love it, don’t eat it. If you love it, savor it.”

In the honeymoon phase, check yourself and make sure the foods you’re eating are foods you actually enjoy and are satisfied by.

You can learn more about this In Episode 10 of the Intuitive Eating for Christian Women podcast, we explore Principle 6 of intuitive eating, Discover the Satisfaction Factor, and explain how this principle aligns with scripture. Listen to the podcast episode HERE.

Other principles of intuitive eating to consider

So mindfully keeping the other principles in mind beyond satisfaction is also remembering to honor your hunger, respect your body and cope with our emotions without using food. By this I mean check in with yourself before eating and make sure you are addressing a biological, physical hunger and not some other hunger.

We want to meet our needs. That’s how we care for ourselves.

If our need is to be nourished with a food, then alright unconditional permission and let’s eat!

But if we have some other need – like being tired and needing rest or feeling lonely and needing connection- let’s remember that even though we do have unconditional permission to eat, that need is not going to be met in the best way with only food.

We have to remember we have other tools in the toolbelt when it comes to caring for ourselves, feeding ourselves and our souls properly and respecting our bodies and respecting our whole beings along the way.

As a practical tip that incorporates another principle, in the honeymoon phase when I would overdo it with my play foods, something that would make me feel physically better after the fact would be moving after I eat.

Getting up and talking a walk to the kitchen to do the dishes instead of just sitting on the couch with an uncomfortably full stomach made me feel better. Walking the dog after a meal would get me moving, get the blood flowing and me breathing deeply, which also made me feel physically more comfortable after eating.

Keeping these movement tips in the context of what does my body need to feel well in this moment? is key here.

I’m not getting up to move as a punishment for eating. To the contrary, the movement feels good and I enjoy it!

Movement mitigates any uncomfortable feeling I have from the food if I did not properly feel my fullness or I chose to eat past fullness for whatever reason.

Tip 4: Trust the process and trust God

Navigating the honeymoon phase can be challenging as a someone new to intuitive eating. But it’s just part of the process.

Unlearning our dieting behaviors and re-learning a new way to relate to food and our bodies is an ongoing process that will challenge us. Thank you Jesus that we don’t have to do it alone!

Not only do we have community to support us (see Tip 1) we also have God walking with us and the Holy Spirit in us leading, guiding and directing us.

When we trust God’s design of our bodies and embrace intuitive eating as God’s design for how our bodies are meant to be physically nourished, we can use our faith to prop us up and navigate the challenging honeymoon phase.

I can’t tell you how many times during the honeymoon phase I had to tell myself I trust God, so I trust God with my body. That became and affirmation and a prayer. It constantly made me rely on Jesus in this process.

That’s one of the most beautiful parts of intuitive eating for me and why I feel it integrates with faith so well. It teaches us daily reliance on the Lord and that helps us to trust him more and grow in our faith as we walk this out.

Navigating the honeymoon phase of intuitive eating with Jesus

I want to encourage you that the honeymoon phase is part of the process and not something to be feared. You can’t skip this phase, so don’t try. Just use these tips to navigate through the honeymoon phase with mindful awareness and, most of all, with Jesus.

This phase presents a challenge in the beginning because fear of losing control around food or fear of weight gain brings us right back to Principle 1 of intuitive eating – Reject the Diet Mentality.

We are immediately attacked with diet culture lies that are external or that we have internalized. Remember this is spiritual warfare. For more on that, check out the post 4 lies about weight loss every Christian needs to know.

Whenever we step out in faith and declare we are going to trust God for something and believe what He says about us and our bodies, we are going to face resistance as we swim upstream against diet culture. But we know the enemy is trying to distract us and make us doubt.

That’s why the honeymoon phase is a time to douse yourself in truth.

Meditate on God’s truth and reject the lies of the enemy and diet culture and replace them with God’s truth. Walking forward in truth, mindfully considering other principles of intuitive eating and, overall, trusting God with the outcome, whatever it may be, will get you through the honeymoon phase.

Remember the honeymoon phase is not where you’re going to remain. You might be there for a period, but eventually the pendulum swings back to the middle, which is your personal alignment with your body and with God.

As you feel your body and the Holy Spirit leading you to that middle, you will know you’re there when you are walking in peace, freedom, and truth.

The honeymoon phase has something to teach us. It helps us look back on our dieting history and recognize the extreme contrast with intuitive eating, it helps us to remember to bring mindful awareness to other principles of intuitive eating and apply them, it helps us to remember that intuitive eating is a daily process that we go through (much like our daily walk with the Lord).

Finally, the honeymoon phase helps us to really set the target back on God and center ourselves in His presence, knowing that the point of this entire intuitive eating journey is to learn how to honor God with how we approach food and how we treat our bodies.