Learning about Intuitive Eating from Savvy Girl(s)

 A quick look at the table of contents for the new book Savvy Girl: A Guide to Eating co-authored by Brittany Deal and registered dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor Sumner Brooks, tells me it would be a great book for many readers of A Weight Lifted.

How To Start Feeding Yourself Well

With chapter titles such as “Don’t Cut the Pasta — Cut the Don’ts, Shoulds and Can’ts” and “The Secret to Never Counting Calories Again”, it sounds like it could have been written by the Green Mountain at Fox Run staff. It’s a concise account of how to stop dieting and start feeding yourself well, with plenty of specific information that can help even those who are completely confused about what to eat.

The key is, it’s not really telling you what to eat. Because non-diets don’t do that. They help you figure out what YOU want to eat — understanding the difference between a want that’s in the moment and maybe a reaction to emotions or extreme hunger and a want that has a longer term perspective to it. If that seems confusing, it is a learning process that this book helps guide you through (see below). 

Book Gives Solid Steps To Move From Dieting To Intuitive Eating

I particularly like the “5 Savvy Eating Phases You’ll Experience” as they present concrete and logical steps that comprise the journey from dieting or restrictive eating to mindful, intuitive eating. Phases such as “Permission to Eat (the Honeymoon Phase)” and “Building Trust with Yourself.” Anyone who has been to Green Mountain probably recognizes those phases. 

I also like the follow up of “Seven Road Blocks You Might Face”, such as “You’re Giving Yourself Pseudo-Permission” and “Your Friends and/or Family are Constantly Discussing the Recent Success of Their Super-Restrictive Diet”. Sounds oh-so-familiar.  

An Eating Guide For The Sometimes Bumpy Road To Mindful Eating

The bottom line is the journey to mindful, intuitive eating is not always a smooth road — learning is like that sometimes (often?). As the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed. With the heads up these roadblocks give readers, it’s not so devastating when you hit a bump in the road. And to mix analogies, it’s easier to get back on the horse. 

This book is a quick, useful read for newbies to the non-diet, mindful, intuitive eating movement as well as those who’d like a refresher on the subject. 

Side note: In looking for a picture of the book for this post, I see there’s a Savvy Girl franchise that also features Savvy Girl Guide to Wine and Savvy Girl Guide to Etiquette. If they’re half as on target as their Guide to Eating, I’m in!