How to use meditation to be better at intuitive eating

Jul 29, 2023 | Podcast

mindfulness printed paper near window

What’s the difference between mindfulness, intuitive eating, and meditation?

If mindfulness is the umbrella, intuitive eating is the person holding the umbrella while a downpour of diet culture BS rains down.

In the words of Dr. Michelle May, mindfulness “isn’t about being good, it’s about feeling good!”

Meditation and other mindfulness practices can help you reconnect to your hunger, satisfaction, fullness, and compassionate curiosity – all of which are fundamental intuitive eating skills.

Jenna Hollenstein, MS, RD, CDN, is a nutrition therapist, meditation teacher, and author of five books. Her work combines intuitive eating, trauma-sensitive mindfulness, polyvagal theory, and other embodied modalities.

Her latest books include Intuitive Eating for Life: How Mindfulness Can Deepen and Sustain Your Intuitive Eating Practice and Eat to Love: A Mindful Guide to Transforming Your Relationship with Food, Body, and Life. 

Jenna’s work has been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Self, Health, Lion’s Roar, Mindful, Vogue, Elle, Glamour, Women’s World, and U.S. News & World Report. Jenna lives in the greater New York City, NY, area.

Jenna Hollenstein, nutrition therapist, author, and meditation teacher
Intuitive eating and meditation enhance each other as practices of mindfulness

Here’s what you’ll learn from our conversation:

1. Jenna describes her own unraveling and recovery from alcohol through her meditation practice and intuitive eating. She shares, “when I began meditating, my brain exploded with all the connections between Buddhist philosophy and the behaviors and substances we use to change how we feel: dieting, drinking, shopping, working, etc.”

2. In her newest book Intuitive Eating for Life, Jenna talks about the 4 foundations of mindfulness and how can they support the practice of intuitive eating.

3. We talk about our definitions of intuitive eating as a practice of mindfulness – one that you get to do at least 3 times a day!

4. Finally, Jenna shares how meditation can support an intuitive eating practice in midlife.

Resources:

Learn more about Jenna’s work on her website: https://www.jennahollenstein.com/

Join Jenna for a free meditation for intuitive eaters: 

Get on the waitlist for the April session of Savor Group Coaching (Time sensitive!)

Watch the video on the Savor Food and Body YouTube Channel

How’s your relationship with food? Take the quiz to find out!

Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, rate, comment, and share.  This kindness helps other women in midlife find the show too!

You might also like

How to live “beyond the binge”

How to live “beyond the binge”

Feeling exhausted from trying to control your eating, only to end up in a feeding frenzy after you blow your diet? Go from frustrated to confident when you learn how to live "beyond the binge!" Do you feel overwhelmed by trying to "get back on track" with healthy...

Yin Yoga: Empowering All Bodies to Find Their Perfect Balance

Yin Yoga: Empowering All Bodies to Find Their Perfect Balance

Episode 15: Why yoga isn’t about looking great in Lululemon leggings: How many times have you seen a picture on social media or in a magazine of a woman doing yoga and thought, "If only I looked like her, then I'd do yoga?" That's because all we ever see are photos of...

How being a perfectionist will sabotage your health goals

How being a perfectionist will sabotage your health goals

Episode 8. Are you a perfectionist? Do you ever feel the pressure to keep pushing toward perfection? Does your drive for achievement leave you feeling disconnected from your body and your true purpose in life? Dr. Rebecca Sorenson is a former competitive athlete whose...