Guest Post written by Hande Mirel of Let’s Start Pilates

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I used to think a “real workout” meant spending hours at the gym and dripping in sweat until you’re out of breath. I'd tear myself apart with long, intense workouts to see results. I would DREAD working out.

My name is Hande. I am a certified Pilates teacher and the creator of Letsstartpilates.com, based in the beautiful San Francisco. I'm far from a perfectionist, but I spent years thinking that I had to follow a plan perfectly, do exercises perfectly, never skip a workout, never have an "off" meal, etc...in order to be fit and healthy.

As a result, I found myself grinding away at the gym, gasping for breath as I forced myself to perform high-intensity workouts. I’d spend hours scrolling through “fitspiration” accounts on Instagram, drinking in images of women with perfect physiques and gorgeous bodies. The addiction only served to fuel my own self-limiting beliefs. It was unhealthy. Self-sabotaging. And it certainly weighed on my mental health.

So, what changed? I discovered a way of moving my body that works for ME through the power of Pilates and how impactful intuitive movement could be. 

What is Intuitive Movement?  Moving in a way that feels good to you. Tuning in and listening to exactly what your body and mind are craving and whatever movement would honor you in that moment.

What is Pilates? Pilates is a form of exercise designed for enhancing strength, flexibility, and body awareness. Pilates offers plenty of benefits to your body like a stronger core, better posture, improved spinal health, stability, and overall better well being through the use of precise, low impact movements with breath control.

After integrating intuitive movement into my Pilates practice, for the first time in my life, exercise felt like I was giving my body and mind the self-love (not self-punishment) they deserve. My focus shifted from losing weight and looking “skinny” to feeling GREAT inside. It was no longer about having a “bikini body,” six-pack abs, or counting every single calorie. Instead, it was all about my mood and a holistic approach to my overall health. 

Flipping this mental switch taught me to be kind to my body and work with it, not against it. And looking better on the outside became a natural result of these efforts. I call this exercise freedom. Here is how you can practice intuitive movement and achieve exercise freedom.

3 WAYS TO HAVE EXERCISE FREEDOM AND PRACTICE INTUITIVE MOVEMENT 

1. Do a Self Check-in before working out

Have you ever taken a moment to pause and reflect on how you are feeling that day and what your body is craving before a workout? We like to treat movement like it’s another thing on our endless to-do lists. Like it’s something you dread but “should” do? Like there’s no in-between? No healthy balance? Why are we forcing ourselves to wake up at 5am in the morning to do a HIIT class when our body needs rest or a more gentle movement? 

For this tip, I want you to do a self check in before and after your workouts. Ask yourself these questions: “What does my body need today?”, “What type of movement do I feel like doing?”, or “What type of exercise would be most beneficial to my body today?” Some days this may mean you do an intense spin class, while other days it may mean restorative pilates or a short walk. Intuitive movement is flexible, not rigid, and gives you the space to explore what feels good in your body.

2. Shift Your Reason for Movement

Who the heck feels good and positive about their body 100% of the time? I mean, let’s be real here. Some days you feel good about your body, some days you don’t  – but every day you can respect your body. This is why I think we should unlink exercise from weight and dieting and focus on taking care of your body, mind, and health.  

For this tip, practice shifting your motive for movement. When that “should” voice pops up (“I should exercise more to lose weight…”) take a moment to pause and ask yourself why? Do this with kind curiosity. When our motivation for movement is extrinsically motivated, ie as a way to look a certain way, we’ll forever be stuck in the on-again-off-again loop with exercise. There are so many “better” reasons to move your body. Do it because it brings you joy, gives you energy and strength, improves your mood, grounds and comforts you, or something else you might need in this moment.  Simple, but not easy!

I decided to take this unique and transformative approach to Pilates after witnessing how impactful it was in helping others have a better relationship with their body and exercising. By adopting this mindset, you’ll never feel like you’ve “failed.” 

3. Be Aware of Your Triggers 

Triggers can appear in a medley of different ways. Maybe you have a body-shaming friend or aunt. Or, maybe an influencer on social media feels compelled to share her “fat burning” workout routine. Whatever the case may be, be aware of what triggers you. Yes, I realize it’ll be tough. But, it can also be life-changing. Protect yourself by increasing your awareness and creating an environment that’s empowering rather than cynical.

There are going to be times in life where you feel down in the dumps. And that’s okay – no one is perfect. When you feel like you’re sliding towards a dark place, talk yourself into a safer, kinder mindset. It may sound silly, but you’d be pleasantly surprised how something as small as telling yourself, “ Diet culture is capitalizing on my insecurities. The perfect body? Doesn’t exist. I will not let the fitness (or food) industry dictate my life. I choose to trust my body here, not them.” Not only are you speaking the truth, but you’re prioritizing self-love, which is crucial for your well-being. 

Embracing this new mindset will help you to stay consistent for the long haul. It will help you to break old habits that used to hold you back so that you can become the healthy, happy, and strong woman you want to be. When we stop criticizing, judging, and disrespecting our bodies, we can finally start to transform.

Want to experience the transformative power of Pilates in a safe and empowering community? Start Your 7-Day Free Trial of The Pilates Club Now!

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Visit Hande’s Online Pilates Programs: https://www.letsstartpilates.com/ 

Connect with Hande on IG: www.instagram.com/letsstartpilates

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Curious about Intuitive Eating? Have your assumptions about it but not sure what it REALLY is?!

All good boo! I am breaking it all down for you, the myths and the truths behind what Intuitive Eating really is so that you can start to educate yourself if you are considering the Intuitive Eating path.

A good place to start is learning the steps to Mindful Eating on a day to day basis - slowing down to focus in on your hunger and fullness cues and to be present with your food. I call Mindful Eating a “lily pad” as you make your way from one side of the pond (Diet Culture) to the other (Intuitive Eating) .

And as you make your way across the food freedom pond, here are some myths about Intuitive Eating so you have a better understanding before you head down this path.

LET’S DIVE IN TO THE MYTHS!

1. Intuitive Eating is a diet for weight loss.
Yep, definitely a myth and the first one I remind my clients of, and also reply to in emails and DMs. Intuitive Eating is not a diet for weight loss. Instead it is learning how to eat OUTSIDE the diet mentality and creating a healthy relationship with food. I use Intuitive Eating in my practice with clients who are recovering from disordered eating to help them heal their relationship with food. To do so, the first step (or lily pad) is to ditch the diet mentality and to unlink food from any rules. Instead, Intuitive Eating looks at food through a lens of satisfaction and enjoyment. For example, on a diet you may look at a bowl of oatmeal topped with fruit and nuts and think “How many calories or grams of carbs are in it? If I eat it do I need to restrict carbs or calories later? With intuitive eating, you simply look at the bowl of oatmeal and ask: Do I want it? You may naturally consider other factors as well from old programming, but it all starts with this simple question.

2. Nutrition is thrown out the window.

This one is a classic. The belief that once you allow yourself to eat what you want, you won’t be able to control your cravings and it will be pizza and ice cream all day long. Won’t this lead to more bingeing and eating ALL OF THE THINGS?! The quick answer is no, but there may be a honeymoon period. One of my clients told me, “I knew I had figured out Intuitive Eating when I went out to lunch with coworkers and ordered a salad, NOT because it was the healthy item on the menu but because I truly wanted it". I think this sums up the Intuitive Eating nicely, but for some there is an in between phase.

The honeymoon period: when you first break out of the diet prison, you might get a little excited. This is because your brain is used to that in-between-diets phase, and it knows the routine: Stock up on the good stuff now, because it's only a matter of time before the pizza and ice cream is off of the table again. So whatever your forbidden fruit was, you might go through an initial phase where you're eating more of those things, and that's normal. It can be really scary, but trust me that this is normal. And, IT WILL PASS. Eventually, you realize pizza and ice cream aren't going anywhere, and so you don't have to hoard them. Your body gets the message: Oh, these are always available? OK cool, because I am getting sick of them and a salad or fish and veggies sounds pretty good right now.

3. You will gain weight.

This isn’t really so much of a myth as it is an unknown. Because here is the truth, when you start to eat intuitively you will either lose weight, gain weight or your weight will stay the same. Intuitive Eating isn’t about the weight. If weight gain is a worry for you, ask yourself where this discomfort is coming from - Diet culture? A society that praises thinness? Internalized fat phobia?

Because weight has nothing to do with Intuitive Eating. This is because you cannot simultaneously create a better or more neutral relationship with food and focus on weight loss. As goals, they are like two magnets held together - they repel each other.

I mean yeah, weight change is a likely side effect of changing your eating habits. But, that change isn't going to look the same for everyone. If your body has excess weight to lose, you probably will lose it. But, if you have been restricting for years and your weight reflects this, you will probably gain weight as your metabolism has slowed while in starvation mode. This takes some time to catch up and for homeostasis (balance) to take place.

Another thing to remember is that normal eaters fluctuate, too. Not just disordered eating. Our bodies reflect our lives and we have to learn to recognize that without judgment and to give ourselves more grace while we check in with where the discomfort is coming from.

4. It’s easy!

I feel like this is the allure of diets, we perceive them as an easy way to lose weight. This makes sense as they promise so much - Lose 30 pounds in 30 days! Sure thing, it may be easy to watch the weight fall off on your first diet and then dieting becomes addicting as a quick fix. But we are missing the statistics that most diets (95% to be exact) don’t work, just take the long-term results of the show the Biggest Loser as an example of what happens to weight and metabolism overtime when you constantly diet.

Intuitive Eating is a big change if you are crossing the pond from the other side of diet culture. And change is hard. It takes time. Intuitive eating is about real, long-term change.

5. It works for everyone

Well, technically, this one may actually be true. Because in the end, intuitive eating really just means, well, eating! It's about eating based on your needs (your mind and your body’s needs), not a diet's rules — so if you put it like that, I guess Intuitive Eating is for everyone. But, if you've been burned by diets, lifestyle labels and strict meal plans in the past, then you may not want to align yourself with any kind of “program”. That's totally fair. But loop this back to myth 1, Intuitive Eating isn’t a diet or a program (wink, wink).

Not quite ready to take the leap and need a framework to bridge you from diet culture/disordered eating to Intuitive Eating? I created an Intuitive Eating Nutrition Plan with an easy to follow framework that includes mix n’ match meal grids (so you can eat what you want!) and worksheets to tap into your hunger and full cues.

Remember, it is important to meet yourself exactly where you are on your journey and grow from there. No judgements. :)

When it comes to intuitive eating, there is a lot of talk about hunger. Eating intuitively is not just about eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. It is about quieting the external messages we receive from Diet Culture which disconnects us from our body, telling us to follow certain food rules and to be insecure and anxious about our food choices. When we are disconnected from our bodies, it becomes difficult and sometimes impossible to pay attention to our hunger cues. We have made up so many rules in our minds that we no longer can hear our body.    

One thing I frequently discuss with clients who are working to break the binge/restrict cycle or to calm anxiety with food, are hunger cues. Specifically the types of hunger that we experience which can be tapped into.  This helps my clients to better understand what might be fueling their desire to eat in order to better respond to their body’s cues.

THE FIVE TYPES OF HUNGER IN INTUITIVE EATING

1.     Physical Hunger

2.     Emotional Hunger

3.     Taste Hunger

4.     Necessity Hunger

5.     Nutrient Hunger

When reading through and then recognizing the different types of hunger, it is important to note that all of these are NORMAL AND VALID.  We may have been taught to believe that any other type of hunger that is not physical must not be real, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

What is important is to know which type of hunger you are experiencing so that you have the tools to satisfy it without guilt or shame. To embrace all of them equally as a part of the human experience with food, emotions, taste and pleasure.

1.     Physical Hunger comes from our need for energy. This can manifest as that gnawing feeling in your stomach and also as fatigue, headaches, shakiness, irritability and moodiness. When we are physically hungry, we should eat!

2.     Emotional Hunger is when you have an unmet emotional need that increases your desire to eat. I personally hate that emotional eating has a negative connotation as I truly believe emotional eating is normal and healthy eating. A lot of people refer to binge eating as emotional eating, but these are actual separate. Binge eating is used to not feel emotion at all, and to instead shut it out. By bingeing, we are not meeting our emotional need and instead are suppressing it.

Emotional hunger can also be confused with physical hunger.  The difference is that emotional hunger comes on quickly and is usually coupled with an uncomfortable or intense emotion which can be sadness, anxiety, lonliness, and also extreme joy.  You feel it more in your head than in your stomach and can therefore come on an hour or two after eating.

3.     Taste Hunger is present when you are craving something specific.  Meaning a certain food just sounds dang good! An example of this is being at a wedding and wanting a slice of the cake because it sounds really good, even if you just ate a big dinner. It can be the same at a restaurant when you are satisfied with your meal and want a dessert.  This usually means you are eating when you are not hungry, and remember, you are allowed to eat when you are not hungry and that is totally normal!

4.     Necessity Hunger isn’t truly hunger but rather a need to eat in anticipation of hunger later when you won’t be able to eat. Let’s say you are at work and you have back to back meeting coming up, during which you will likely get hungry.  Although you are not hungry in the moment, you eat in order to stay ahead of the inevitable hunger. Remember that this “hunger” is valid and very important to pay attention to.

5.     Nutrient Hunger comes from our need for nourishment. Aka, you head to Vegas for a bachelorette party and you come back craving veggies and green juice. Or you are craving red meat after you finish your menstrual cycle and enter the follicular phase. Our bodies are smart, they know exactly what nutrients we need and when. Diets such as keto, paleo or being vegan can remove entire healthy food groups with essential nutrients that our bodies may need and be asking for when we are restricting.

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