Why caring about intuitive eating means supporting SNAP and food banks

The baseline of intuitive eating is HAVING ENOUGH TO EAT.

It is hard to experiment with all the nuances and offerings of intuitive eating if you do not have enough to eat.

Intuitive eating reteaches the brain that there is no more scarcity, that it is safe to eat, and that there will be more food again later.

This doesn’t really work so well if you don’t know if that's true.

If you don’t know when your next meal is coming, you will eat as much as possible right now (overriding any intuitive sense that you are full).

How does the brain come to learn food scarcity in the first place?

1. Diets or other ways of eating that restrict food. The body gets the message that there might not be enough food, and so sends the message “EAT FOOD NOW!”

2. Actual famine— living somewhere that does not have food

3. Economic famine— living somewhere where there is food but not enough economic resource to afford food consistently

While the brain might know the difference between all 3, the body doesn’t. The body calculates all 3 to mean food scarcity. This can be why dieting often leads to a slowed metabolism— it’s actually the body’s genius way of surviving harsh conditions.

And this is also why all of us who care about body liberation and intuitive eating must be appalled at the cutting of SNAP benefits. 

Food is a human right. We all deserve nourishment. Ensuring everyone gets a full belly everyday is an excellent use of taxes.

That’s why I decided to donate 100% of the money I make from the Double Whammy workshop to my local food bank. 

And if you can’t pay the full $57 for the workshop, you can pay any amount $0-$56 to join. Even $1. All of it will be going to the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

I dream of a world where everyone gets all the delicious food they want and need. Where all bodies are respected, simply because they exist.