Intuitive Eating Tip: Keep Your Fridge Stocked

This week I learned the importance of keeping your fridge stocked. And no, I don’t mean just making sure there is food in it (though that is also important), I mean making sure there is a variety of food in it.

My parents are in town right now and when I’ve been over at their place I’ve found myself bingeing — at least overeating — on the foods I don’t have at home, like those yummy cookies with the yellow icing and sprinkles on top or chocolate covered cranberries YUM!

I had to ask myself why it was that I was overeating these foods that I didn’t even bother to put on my own grocery list.

See, I had allowed myself to believe I didn’t really like these foods. The cookies are too salty, they make me thirsty. The chocolate cranberries are too sweet, they make my stomach ache. Eating these foods just isn’t worth it. And, yes, maybe this is true, but only when I eat them in excess. I didn’t want to acknowledge that – or should I say ED didn’t want me to acknowledge that – and so I told myself I didn’t like these foods (along with many others) and that’s how I found myself where I was this week – with a fridge filled with food, but it was

I told myself I didn’t like these foods (along with many others), and I didn’t bother keeping them around the house.

This is how I found myself with a fridge filled with food, but lacking variety.

I had managed to trim down my list of “foods I live” to something so small that each day I was eating some variation of ham and cheese muffins, strawberry muffins, chicken samosas, V8 juice, and pasta. And maybe a yam every now and again. This is not a balanced diet, and if I am honest with myself, I realize this isn’t an “intuitive” diet, either.

Because I was (albeit subconsciously) restricting myself from a variety, when I did come in contact with foods not part of my regular rotation, I would binge.

So what did I do?

I took a trip to the grocery store and filled my cart.

I bought new types of salad dressing; a variety of meats; various snack foods like banana chips and chocolate covered almonds, and, yes, I even bought the cookies with the yellow icing and sprinkles on top.

I think it is important for us to keep variety in our kitchen, even if it means we buy the cookies and they sit on the shelf for a month, unopened — at least, we know they are there and we can have them if and when we want them, because you can’t eat intuitively if your cupboards aren’t stocked with foods to honour your cravings.

What’s in your cupboards? Is it time to go grocery shopping?

Lauren Bersaglio

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Lauren is the Founder of Libero Magazine. She started Libero in April 2010, when she shared her story about her struggles with an eating disorder and depression. Now, Lauren uses her writing and videos to advocate for mental health. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, playing cozy video games, and taking selfies with her 65lb goldendoodle, Zoey.