All language subtitles for The.Demi.Lovato.Show.S01E08_English

For years I judged my body.

But when it came time
for it to save my life,

- it fought for me.
- Oh, yes.

I need to treat my body
with the respect that it gave me

because it gave me my life back.

♪♪♪

It's no secret that I've
struggled with body image and
dieting,

and I know I'm
not alone in that,

so today I'm talking to a woman

who's helped me change
my relationship with food.

She's a nutritionist and author
and an all-around amazing woman.

Joining me now, Elyse Resch.

Hi, Elyse. Thank you so much
for coming today.

I look at your philosophy

as the main principle behind
my eating disorder recovery.

I am so honored to be here.
Thank you for inviting me.

Absolutely.

Would you mind sharing what
intuitive eating means to you?

Intuitive eating is
an anti-diet philosophy

that helps people get
reconnected with their inner
wisdom.

We're born with it.

- Mm-hmm.
- And we get so disconnected

because of diet culture.

- Mm-hmm.
- And it taps

into the three
parts of the brain:

the instinctual part,
the emotional part,

and the cognitive part.

So it's a dynamic interplay
of those three parts,

which is so important.

It's not just instinct

because our emotions can
affect our instincts,

and then we use
the cognitive part of our brain

to be able to, uh, calm us down,
take care of our emotions,

and make, you know, the best
decisions for ourselves.

When did you discover
this philosophy?

Well, I had an eating disorder
when I was in my late 20s,

and it was a dieting
and bingeing eating disorder.

So I started to
really understand

the psychology
of why diets didn't work

and why they made me
feel so unhappy

when I thought about them.

That's when I came
to this place of understanding

that this wisdom is inside,

and tapping into people's
internal wisdom

is something that they're going
to be able to sustain

for the rest of their lives.

You said something
really, really interesting

about our DNA blueprint.

- Oh, yes.
- I would love for you

to compare our
weight to our height.

Nobody questions their height.

They may not like it.

They might wish that they were
taller or shorter,

but they just accept it

because this is the way
they're programmed.

Same thing with their foot size
or their eye color.

Yet they think
they can change their weight.

And that's because they're
so brainwashed to believe

that they're supposed to be
a certain size or shape,

which means they should be
able to try to change it,

and if we're just intuitive with
our eating, with our movement,

joyous, enjoying life,

our bodies are going to be
what they're going to be.

- Absolutely.
- I help out people understand

that when you give yourself
the full freedom

to enjoy
what you really want to enjoy

and you stay present,

eventually all foods just become
part of your life

and nothing is, you know,
elevated to a point

of forbiddenness and excitement,

and people are very scared that
if they are intuitive eaters

and let themselves eat
whatever they want

that they'll be out of control,

and it's just the opposite
that happens.

I have clients who say to me,
"I'm such a failure at dieting,"

and I say, "No, you're a success
at ego development.

You have a strong ego.

You're not gonna let anybody
tell you what to eat."

Yes. What a great way
of looking at that.

I love that. Or you're
not a failure at dieting.

You are a success at growing.

Success at growing and healing
and being in touch with
yourself.

It's the whole dieting system
that's a failure, not you.

♪♪♪

How does someone learn
to listen to their body?

First of all, it's an
understanding that the signals
are there.

They were there at birth.

It's much easier to figure out
when you're hungry or full

if you're thinking about
"Oh, is it very satisfying

if I go into this meal
and I'm not hungry?

No I want to wait
till I'm a little bit hungry."

Oh. Comfortable hunger.

You said intuitive eating
is not focused on weight loss.

How do you measure
its success in one's life?

It's mental health.

Being in a place where you're
free to trust your body

and to make peace with food,

which is just
enjoying all foods.

The success is are you now free
to think about other things

rather than
"Did I eat the right food?

Did I eat the wrong food?"
You know, "Am I the right size?"

The freedom to just explore

so many more interesting
and important things in life.

Yes. I feel like intuitive
eating is so powerful

because it's given me space

to use my energy towards
making a difference in the world

and leaving it a better place
than when I got here.

Rather than spending my entire
day obsessing over my image and
myself,

I'm able to now release
those thoughts,

and I'm not a prisoner
in my own mind anymore,

and I'm able to show it
for other people.

- For years I judged my body.
- Mm-hmm.

And I picked it
apart in the mirror,

but when it came time
for it to save my life,

it fought for me,
and it saved my life.

And that was when I realized

I need to treat my body
with the respect that it gave me

because it gave me my life back.

Is there one takeaway
that you would want to leave

with a viewer watching

that may be struggling
with an eating disorder?

Well, I do believe
that intuitive eating

is the final path toward
healing that eating disorder

because, until you have made
full peace with food

and you're tuned into your body

and you're finding
coping mechanisms

and you're not blaming yourself
or judging yourself,

until you've done all of that,
you know,

you're not gonna be able to
fully heal the eating disorder.

- Yes.
- I've found that people may be

renourished if they've been
starving themselves,

if they've had anorexia

or they've stopped
certain behaviors like bulimia.

- Mm-hmm.
- And yet they're not free.

- Yes.
- So they're physically healed,

but they're not mentally healed.

And so intuitive eating
is that final part of it,

the mental and spiritual.

I think that's
what I finally got.

- Thank you so, so much.
- Oh, thank you.

You changed my life
by your philosophy,

and I couldn't be more grateful,

and I'm so excited for
everyone to see this episode.

Thank you.