Internal Instinct

Internal Instinct Lydia Irving is a holistic gut feeling Nutritionist. (BHSc Nut Med)

Good people ☀️ Good food ☀️Good life Loved how a holiday can be so nourishing and inspiring. Seeing my friends The Wagne...
26/08/2026

Good people ☀️ Good food ☀️Good life
Loved how a holiday can be so nourishing and inspiring.

Seeing my friends The Wagners
Visiting Gardeners
Sophia and I in Bangalow
Me showing Alex how tall this entry way and how tall I am as a by product
Cosy perfect cottage stay
Girl Alex cooking me breakfast with sourdough made by The Wagners (ft Bonn Bonn)

I call myself an unconventional nutritionist 🥳because I care way more about context and nuance than rigid health dogma.....
22/07/2026

I call myself an unconventional nutritionist 🥳because I care way more about context and nuance than rigid health dogma...

Oh and here are 3 super fast meals instead of snacks:
☀️ rice, tinned fish, cucumber with mayo and soy sauce. Finished with some fruit - canned, fresh or dried.
☀️prosciutto, Swiss cheese, olives and baguette/bagel/focaccia + coffee w sug and milk
☀️ Greek yoghurt/Skyr/cottage cheese, rolled oats plus honey/maple syrup and any kind of fruit of your desire.

And for kids:
☀️ homemade egg custard
☀️ homemade meringues
☀️stewed fruit and Greek yoghurt
☀️French toast bites
☀️baked potato wedges with sour cream and sweet chilli

Make your food tasty by using my favourite flavours and preservatives - sugar and salt!

Stop making bliss balls from activated nuts and dates instead of sugar - i mean they’re fine… but have you tried homemade old fashioned custard!? Goes down easier and nutrient dense and can be added to fruit and homemade apple pie 😇😇 just saying … healthy doesn’t mean sugar free. A spoon full of sugar helps to micronutrients in other foods go down - or something like that.

15/07/2026

Food cravings aren’t leading you astray! There is often good reason for the cravings. Could be emotional but often the body is communicating its needs. If you believe butter or sugar to be a bad food then you’re going to have to work hard to fight your biology. Fat is a source of energy, sugar is a source of energy. And foods that contain micronutrients like butter and grains - can supply the body with the nutrients to make energy from the consumed calories. Sometimes the pigs love the sourdough bread and sometimes they don’t like the pellet and just want a baguette. Also, when their paddocks are running low on “greens” their preference changes. When we move them onto fresh pasture they can totally ignore the pellet and the bread and just want grass!

You have this within you but you have filled your brain up with silly nutrition beliefs that go against your biology. How to strengthen your internal instinct?

Get rid of silly food rules.
Eat balanced meals at regular times
Prioritise tasty homemade foods from whole food ingredients.

Start there 💪🏽

12/07/2026

Nutrition is important but the way it’s being shared and popularised is harmful. No, sugar doesn’t make you fat. No, you don’t need to eat a block of butter everyday to prevent Alzheimers. No, your IBS isn’t caused by lectins and phytates. No, you don’t need to skip lunch to increase energy. It’s time to grow up and out of diets and food relationships that stress us out. If food is a source of stress, we’re screwed.

If you’re reading this or listening to me and it’s stressing you out and you’re asking “so what? Do I just eat junk and not bother!?” Or “so what can I eat!?” - you’re in a familiar stress state. Of course this doesn’t mean only eat junk. And if you’re asking what can I eat, it’s time to take the power back. Your body knows what it wants when it is well fed. You don’t get tricked.

Start by becoming aware of how often your thoughts are about food. Are you judging others? Fearing foods? Dissecting nutrition podcasts? Constantly thinking about the next supplement that will cure you? Observe those thoughts … are they serving your body?

10/07/2026

I truly believe if you change your relationship from “this food is bad for xyz” and instead start asking - “how can I provide my body with what it needs to increase energy, capacity and resilience” you will be in a much better position.

Avoiding certain foods to avoid disease has not proven to work. Instead, you just becoming that annoying person with food rules and telling everyone that what they’re eating is killing them. That in itself creates stress.

Learning how to consume what your body needs from food and your environment may not prevent disease and sickness but it can help you increase your capacity to recover. Living in fear is corrosive ♥️

Do you even understand what “Balancing Blood Sugar” means? Would you like me to make it clearer?

Why skipping breakfast is a trap (and what to eat instead!) 👇Your day is going to throw a lot at you. Why face it on emp...
09/07/2026

Why skipping breakfast is a trap (and what to eat instead!) 👇
Your day is going to throw a lot at you. Why face it on empty? Eating breakfast lowers stress hormones and boosts your energy production. When you skip it, your body has to work overtime, breaking down its own tissue just to keep you moving. That’s fine for sleeping, but not ideal for living, working, and playing!

How to build a resilient morning plate:
🍳 Keep it easy: If your digestion is sluggish, reach for easy-to-digest carbs like stewed fruit.
💪 Add protein: Pair it with Greek yogurt, eggs, cottage cheese, or meat to make that energy last.
🥝 Boost the fiber: High-fiber fruits like kiwi or passionfruit are game-changers.
🥞 Make it delicious: Most importantly, eat what you love! (For me, that’s eggy French toast or pancakes with cottage cheese and cooked fruit).
☕️ ...and always, always serve with coffee (helps you make energy from the food)
💬 What do you like to have for breakfast?

09/07/2026

I think eating enough food to supply you with energy at the time of day when you need the energy is a great place to start. Well fed means increased capacity and resilience to the stressors of life ♥️

“What supplement should I take for bloating and fatigue?” - I hear these types of questions all the time! They’re silly...
07/07/2026

“What supplement should I take for bloating and fatigue?” - I hear these types of questions all the time! They’re silly.
My honest answer after 10 years as a nutritional medicine practitioner?
None. Nada! Not yet!!! 🛑

If you’re currently googling that question (I know you have been), I need you to step away from the search bar because you are shooting yourself in the foot.

The wellness industry has conditioned us to treat our bodies like a game of whack-a-mole. Got a symptom? Buy a pill/do a cleanse. But your bloating and fatigue aren’t an “ashwagandha deficiency” or a lack of a $200 specialty probiotic (to be clear, I have nothing against ashwagandha or probiotics - keep reading to understand).

Your symptoms are a loud, clear sign that your body lacks the metabolic capacity and energy to heal.
Look closer, ask better questions. Are you actually missing a supplement, or are you:
🐓Skipping meals and trying to ignore your hunger cues?
🐓Destroying yourself at the gym while under-fueling?
🐓Living in constant fear that your food contains “toxins” like oxalates or lectins?
🐓Eating a mountain of raw, hard-to-digest “health foods” that your stressed gut can’t handle?
🐓Constantly thinking mean thoughts towards yourself and body?
Stop giving nutrition the power to save you, and stop treating your body like it’s broken.😞
What to do instead: Make peace with calories.
Learn how much your body actually needs to create energy.
Prioritize easy-to-digest, cooked carbohydrates. Shift from “fixing” to fueling.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - STOP MAKING NUTRITION YOUR GOD AND STOP PUTTING HEALTH “experts” ON PEDESTALS!
♥️Lydia xx

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Forster, NSW
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