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Have you heard of intuitive eating? It sounds like a new term being thrown around lately but it is not a new way of eating.
Do you know people who seem to be naturally thin and you want to know their secret? What diet they are on? how do they stay thin? They are probably using an intuitive eating method to stay thin. For some people this may come naturally, but others have to learn how to eat this way, and work at it. |
Intuitive eating is not a diet but a way of life.
There are 10 basic principles to intuitive eating;
1. Stop thinking diet
Throw out the diet book!.....if you keep a diet mentality this will hold you back from being able to do intuitive eating. Diet books set you up for failure, then you feel bad about yourself and the spiral of gaining weight continues. If you have any hope at all that the next diet book or diet pill coming out will be the next cure, it will keep you from being an intuitive eater.
2. Listen to your hunger
Keep your body biologically fed with adequate energy and carbohydrates, otherwise you will trigger the desire to overeat. If you wait until you feel excessive hunger all efforts of conscious eating go out the window. Learn to listen to your body's signals for hunger, then you will be able to rebuild trust between yourself and food.
3. Make peace with food
Stop the food fight! Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. If you tell yourself that you cannot have a certain food it will create a more intense desire to have that food which can result in overeating and bingeing. When you finally "give in" to your forbidden food it is done with such intensity you are not even able to enjoy it, which results in overeating and guilt.
4. Challenge the food police
Say "NO" to thoughts that declare you are "good" for eating under 1000 calories or "bad" because you ate a piece of chocolate cake. The food police are buried deep in you psyche and it is there to give negative feedback, make you feel hopeless and guilty. Chasing the food police away is a critical step in returning to intuitive eating.
5. Recognize fullness
Listen to your body's signals that tell you when you are no longer hungry. Observe signs that tell you that you are comfortably full, pause in the middle of the meal and ask yourself;
- How does the food taste?
- What is my current fullness level
Upcoming blog to address hunger and fullness signals
6. Discover satisfaction
The Japanese have the wisdom to promote pleasure as one of the goals of healthy living. In our efforts to stay or become thin and healthy, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence--the pleasure and satisfaction that is found in the eating experience. When you eat what you really want in an environment that is inviting and conductive, the pleasure you create is a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. By providing this experience for yourself, you will find that it takes much less food to decide you have had enough. How to apply this in your life? Set the table for dinner with a nice cloth or place mats, have candles and nice music going to make your dining experience more than just your plate of food.
7. Listen to your feelings without using food
Find ways to comfort, nurture, distract, and resolve issues without using food. Anxiety, loneliness, anger, boredom and stress are emotions we experience in our lives. Each has it's own trigger, food will not fix any of these feelings even though it does feel that way at the time. It only provides short term comfort, numbs the pain, and leaves you with a food hangover. Eating for emotional hunger will only leave you feeling worse in the long run. Don't be afraid to seek professional counseling, this may help you cope with your emotions without having to turn to food.
8. Respect your body
Accept your genetic blueprint. Do expect to fit into a size 6 shoe if you are a size 8, it is just as uncomfortable to have the same expectations with body size. Your goal is not to be a size 0, or look like the models in the magazines. It is hard to reject the diet mentality if you are unrealistic and overly critical about your body shape.
9. Exercise--feel the difference
Forget rigorous exercise.....just get active, and feel the difference. Focus on how good you feel after being active, do something that you like whether it be going on walks, playing ball with the kids, playing tennis, or any other activity. Don't focus on how many calories you are burning while exercising, this is hard to keep track of and will only frustrate you, set a time limit for your exercise instead. If when you wake up, your only goal is to lose weight that day, you will not feel motivated to enjoy physical activity, do not make it a chore.
10. Honor your health
Make food choices that honor your health and taste buds, while making you feel well. You do not have to eat a perfect diet to stay healthy, you will not get a nutrient deficiency or gain weight form one snack, meal, or day of eating. It is what you eat consistently over time that matters, progress not perfection is what counts.
Adapted and modified from
Intuitive Eating, byEvelyn Tribole, MS, RD and ElyseResch, MS, RD, FADA.
Last Updated ( Friday, 26 March 2010 13:36 )
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