Intuitive eating - thoughts?
ScratchyAnderson
Posts: 12 Member
Hi all,
I stumbled across the concept of intuitive eating because of my five year old, who has a pediatric feeding disorder (extreme selective eating/ARFID) and sees a team of specialists at our nationally-recognized Children's hospital. There's a lot in the "10 principles" of intuitive eating that resonates with me, and with what I've seen people advise here, especially about rejecting a "diet mentality" and saying no to the food police who would tell you it's about eliminating entire categories of foods. I also like the idea of changing your relationship with how (and why) you eat, and getting to understand your hunger and satiety cues.
The authors of this concept are both well-respected RDs, so while some of this may sound like 'woo', from what I understand, it's based on a real understanding of nutrition and dietetic science.
Curious if anyone else has heard about it, and if so, what you think?
http://www.intuitiveeating.com/content/10-principles-intuitive-eating
I stumbled across the concept of intuitive eating because of my five year old, who has a pediatric feeding disorder (extreme selective eating/ARFID) and sees a team of specialists at our nationally-recognized Children's hospital. There's a lot in the "10 principles" of intuitive eating that resonates with me, and with what I've seen people advise here, especially about rejecting a "diet mentality" and saying no to the food police who would tell you it's about eliminating entire categories of foods. I also like the idea of changing your relationship with how (and why) you eat, and getting to understand your hunger and satiety cues.
The authors of this concept are both well-respected RDs, so while some of this may sound like 'woo', from what I understand, it's based on a real understanding of nutrition and dietetic science.
Curious if anyone else has heard about it, and if so, what you think?
http://www.intuitiveeating.com/content/10-principles-intuitive-eating
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Replies
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In my opinion, it's not woo at all - finding food peace is essential to permanent weight management.
I'm a bit confused about the "adequate energy and carbohydrates" part though, but I assume it's for the ill-informed lowcarbers.
Edited because was unclear.1 -
I've read their book but for me personally, the intuitive eating method is just not realistic for long term weight loss adherence.0
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crzycatlady1 wrote: »I've read their book but for me personally, the intuitive eating method is just not realistic for long term weight loss adherence.
I can identify with this, but at the same time I feel there are things to learn from the approach. Thanks for the link, OP, I'll check it out later on.0 -
I haven't heard it worded like that before, but that's exactly what I had to do, simply because I was driving myself crazy over food choices.kommodevaran wrote: »In my opinion, it's not woo at all - finding food peace is essential to permanently manage weight.
I'm a bit confused about the "adequate energy and carbohydrates" part though, but I assume it's for the ill-informed lowcarbers.
Edited because was unclear.
I hit my goal, and while finding that peace, gained about 4 back, but am now losing that again, fairly quickly.
Now, I do not have the education some of you folks do, but "food peace" makes perfect sense to me, "normalized relations" in that I eat when I'm hungry, stop when no longer hungry, and have no stress over what I'm eating. That's priceless to a guy who could eat an entire cake in one sitting just because it tasted good.
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Yeah. I need to log calories. Hoping that will change, but for now there is no way I could rely on hunger signals to keep my intake in line with where I want it to be.
But if someone can do that, it seems to be a reasonable approach.1 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »Yeah. I need to log calories. Hoping that will change, but for now there is no way I could rely on hunger signals to keep my intake in line with where I want it to be.
But if someone can do that, it seems to be a reasonable approach.
I should have mentioned that I do log everything, even the milk in my coffee now. It's just that the desire to shovel food in (damn I love to eat) has gotten much more in line with where it ought to be,.0 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »Yeah. I need to log calories. Hoping that will change, but for now there is no way I could rely on hunger signals to keep my intake in line with where I want it to be.
But if someone can do that, it seems to be a reasonable approach.
I should have mentioned that I do log everything, even the milk in my coffee now. It's just that the desire to shovel food in (damn I love to eat) has gotten much more in line with where it ought to be,.
Your post wasn't up when I made mine, so I wasn't replying specifically to what you wrote, but I get what you are saying. I'm not there yet. I hope to be by the time I hit my goal, but I will see. Last night it was more wine that I felt like having, but the other night I really wanted a big bag of chips. Knowing I would have to log it and be accountable, even if just to myself, meant I had a small bag of chips and 1 glass of wine, both times within my calorie goals for the day.0 -
This is pretty much what I do...4
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cwolfman13 wrote: »This is pretty much what I do...
+10 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »I've read their book but for me personally, the intuitive eating method is just not realistic for long term weight loss adherence.
I haven't read their book, but in my experience, a lot of people who have had life long issues with weight won't find success with this method because their hunger signals are permanently "broken". This isn't to say it won't work for a select few, but I'm not ever going to be one of them, that's for sure!
For some other people who've only experienced mild middle-age weight creep and need to learn some new habits? It's a viable thing.6 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »crzycatlady1 wrote: »I've read their book but for me personally, the intuitive eating method is just not realistic for long term weight loss adherence.
I haven't read their book, but in my experience, a lot of people who have had life long issues with weight won't find success with this method because their hunger signals are permanently "broken". This isn't to say it won't work for a select few, but I'm not ever going to be one of them, that's for sure!
For some other people who've only experienced mild middle-age weight creep and need to learn some new habits? It's a viable thing.
So, no for someone who's 51 and was 330 lbs then
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3. Make Peace with Food Call a truce, stop the food fight! Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. If you tell yourself that you can't or shouldn't have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and, often, bingeing When you finally “give-in” to your forbidden food, eating will be experienced with such intensity, it usually results in Last Supper overeating, and overwhelming guilt.
Whatever works is the right way so if changing how you think about food gets the job done I'm all for it but this one bit can absolutely steer some people (like me) in the wrong direction. Sometimes it really is just about the food. Eliminating or severely restricting problem foods is the sustainable way to go for many.0 -
It takes a lot of strength and discipline to avoid that which is to a person's detriment. Especially if that particular thing is their "weakness." I don't need to search for reasons why I am prone to eat entire blocks of cream cheese, or massive slices of cake, or huge bowls of ice cream, 3-4 king sized candy bars. I (used to) do it because it was my crack rock. Why did I derive so much pleasure from eating junk? Because it's good! I love the taste, mouth feel, smell, textures, smells etc... which these types of food provide. Moderation in some of these foods is nearly impossible. You may as well tell an alcoholic to go to the bar and drink in moderation. I have no satiety cue when I eat certain things. Certain foods arouse a hunger so voracious it cannot be satiated. So I know better than to have a bowl of cereal at breakfast, or cookies and milk, or a jelly biscuit. I tire of people who think that we all should go and eat things that we have learned to stay away from. There are too many people out here who have proclaimed themselves expert and professional of all things diet and fitness related and who think we all need a talking to if we choose to remove certain problem foods from our regular diets. Rare is the advice which applies to every single person. We all have individual backgrounds, hangups, flaws, tendencies, and methods to our own madness.
That's what I think. Since you asked.0 -
I've had anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder at different points in my life. When I was about 18, after two years of anorexia, I read a bunch of books on eating disorders that espoused similar principles to intuitive eating. I loved the books, but I also have PTSD and at that time in my life, being present with my body was extremely scary. I was anxious all the time. I didn't stick with intuitive eating for very long, because I couldn't figure out my hunger signals. I'd have one chip, then feel full. Ten minutes later, I'd be ravenous. It was scary.
Nowadays (8 years later) I'm working really hard to overcome binge eating disorder. I've embraced some aspects of intuitive eating- I fully believe that I need to find a healthy, sustainable way of eating that will work for the rest of my life. I'm definitely not on a diet. Because I need something sustainable, I do not cut out any types of food. Now I'll have a reasonable portion of dessert instead of the entire bag of fun size candy. But I need MFP and calorie counting because on my own, I can't tell how a days or weeks worth of food choices add up- am I doing okay? Have I had 3,000 calories or 800? Has my body burned X number of calories and if so, how many calories does it need to function? Why am I tired? I can't tell unless I've logged it and can look back at all the numbers. I'm hoping that over time I'll learn to self-regulate, but in the mean time MFP is a life saver.
Sorry for rambling, please take this with a grain of salt because I'm an extreme case with lots of stuff going on. A normal person might be really successful with intuitive eating. We are all so different. Maybe take what makes sense to you from IE and leave the rest.2 -
Thats how ive always eaten and ive been slim all my life ( here to log not lose weight). Ive never had an issue with most of the things in the article.
Im paleo mostly and hypoglycaemic and finding that i like how low carb stabalises my blood sugar. Other than that i have always ate intuitively. Works for me.2 -
A few months ago, I was able to lose weight and stop binge eating due to intuitive eating.
I lost 6 pounds in 1 months without counting calories and I disnt binge eat for 50 days...
Its not fake. Intuitive eating is the natural way to do things. But it takes time, patience, motivation, understanding etc.
Where as calorie counting is just math.1 -
I think there are good points rejecting the diet mentality, make peace with food, but knowing when to stop eating is a problem for a lot of people here so on CICO not all the points would work.0
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I have personally struggled with my weight - either been overweight, or feared getting overweight, and generally worrying about weight, food and eating, all my adult life - until I discovered MFP, that is. I too believed my signals were broken, but it turned out I just had to learn how to pick them up and respect them.GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »crzycatlady1 wrote: »I've read their book but for me personally, the intuitive eating method is just not realistic for long term weight loss adherence.
I haven't read their book, but in my experience, a lot of people who have had life long issues with weight won't find success with this method because their hunger signals are permanently "broken". This isn't to say it won't work for a select few, but I'm not ever going to be one of them, that's for sure!
For some other people who've only experienced mild middle-age weight creep and need to learn some new habits? It's a viable thing.
Just to give some perspective.
How you think about food is so important. "Eliminating or severely restricting problem foods" is not "can't or shouldn't have a particular food/deprivation/forbidden food". You have made an informed choice to not eat something that you know is difficult for you to moderate, and the internal fight stops. Another person may have "heard" that this or that food is "bad for you" without understanding what that would mean, without reflecting, without context. That person would soon feel that he/she is missing out, and the fight begins.AlabasterVerve wrote: »3. Make Peace with Food Call a truce, stop the food fight! Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. If you tell yourself that you can't or shouldn't have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and, often, bingeing When you finally “give-in” to your forbidden food, eating will be experienced with such intensity, it usually results in Last Supper overeating, and overwhelming guilt.
Whatever works is the right way so if changing how you think about food gets the job done I'm all for it but this one bit can absolutely steer some people (like me) in the wrong direction. Sometimes it really is just about the food. Eliminating or severely restricting problem foods is the sustainable way to go for many.3 -
The concept is great but if people have gained weight before whilst eating intuitively (in their opinion), why would it make any difference now.
Without weighing and tracking your food for at least a brief period, one cannot understand what a portion or 100g of chicken looks like.3 -
I also found Ellyn Satter's "What is normal eating" a good read. I think it's the amount of stress that makes eating normal or not. It's not that I can't eat an entire cake in one sitting anymore - I could, I love cake - but I won't - there'd be a very special occasion before I eat way way too much. But I'm not worried about weight gain anymore. Because I'm no longer a person who regularly overeats. The stress and worry about the shoulds and shouldn'ts triggered compulsive eating.
I haven't heard it worded like that before, but that's exactly what I had to do, simply because I was driving myself crazy over food choices.kommodevaran wrote: »In my opinion, it's not woo at all - finding food peace is essential to permanently manage weight.
I'm a bit confused about the "adequate energy and carbohydrates" part though, but I assume it's for the ill-informed lowcarbers.
Edited because was unclear.
I hit my goal, and while finding that peace, gained about 4 back, but am now losing that again, fairly quickly.
Now, I do not have the education some of you folks do, but "food peace" makes perfect sense to me, "normalized relations" in that I eat when I'm hungry, stop when no longer hungry, and have no stress over what I'm eating. That's priceless to a guy who could eat an entire cake in one sitting just because it tasted good.0 -
I'm all for intuitive eating with one cavite: calories still need to be managed because intuition can't always be trusted. I usually eat to satisfaction before logging my food, so in a sense I'm eating intuitively. However, I'm aware of the general calorie impact of my food, and if I know I'm having a higher calorie meal later I pick and choose from the foods I like that I know are lower in calories. If I ate anything that comes to mind every time I was hungry I would not have achieved the loss that I have achieved.
From what I read, the proponents of the movement proclaim that if intuitive eating does not lead to adequate weight loss you need to accept that this is where your body wants to be. I don't believe that people are doomed to be obese for life. Yes, there is a point when one should ask "is it worth it" when evaluating the amount of effort put into staying at a certain vanity weight, but I don't believe for a second that many people would hit that point while still obese.
I do follow a modified version of the main principles that make sense:
1. Reject the Diet Mentality I reject the mentality of dieting, as it is understood by many, but I believe the act of dieting itself (i.e taking steps to control calories) without the usual dieting baggage is necessary for weight loss.
2. Honor Your Hunger I more often than not eat to satisfaction, consuming adequate calories and carbs. There are situations, though, where I get hungry and don't act on that impulse. Hunger is not scary and is an acceptable tradeoff in certain situations.
3. Make Peace with Food I wholeheartedly agree, but making smarter choices in certain situations is an acceptable strategy. That doesn't mean I think certain foods are the devil.
4. Challenge the Food Police 100% agree. Detaching my self-worth from foods and completely uprooting the guilt cycle has been one of the most important (if not the single most important) thing that aided my weight loss.
5. Respect Your Fullness I agree, but don't believe it to be an unbreakable rule. It's okay to be a little bit hungry if you are anticipating a heavier meal later, or to be not hungry and eat for enjoyment sometimes. This should not be an issue as long as it's controlled but not overly stressful. Also, I'm not going to pause and contemplate my fullness. It takes the joy out of the task at hand. When I'm full I'll know it.
6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor Agreed. I always say to myself: if I'm not gonna enjoy it, it's not worth the calories. I might be misunderstanding this point, though, as it's a bit vague.
7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food I agree that emotional eating is a problem that needs to be tackled, but some intuitive eaters take this one to extremes. It's okay to want something comforting sometimes. Evolution has given us mechanisms that make us find food comforting and there is nothing wrong with using that when needed, as long as it's controlled and not a compulsion.
8. Respect Your Body Yeah, no. I'm not gonna settle for an obese weight just because I intuitively like to be there. Dieting needs to be made "as simple as possible, but no simpler". Putting in zero effort is not an option.
9. Exercise--Feel the Difference Why can't we have both? I really dislike it when others tell me what my goals and motivations should be. I'm capable of enjoying an activity initially motivated by calorie burn. The two are not mutually exclusive. And even if someone does not enjoy working out, but is disciplined enough to make it a habit, so what? If it's not disruptive or overly stressful, I don't see an issue. You don't stand there and contemplate how much you enjoy brushing your teeth, but you still reap the benefits.
10. Honor Your Health Agree entirely.1 -
kommodevaran wrote: »
I have personally struggled with my weight - either been overweight, or feared getting overweight, and generally worrying about weight, food and eating, all my adult life - until I discovered MFP, that is. I too believed my signals were broken, but it turned out I just had to learn how to pick them up and respect them.GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »crzycatlady1 wrote: »I've read their book but for me personally, the intuitive eating method is just not realistic for long term weight loss adherence.
I haven't read their book, but in my experience, a lot of people who have had life long issues with weight won't find success with this method because their hunger signals are permanently "broken". This isn't to say it won't work for a select few, but I'm not ever going to be one of them, that's for sure!
For some other people who've only experienced mild middle-age weight creep and need to learn some new habits? It's a viable thing.
Just to give some perspective.
How you think about food is so important. "Eliminating or severely restricting problem foods" is not "can't or shouldn't have a particular food/deprivation/forbidden food". You have made an informed choice to not eat something that you know is difficult for you to moderate, and the internal fight stops. Another person may have "heard" that this or that food is "bad for you" without understanding what that would mean, without reflecting, without context. That person would soon feel that he/she is missing out, and the fight begins.AlabasterVerve wrote: »3. Make Peace with Food Call a truce, stop the food fight! Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. If you tell yourself that you can't or shouldn't have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and, often, bingeing When you finally “give-in” to your forbidden food, eating will be experienced with such intensity, it usually results in Last Supper overeating, and overwhelming guilt.
Whatever works is the right way so if changing how you think about food gets the job done I'm all for it but this one bit can absolutely steer some people (like me) in the wrong direction. Sometimes it really is just about the food. Eliminating or severely restricting problem foods is the sustainable way to go for many.
Congratulations on your success with being able to get in touch with your hunger signals!
IRT problem foods, I think the mindset with them is terribly important. I think it's really important to distinguish between the food being the source of the problem or you being the source of the problem, and you've touched on that brilliantly.
When you acknowledge the the problem is you and not the food, you have the tools to deal with the issue flexibly.
I've been able to either restrict completely or moderate, depending on what's going on in my life because I take responsibility for my behavior with food.2 -
Exactly - I get it, and thanks for the reading referralkommodevaran wrote: »
I also found Ellyn Satter's "What is normal eating" a good read. I think it's the amount of stress that makes eating normal or not. It's not that I can't eat an entire cake in one sitting anymore - I could, I love cake - but I won't - there'd be a very special occasion before I eat way way too much. But I'm not worried about weight gain anymore. Because I'm no longer a person who regularly overeats. The stress and worry about the shoulds and shouldn'ts triggered compulsive eating.
I haven't heard it worded like that before, but that's exactly what I had to do, simply because I was driving myself crazy over food choices.kommodevaran wrote: »In my opinion, it's not woo at all - finding food peace is essential to permanently manage weight.
I'm a bit confused about the "adequate energy and carbohydrates" part though, but I assume it's for the ill-informed lowcarbers.
Edited because was unclear.
I hit my goal, and while finding that peace, gained about 4 back, but am now losing that again, fairly quickly.
Now, I do not have the education some of you folks do, but "food peace" makes perfect sense to me, "normalized relations" in that I eat when I'm hungry, stop when no longer hungry, and have no stress over what I'm eating. That's priceless to a guy who could eat an entire cake in one sitting just because it tasted good.
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Thank you! I'm working on it every day. I have had to "calibrate" and "extrapolate" a lot - my understanding of "full" used to be "can't get down another bite"; now I'm slowly learning that I'm not going to starve to death just because I still have room for more. It feels a bit strange, but at the same time, I know that this is how it's supposed to feel like, it feels good, and I feel much more "normal" eating like this.GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »
I have personally struggled with my weight - either been overweight, or feared getting overweight, and generally worrying about weight, food and eating, all my adult life - until I discovered MFP, that is. I too believed my signals were broken, but it turned out I just had to learn how to pick them up and respect them.GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »crzycatlady1 wrote: »I've read their book but for me personally, the intuitive eating method is just not realistic for long term weight loss adherence.
I haven't read their book, but in my experience, a lot of people who have had life long issues with weight won't find success with this method because their hunger signals are permanently "broken". This isn't to say it won't work for a select few, but I'm not ever going to be one of them, that's for sure!
For some other people who've only experienced mild middle-age weight creep and need to learn some new habits? It's a viable thing.
Just to give some perspective.
How you think about food is so important. "Eliminating or severely restricting problem foods" is not "can't or shouldn't have a particular food/deprivation/forbidden food". You have made an informed choice to not eat something that you know is difficult for you to moderate, and the internal fight stops. Another person may have "heard" that this or that food is "bad for you" without understanding what that would mean, without reflecting, without context. That person would soon feel that he/she is missing out, and the fight begins.AlabasterVerve wrote: »3. Make Peace with Food Call a truce, stop the food fight! Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. If you tell yourself that you can't or shouldn't have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and, often, bingeing When you finally “give-in” to your forbidden food, eating will be experienced with such intensity, it usually results in Last Supper overeating, and overwhelming guilt.
Whatever works is the right way so if changing how you think about food gets the job done I'm all for it but this one bit can absolutely steer some people (like me) in the wrong direction. Sometimes it really is just about the food. Eliminating or severely restricting problem foods is the sustainable way to go for many.
Congratulations on your success with being able to get in touch with your hunger signals!
I didn't know I was being brilliant, but thanksIRT problem foods, I think the mindset with them is terribly important. I think it's really important to distinguish between the food being the source of the problem or you being the source of the problem, and you've touched on that brilliantly.
When you acknowledge the the problem is you and not the food, you have the tools to deal with the issue flexibly.
I've been able to either restrict completely or moderate, depending on what's going on in my life because I take responsibility for my behavior with food. Still, I'm not sure we are totally in agreement (or maybe we are, lots of semantics in these threads). Sometimes the "fault" does not lie entirely with one or the other - the relationship between the food and the eater is dynamic, and flexibility implies being able to work past the black/white thinking. Understanding what's happening, and not blindly accept externally imposed "rules", can help us form our own habits, habits that are healthy, easy and sustainable. 0 -
My intuition tells me 'eat all the cake, it will make you happy' so it doesn't work for me.
Maybe one day, after a few years of logging and balance I will be able to get the hunger signals working like they should but not now.1 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »8. Respect Your Body Yeah, no. I'm not gonna settle for an obese weight just because I intuitively like to be there. Dieting needs to be made "as simple as possible, but no simpler". Putting in zero effort is not an option.
I'm not really interpreting it that way...I'm looking at it more like not everyone can be a size zero for example...my wife, while quite lean will never be a size zero because she has an athletic build and larger bone structure...she's not petite and never will be and it would be unreasonable for her to think she could be...but you see that a lot...people trying to be some body shape that they genetically can't be...also think things like thigh gap, etc.
I'm not interpreting this to mean that it's just ok to be obese because that's just the way you are...2 -
smotheredincheese wrote: »My intuition tells me 'eat all the cake, it will make you happy' so it doesn't work for me.
Maybe one day, after a few years of logging and balance I will be able to get the hunger signals working like they should but not now.
Not cake, but dammit a large deep dish meat lovers pizza sounds good to me right now. No question I could eat 1/2 for lunch and 1/2 for dinner. Wonder what the calorie count would be......0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »8. Respect Your Body Yeah, no. I'm not gonna settle for an obese weight just because I intuitively like to be there. Dieting needs to be made "as simple as possible, but no simpler". Putting in zero effort is not an option.
I'm not really interpreting it that way...I'm looking at it more like not everyone can be a size zero for example...my wife, while quite lean will never be a size zero because she has an athletic build and larger bone structure...she's not petite and never will be and it would be unreasonable for her to think she could be...but you see that a lot...people trying to be some body shape that they genetically can't be...also think things like thigh gap, etc.
I'm not interpreting this to mean that it's just ok to be obese because that's just the way you are...
At the beginning of my post I touched on that point. Of course people need to find a reasonably comfortable maintenance point. I have delved deep into intuitive eating a while back because I'm always on the lookout for things that will make maintenance as smooth as possible, reading all the literature, articles, books, seminars I could get my hands on. The common direction seems to be linked to HAES in way (I did not want to get into that). Some talks even explicitly mentioned that all you need to do is eat intuitively without dieting, and whichever weight you settle at is what your body wants to be and trying to push your weight further down forcefully will suck you back into the dieting mentality, and even if you lose nothing at least you will be happy and learn to accept yourself. It's not an issue of aspiring for an impossible body shape or desiring to be at the bottom of the normal BMI scale.2 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »8. Respect Your Body Yeah, no. I'm not gonna settle for an obese weight just because I intuitively like to be there. Dieting needs to be made "as simple as possible, but no simpler". Putting in zero effort is not an option.
I'm not really interpreting it that way...I'm looking at it more like not everyone can be a size zero for example...my wife, while quite lean will never be a size zero because she has an athletic build and larger bone structure...she's not petite and never will be and it would be unreasonable for her to think she could be...but you see that a lot...people trying to be some body shape that they genetically can't be...also think things like thigh gap, etc.
I'm not interpreting this to mean that it's just ok to be obese because that's just the way you are...
At the beginning of my post I touched on that point. Of course people need to find a reasonably comfortable maintenance point. I have delved deep into intuitive eating a while back because I'm always on the lookout for things that will make maintenance as smooth as possible, reading all the literature, articles, books, seminars I could get my hands on. The common direction seems to be linked to HAES in way (I did not want to get into that). Some talks even explicitly mentioned that all you need to do is eat intuitively without dieting, and whichever weight you settle at is what your body wants to be and trying to push your weight further down forcefully will suck you back into the dieting mentality, and even if you lose nothing at least you will be happy and learn to accept yourself. It's not an issue of aspiring for an impossible body shape or desiring to be at the bottom of the normal BMI scale.
That was pretty much what I found after my reading on the subject too, and like you, I didn't want to get into that either.
The notion of intuitively eating and just accepting that you have to be overweight if that's what you settle at (which is how I also interpreted that "respecting your body") troubles me, especially given the societal trend happening with the normalization of obesity.
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I am doing the intuitive eating approach and log every now and then just to give me an idea. Although I do portion control and usually am full at the end of my meal. A lot of people say that intuitive eating is what got them fat but really you r probably stuffing your intuition way down when you decide to eat a whole large bag of chips or a box of cookies in a a day. I know when I use to binge my inner voice use to scream to stop which I call my intuition. Now I am 30 pounds down, feel comfortable after eating because I am not stuffed and food is not constantly on my mind because there are no forbidden foods. Now certain occasions make this approach a little more difficult like the upcoming holidays but I plan to follow the same approach. Only eat when actually hungry and stop when I start to feel full. And if I splurge a little, get back to normal eating the following day. Part of this approach is also learning how different foods make you feel and choosing the ones that make you feel better. Now I love me some deep fried food and sweets but I usually feel gross after so I limit these. A diet filled with lean proteins and veggies and fruits as well as healthy fats gives me energy and keeps me feeling full longer. Go figure that eating intuitively resembles a balanced diet. Sorry for the long post.2
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