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"No calorie-counting needed, just "eat intuitively" folks!"
Replies
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gradchica27 wrote: »bmeadows380 wrote: »And don't get me started on using nuts as a snack food! I had to warn my sister on that one when she started counting calories and trying to find healthier snacks than her usual doritoes. I warned her to weigh any type of nut that she wanted to snack on to make sure she had a serving size because they are so calorie dense. She was shocked to see that less than 1/4 cup of nuts was a serving size with 170 calories in that! I can say from ample personal experience that I could easily down 1500 calories a day in nuts by myself - I could polish off half a can of mixed nuts !
This. Nuts. Nut butter. All the avocados. Even beans and fish. I could easily eat a can of beans or 8-10 oz of salmon with my veggies and not feel at all uncomfortable or even “full”. Whenever I detour into the “more produce! Down with processed foods and calorie counting!” Territory I gain weight. Probably bc I can’t get enough filling non-meat protein without a dang protein bar, so I’m a ravenous beast that eats a whole cantaloupe.
It also makes me *less* mindful of how much I eat. I forget the handfuls of nuts, etc that are pushing me into a small but meaningful surplus. Then my portions start getting incrementally larger, and bam, I’m up 8 lbs. mostly that was April. Still fighting my way back from that.
But nuts are natural? How is this the possible?!?!?
Curse you nature!!!7 -
gradchica27 wrote: »bmeadows380 wrote: »And don't get me started on using nuts as a snack food! I had to warn my sister on that one when she started counting calories and trying to find healthier snacks than her usual doritoes. I warned her to weigh any type of nut that she wanted to snack on to make sure she had a serving size because they are so calorie dense. She was shocked to see that less than 1/4 cup of nuts was a serving size with 170 calories in that! I can say from ample personal experience that I could easily down 1500 calories a day in nuts by myself - I could polish off half a can of mixed nuts !
This. Nuts. Nut butter. All the avocados. Even beans and fish. I could easily eat a can of beans or 8-10 oz of salmon with my veggies and not feel at all uncomfortable or even “full”. Whenever I detour into the “more produce! Down with processed foods and calorie counting!” Territory I gain weight. Probably bc I can’t get enough filling non-meat protein without a dang protein bar, so I’m a ravenous beast that eats a whole cantaloupe.
It also makes me *less* mindful of how much I eat. I forget the handfuls of nuts, etc that are pushing me into a small but meaningful surplus. Then my portions start getting incrementally larger, and bam, I’m up 8 lbs. mostly that was April. Still fighting my way back from that.
But nuts are natural? How is this the possible?!?!?
Curse you nature!!!
I know you are being funny, but I know the answer. Nature didn't package nuts in bags, roast them, put salt on them and then put them on a shelf at the market where we could drive, searching only for the closest parking spot to the door. Nor did nature develop Amazon Prime so that nuts, as described above, would just show up on our front porch.
Most of us in the Western World do not need to work to grow or gather our food.
The new "a nature intended" is pre-packaged and possibly delivered.7 -
tbright1965 wrote: »gradchica27 wrote: »bmeadows380 wrote: »And don't get me started on using nuts as a snack food! I had to warn my sister on that one when she started counting calories and trying to find healthier snacks than her usual doritoes. I warned her to weigh any type of nut that she wanted to snack on to make sure she had a serving size because they are so calorie dense. She was shocked to see that less than 1/4 cup of nuts was a serving size with 170 calories in that! I can say from ample personal experience that I could easily down 1500 calories a day in nuts by myself - I could polish off half a can of mixed nuts !
This. Nuts. Nut butter. All the avocados. Even beans and fish. I could easily eat a can of beans or 8-10 oz of salmon with my veggies and not feel at all uncomfortable or even “full”. Whenever I detour into the “more produce! Down with processed foods and calorie counting!” Territory I gain weight. Probably bc I can’t get enough filling non-meat protein without a dang protein bar, so I’m a ravenous beast that eats a whole cantaloupe.
It also makes me *less* mindful of how much I eat. I forget the handfuls of nuts, etc that are pushing me into a small but meaningful surplus. Then my portions start getting incrementally larger, and bam, I’m up 8 lbs. mostly that was April. Still fighting my way back from that.
But nuts are natural? How is this the possible?!?!?
Curse you nature!!!
I know you are being funny, but I know the answer. Nature didn't package nuts in bags, roast them, put salt on them and then put them on a shelf at the market where we could drive, searching only for the closest parking spot to the door. Nor did nature develop Amazon Prime so that nuts, as described above, would just show up on our front porch.
Most of us in the Western World do not need to work to grow or gather our food.
The new "a nature intended" is pre-packaged and possibly delivered.
Yeah? I like raw almonds even more than roasted. At one time, I could devour a Costco sized bag in about a month. I did this frequently until I realized how many calories I was eating. I didn’t do this to the roasted types, for whatever reason.1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Honestly telling an overweight person that all they need to do to get to a healthy weight is to "eat intuitively" is like telling a person suffering from chronic depression that all they need to do is "cheer up". It is absurdly reductionist and not helpful.
Thank you! Especially when you look at scientific, academic articles on obesity and the hormones that regulate hunger/fullness in the brain. And then you have eating disorders, which are another thing entirely.
Intuitive eating is great for some. Not for me.2 -
But I do love their free, online videos. And of all the crappy diet advice out there, this is probably the least harmful.0
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Intuitive eating does work for some people.
i get that it is harder to lose weight that way because you are deliberately changing your eating habits.
But many people are healthy weight and do not get overweight and they do not count calories or do any other form of deliberate control to stay that way.2 -
JerSchmare wrote: »Different things work for different people. Preaching one method over another, no matter how rational or awesome it is,is looked down upon by someone else that has success doing something different. Remember that calorie counters.
+13 -
paperpudding wrote: »Intuitive eating does work for some people.
i get that it is harder to lose weight that way because you are deliberately changing your eating habits.
But many people are healthy weight and do not get overweight and they do not count calories or do any other form of deliberate control to stay that way.
Exactly. Intuitive eating works for people who have no weight issue - that's how they maintain their weight!
For people who have weight issues, it's NEVER going to work - the fact that we're underweight/overweight itself shows that we don't know how to eat intuitively.
I mean, sure, we can try and focus more on our hunger signals, but when people mistake hunger with cravings, well... that's not going to work either.
I can't lose weight without feeling hungry at least 3 hours a day, for example. If I eat intuitively, I'll just end up gaining weight back.5 -
What works for me is routine.
I eat basically the same things every-day & rarely switch things up. I eat foods that fill me up & keep my calories in check. I can pretty much stop logging but I do log during the week but the weekends I don't bother because I am so busy I actually forget to eat or only eat when my energy levels are depleted.2 -
Humans have never been "intuitive eaters". Pre-agricultural era, they ate whatever they could scavenge or kill in as great of quantities as possible and hoped that this was enough to sustain them until the next time food was available. That is why we are so efficient at storing fat. Becoming advanced and affluent enough to have as much food as we wanted as often as we wanted has lead to the US currently suffering from being over 2/3rds overweight or obese. Relying on our intuition has proven a disastrous strategy for most of us.8
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People who are leaner eat HABITUALLY. Go to countries overseas where weight isn't a big issue. Their meals are smaller. You bring those same people to a country like the US and their habitual eating habit changes and they can gain weight within the first 5 years. It's very common.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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paperpudding wrote: »Intuitive eating does work for some people.
i get that it is harder to lose weight that way because you are deliberately changing your eating habits.
But many people are healthy weight and do not get overweight and they do not count calories or do any other form of deliberate control to stay that way.
Exactly. Intuitive eating works for people who have no weight issue - that's how they maintain their weight!
For people who have weight issues, it's NEVER going to work - the fact that we're underweight/overweight itself shows that we don't know how to eat intuitively.
I mean, sure, we can try and focus more on our hunger signals, but when people mistake hunger with cravings, well... that's not going to work either.
I can't lose weight without feeling hungry at least 3 hours a day, for example. If I eat intuitively, I'll just end up gaining weight back.
I think we've become afraid to feel hungry, or convince ourselves that if we ever get hungry we're doing something 'wrong.' I'm not sure when a grumbly tummy became the harbinger of impending doom. No, one shouldn't feel ready to gnaw one's own arm off for hours every day, but feeling a bit peckish for an hour or two before the next meal is completely normal (for me anyway).4 -
paperpudding wrote: »Intuitive eating does work for some people.
i get that it is harder to lose weight that way because you are deliberately changing your eating habits.
But many people are healthy weight and do not get overweight and they do not count calories or do any other form of deliberate control to stay that way.
Exactly. Intuitive eating works for people who have no weight issue - that's how they maintain their weight!
For people who have weight issues, it's NEVER going to work - the fact that we're underweight/overweight itself shows that we don't know how to eat intuitively.
I mean, sure, we can try and focus more on our hunger signals, but when people mistake hunger with cravings, well... that's not going to work either.
I can't lose weight without feeling hungry at least 3 hours a day, for example. If I eat intuitively, I'll just end up gaining weight back.
I think we've become afraid to feel hungry, or convince ourselves that if we ever get hungry we're doing something 'wrong.' I'm not sure when a grumbly tummy became the harbinger of impending doom. No, one shouldn't feel ready to gnaw one's own arm off for hours every day, but feeling a bit peckish for an hour or two before the next meal is completely normal (for me anyway).
Normal for you, not for everyone else.
When my "grumbly tummy" happens, it's my body saying "Oh hey, might want to get some food or the back pain and fainting are on next." Those issues come up when I've ignored my "grumbly tummy" for 30 minutes minimum. Yes, I know what "real hunger" is outside of medical fasting/prep diets.1 -
@pinuplove I feel the same way. But, it took me a while to realize that being a little hungry throughout the day isn't a bad thing. And if I feel ravenous I'm going to be ok. Actually, it took me buying a blood glucose monitor to make me realize that while I'm uncomfortable, I'm not actually gonna die, lol.
It's what spurred me to begin calorie counting again. My hunger signals were crazy and I wanted to be sure I wasn't undereating and/or could eat what my body was telling me it wanted. Admittedly, even while I was only eating based off of hunger cues I was still calorie aware. My body is not going to intuitively know I've had 80 calories of bread vs a 120 cal.. Or a 150cal can of regular soda vs a 0 calorie can of diet soda. I am wondering though, do some people not know they're eaten too much food(volume)? I know I have every time. I feel bloated, gassy, heart burney, and sometimes sick. Eating too much and not listening to my body when it tells me it's full is partially what got me overweight. I would ignore the "that's enough" signal, and keep eating because the food tasted good. The first month or two I simply stopped at the first or second "full pang", and my weight started drifting down. I can definatly understand the body being in a constant state of hunger though, and how that can mess up eating intuitively. I also understand that some things are suprisingly high in calories and won't nesscarily leave you feeling any more or less full then other things.
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paperpudding wrote: »Intuitive eating does work for some people.
i get that it is harder to lose weight that way because you are deliberately changing your eating habits.
But many people are healthy weight and do not get overweight and they do not count calories or do any other form of deliberate control to stay that way.
Exactly. Intuitive eating works for people who have no weight issue - that's how they maintain their weight!
For people who have weight issues, it's NEVER going to work - the fact that we're underweight/overweight itself shows that we don't know how to eat intuitively.
I mean, sure, we can try and focus more on our hunger signals, but when people mistake hunger with cravings, well... that's not going to work either.
I can't lose weight without feeling hungry at least 3 hours a day, for example. If I eat intuitively, I'll just end up gaining weight back.
I think we've become afraid to feel hungry, or convince ourselves that if we ever get hungry we're doing something 'wrong.' I'm not sure when a grumbly tummy became the harbinger of impending doom. No, one shouldn't feel ready to gnaw one's own arm off for hours every day, but feeling a bit peckish for an hour or two before the next meal is completely normal (for me anyway).
I have never really been overweight because I made peace with hunger when I was younger and I don't hit the panic button if my tummy is empty. I wrestled in high school and had to cut serious weight from an already lean frame (it was not uncommon to cut 10% of my body weight over a few days) and at times would go several days without eating. My life went on, I still went to school, I still practiced for several hours, and I didn't die. Also, I went long stretches of eating very little food (and very bad food) in the military while engaging in extremely rigorous physical activity and survived.
So I have a comfort zone in deprivation, I can walk around hungry if necessary (I generally don't because it isn't necessary), and while I really enjoy food, I don't need to "treat myself" and reward myself with food. That is a completely different mentality than most people have developed over the past 50 years.0 -
paperpudding wrote: »Intuitive eating does work for some people.
i get that it is harder to lose weight that way because you are deliberately changing your eating habits.
But many people are healthy weight and do not get overweight and they do not count calories or do any other form of deliberate control to stay that way.
Exactly. Intuitive eating works for people who have no weight issue - that's how they maintain their weight!
For people who have weight issues, it's NEVER going to work - the fact that we're underweight/overweight itself shows that we don't know how to eat intuitively.
I mean, sure, we can try and focus more on our hunger signals, but when people mistake hunger with cravings, well... that's not going to work either.
I can't lose weight without feeling hungry at least 3 hours a day, for example. If I eat intuitively, I'll just end up gaining weight back.
I think we've become afraid to feel hungry, or convince ourselves that if we ever get hungry we're doing something 'wrong.' I'm not sure when a grumbly tummy became the harbinger of impending doom. No, one shouldn't feel ready to gnaw one's own arm off for hours every day, but feeling a bit peckish for an hour or two before the next meal is completely normal (for me anyway).
Normal for you, not for everyone else.
When my "grumbly tummy" happens, it's my body saying "Oh hey, might want to get some food or the back pain and fainting are on next." Those issues come up when I've ignored my "grumbly tummy" for 30 minutes minimum. Yes, I know what "real hunger" is outside of medical fasting/prep diets.
Certainly not normal for everyone, and I didn't mean to imply that
I've never had blood sugar issues (highs or lows) so feeling a bit hungry isn't a sign of worse things to come for me. Or I would guess the majority of people. 1 -
Crafty_camper123 wrote: »I am wondering though, do some people not know they're eaten too much food(volume)? I know I have every time. I feel bloated, gassy, heart burney, and sometimes sick. Eating too much and not listening to my body when it tells me it's full is partially what got me overweight. I would ignore the "that's enough" signal, and keep eating because the food tasted good. The first month or two I simply stopped at the first or second "full pang", and my weight started drifting down. I can definatly understand the body being in a constant state of hunger though, and how that can mess up eating intuitively. I also understand that some things are suprisingly high in calories and won't nesscarily leave you feeling any more or less full then other things.
It can really take a lot of food for me to feel that I've eaten too much. And honestly it really completely depends on hormones too. Some days I can eat something and still be hungry, even though it would have filled me up a week earlier.
Heck, I'm not even sure that people who stay slim actually eat intuitively. The people I know who maintain a healthy weight effortlessly 1) are very active, 2) are busy and often end up skipping lunch (but are still hungry), 3) eat lighter for dinner or the next day if they eat too much at a meal, or avoid treats for a bit if they gained a bit of weight... that's not intuitive eating - that's having a high maintenance, or making decisions based on what you've eaten before. Nothing to do with intuition.2 -
@Franci27 I get that. My hunger can vary and satiety levels can vary as well. Some days I'm happy on low food volume, other days not so much. I am discovering that I'm not as much of a volume eater as I thought I would be. I can usually have a small portion of calorie dense food and be happy for several hours. So long as protein and fat make up a bulk of the calories that is. Not to say I don't have bottomless pit days where I cant seem to get enough to eat. I still get those and they make it a challenge to listen to my body and eat accordingly.
I feel like we should be replacing the word "intuitive" with the word "mindful". The word mindful means to me that one should make a conscious effort to be aware of their hunger signals & satiety cues. They would also be aware to balance high calorie meals with lower calorie ones even if they aren't counting them per se. Or if they overate now to eat less later, or work out more or something to that effect. (Like your friends you mentioned). I think some people have an easier time with that mindset then others. It takes habit, knowledge, and discipline to eat mindfully. It also takes awareness of portions and calories. The word "intuitive" would imply that one just comes by it naturally. They don't ever have to think about how they feel when they eat, or how many calories they are consuming. They just do it automatically. I'm guessing people like that are the minority.4 -
I don't personally feel hungry often (or even appetite-y) even on a mild to moderate calorie deficit. But intuition fails me at the middle and the other end of the eating: Unfettered, I'll over-emphasize certain calorie dense foods (cheese is one example), and I'll keep eating until overstuffed, because food is tasty and I want more (even well after I'm full enough for contentment). Sensory-specific satiety is a demon, besides.
So, I need something other than intuition to put on the brakes. Arithmetic works.
Occasionally, I'll feel crave-y when bored, but that's easy to fix in other ways. If I actually start feeling stomach twinges, I'll normally eat something (small but nutritious), because being very hungry at the start of a meal makes me less effective at moderating quantities.
Not everyone needs to be hungry in order to stay at reasonable calories; as others have said, it's individual.3
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