Intuitive Eating vs. Dieting
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I think too much is made of intuitive eating. If a person wants to try it or needs to do it for their mental health that is fine for them.
I found calorie counting extremely relaxing. Even when some of my counts are guesses it still takes the guesswork out of the mix. All I have to do is hit my calorie goal most of the time and I can relax.
The thought of IE and living each day in doubt stresses me. I have gained a lot of freedom losing a ridiculous amount of weight. I am not interested in risking it because some corners of the internet think listening to your body is a moral good. My body can talk to someone else. I'd rather have numbers.
Yes, for me personally, calorie counting virtually silences the part of my brain that was constantly asking "Should I have eaten that? Should I have eaten so much of that? What should I eat next? How much should I eat next? Did I eat the right thing last week? Will I eat the right things tomorrow?" It's incredibly freeing.
For the people who have the same results with intuitive eating, I'm thrilled for them. But I have no desire to try it myself.16 -
for me "intuitive eating" did not work for me. I just did or could not listen to my"body"- my problem is stopping when full esp. if it is a food that i really enjoy. I will usually eat until it is finished so therefore MFP / counting claories works for me- BECAUSe it sets limits for me. i decide what i want to eat and how much based on my goal i put in mfp- then the clorie counting helps me. If i want a high calorie food(one that i might over eat) i limit it based on the calories and eat lower calorie foods thoughtou the day to keep from going over my limit. I don't know if i will have to count calories the rst of my life like when i get to maintainence- BUT i know i will have to keep checks on my weight and way of eating for life.4
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janejellyroll wrote: »I think too much is made of intuitive eating. If a person wants to try it or needs to do it for their mental health that is fine for them.
I found calorie counting extremely relaxing. Even when some of my counts are guesses it still takes the guesswork out of the mix. All I have to do is hit my calorie goal most of the time and I can relax.
The thought of IE and living each day in doubt stresses me. I have gained a lot of freedom losing a ridiculous amount of weight. I am not interested in risking it because some corners of the internet think listening to your body is a moral good. My body can talk to someone else. I'd rather have numbers.
Yes, for me personally, calorie counting virtually silences the part of my brain that was constantly asking "Should I have eaten that? Should I have eaten so much of that? What should I eat next? How much should I eat next? Did I eat the right thing last week? Will I eat the right things tomorrow?" It's incredibly freeing.
For the people who have the same results with intuitive eating, I'm thrilled for them. But I have no desire to try it myself.
Amen.
The other thing it does is takes the sting out of exceeding my calorie goal. I can look at how one day fits in the week or even how a week fits into a month and see that it is no big deal.
It answers the question what happens when I go WAY over my calorie goal too like I have done on vacation. For one thing after I log I usually see that "way over" is not as far over as I imagined. Another thing is that after having done it enough times I can see that it translates to zero or next to no lasting weight rebound because, as mentioned, a day or a few days doesn't decide what happens. The final say is in a larger time frame.11 -
Hi,
... I am a little hesitant to track what I eat, but I did not know if anyone else has some feedback?
Thank you so much!
If you don't know where you're going you'll never arrive. If you don't know how you're going to get there, you will be late - if you arrive.
Why are you using My Fitness Pal? Weight loss? Gain? Other health concerns? Where are you going?
If weight loss; that is where you're going. But that's like saying you're going to Asia - be specific, where in Asia? What is the weight goal?
Once you know where you're going, it's time to dig out the map - decide how you're going to get to that weight. Although there are other considerations, you won't lose weight if you don't burn more calories than you take in. There is nothing intuitive about determining calories in:calories out.
Intuitive eating is following our natural desires to eat and then eat some more (not stop eating) for a rainy day, a time when calories are not available. Those who stop eating once they are full have already eaten too much - it takes the body about 20 minutes to react to a full stomach. Intuitive eating leads to weight gain, and most of that gain is fat off which we can feed at a later date.
We must be aware of what and how much we eat.
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OP you did post in a forum of a calorie counting app. The definition of true intuitive eating would tell you that you cannot both be an intuitive eater and track calories. So I don't think you are going to be overly successful finding many intuitive eaters here, bc why would they be on a tracking forum lol.
That being said, I have had an interesting relationship with food. I restricted and binged for about 10 years with 5-6 of them being rough. To get out of that cycle, I had to eat intuitively for awhile. I knew how many calories were in most things so I didn't forget that but any time I tried to track on an app it resulted in binging.
Fast forward to now. After healing my relationship with food and my brain, I can count on here without going crazy. I am 115-118 lbs and 5'2. I suck at losing below that hahaa. I try but I never want to go back to my binging days so if I feel too hungry, I have learned to just let myself eat now. I eat intuitively in the sense that I try to eat when hungry and stop when full. I find tracking to be fun sometimes and like seeing what nutrients I hit for the day. This app can help me avoid grossly overeating which generally makes me feel good. If I don't log, my weight tends to stay the same as I'm still eating the same things.
It sounds like you are at the point in your journey where you are benefiting more from intuitive eating so do it!!! If you feel better not counting, don't count.4 -
I tracked until I didn't have to..
To maintain I don't have to track...to lose I do.
so best of both worlds I can maintain intuitively but not to lose...go figure right....
PS I could lose but I like fitting my treats in so I track and plan ahead during loss phases.1 -
OP you did post in a forum of a calorie counting app. The definition of true intuitive eating would tell you that you cannot both be an intuitive eater and track calories. So I don't think you are going to be overly successful finding many intuitive eaters here, bc why would they be on a tracking forum lol.
That being said, I have had an interesting relationship with food. I restricted and binged for about 10 years with 5-6 of them being rough. To get out of that cycle, I had to eat intuitively for awhile. I knew how many calories were in most things so I didn't forget that but any time I tried to track on an app it resulted in binging.
Fast forward to now. After healing my relationship with food and my brain, I can count on here without going crazy. I am 115-118 lbs and 5'2. I suck at losing below that hahaa. I try but I never want to go back to my binging days so if I feel too hungry, I have learned to just let myself eat now. I eat intuitively in the sense that I try to eat when hungry and stop when full. I find tracking to be fun sometimes and like seeing what nutrients I hit for the day. This app can help me avoid grossly overeating which generally makes me feel good. If I don't log, my weight tends to stay the same as I'm still eating the same things.
It sounds like you are at the point in your journey where you are benefiting more from intuitive eating so do it!!! If you feel better not counting, don't count.
Thank you so much for sharing. I am around 120 pounds and 5'3". Do you mind me asking how many calories you eat? I am just curious as I am about the same. I generally eat about 1700-2000 a day to maintain. @HotFrieZ1 -
Just saw your reply now. I don't mind at all. I eat a lot lol but I enjoy being active. I eat 2000-2300 on average to maintain.0
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I was listening to a running podcast the other day and the takeaway (in his terms) was this: “intuitive eating is garbage. Most people who intuitively eat as their way of maintaining their weight can do so because they tracked their food for years and all that tracking taught them appropriate portion sizes, etc. if intuitive eating truly worked, no one would have been overweight to begin with because they would have all naturally been eating in a healthy way all along.”
Just throwing it in as something to consider!1 -
I was listening to a running podcast the other day and the takeaway (in his terms) was this: “intuitive eating is garbage. Most people who intuitively eat as their way of maintaining their weight can do so because they tracked their food for years and all that tracking taught them appropriate portion sizes, etc. if intuitive eating truly worked, no one would have been overweight to begin with because they would have all naturally been eating in a healthy way all along.”
Just throwing it in as something to consider!
I know a number of normal weight people who have been normal weight their entire lives and eat intuitively (or at least claim to). My husband is one of them. Sometimes he eats six times a day, sometimes he eats just once. Some days he probably has at least 3,000 calories, but other days he'll have fewer than 1,000. If he wants something, he'll go to the store and get it (in normal times, anyway).
Not everyone struggles with the urge to overeat. I have no doubt that intuitive eating can work for people in that category. Just because it wouldn't work *for me* doesn't mean that it wouldn't work for anyone.5 -
I was listening to a running podcast the other day and the takeaway (in his terms) was this: “intuitive eating is garbage. Most people who intuitively eat as their way of maintaining their weight can do so because they tracked their food for years and all that tracking taught them appropriate portion sizes, etc. if intuitive eating truly worked, no one would have been overweight to begin with because they would have all naturally been eating in a healthy way all along.”
Just throwing it in as something to consider!
No IE is not garbage. My husband has always been thin, always eats just enough, loves sweets and has never been overweight or on a diet in his life. My father was the same, as well as other people that I know. My husband doesn't even know what a calorie is. We'll go for an hour walk and he'll turn to me and say "There, you've burned off so many calories that we can go get a gelato". Sigh.5 -
I think we need to distinguish between people who have never has issues with weight gain and those who have.
For people who have never had weight gain issues and who eat intuitively, obviously it works.
However, for people who have had problems with weight gain, I don't see how 'intuitive eating' is a good idea, since it obviously didn't work to begin with.
Unless, as has been mentioned above, this 'intuition' is acquired during and after the weight loss journey through first tracking foods and experience with what works to stay at maintenance.
But even then, I've read a lot of posts from people who tried maintenance without tracking, but had to start tracking again because they were gaining weight again.
So I think it's one of those things that works for some and not for others.6 -
My metabolism changed after 40. To lose bodyfat I have to count calories and watch my macros. I used MFP to learn at what amount and types of food I need to maintain and now for maintaining I don't need MFP at all. That's just where I am at.0
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I think we need to distinguish between people who have never has issues with weight gain and those who have.
For people who have never had weight gain issues and who eat intuitively, obviously it works.
However, for people who have had problems with weight gain, I don't see how 'intuitive eating' is a good idea, since it obviously didn't work to begin with.
Unless, as has been mentioned above, this 'intuition' is acquired during and after the weight loss journey through first tracking foods and experience with what works to stay at maintenance.
But even then, I've read a lot of posts from people who tried maintenance without tracking, but had to start tracking again because they were gaining weight again.
So I think it's one of those things that works for some and not for others.
There are also people who eat intuitively but are underweight.
One of the problems I see with IE is that some people take it to an extreme. The thought process is if you want to eat more food and you end up obese it is because your body wants to be obese.
The part that puzzles me is the separation of brain and body. My brain is a part of my body and my brain knows that being obese again will likely bring back the health issues I have rid myself of by losing weight.
I think that if a person had some natural ability to intuitively eat for a stretch of time before gaining weight they might be able to return to it. Take a person that starts drinking too much gains weight and then later gets the drinking under control. I do not know if that person can resume IE after the loss is over or not but it doesn't seem impossible.
I see no reason to think it is not something that can be learned either.
I still have no interest in it at this time. I can log so quickly and easily I see no benefit to leaving it behind. Perhaps when I am done and I get to year 4 of maintenance I might change my mind. I dunno.3 -
I think we need to distinguish between people who have never has issues with weight gain and those who have.
For people who have never had weight gain issues and who eat intuitively, obviously it works.
However, for people who have had problems with weight gain, I don't see how 'intuitive eating' is a good idea, since it obviously didn't work to begin with.
Unless, as has been mentioned above, this 'intuition' is acquired during and after the weight loss journey through first tracking foods and experience with what works to stay at maintenance.
But even then, I've read a lot of posts from people who tried maintenance without tracking, but had to start tracking again because they were gaining weight again.
So I think it's one of those things that works for some and not for others.
There are also people who eat intuitively but are underweight.
One of the problems I see with IE is that some people take it to an extreme. The thought process is if you want to eat more food and you end up obese it is because your body wants to be obese.
The part that puzzles me is the separation of brain and body. My brain is a part of my body and my brain knows that being obese again will likely bring back the health issues I have rid myself of by losing weight.
I think that if a person had some natural ability to intuitively eat for a stretch of time before gaining weight they might be able to return to it. Take a person that starts drinking too much gains weight and then later gets the drinking under control. I do not know if that person can resume IE after the loss is over or not but it doesn't seem impossible.
I see no reason to think it is not something that can be learned either.
I still have no interest in it at this time. I can log so quickly and easily I see no benefit to leaving it behind. Perhaps when I am done and I get to year 4 of maintenance I might change my mind. I dunno.
I used to be able to eat intuitively...but then I couldn't and I gained...
I used MFP to lose and logged daily for about 3 or 4 years of maintenance and then tried to eat intuitively and it has worked for maintenance to a "degree" I have maintained my range for a while but know that weight can creep up if I am travelling a lot so I will log to lose that weight...
So jsut confirming that yah after a while you can stop logging if you are willing to learn the lessons...0 -
I think we need to distinguish between people who have never has issues with weight gain and those who have.
For people who have never had weight gain issues and who eat intuitively, obviously it works.
However, for people who have had problems with weight gain, I don't see how 'intuitive eating' is a good idea, since it obviously didn't work to begin with.
Unless, as has been mentioned above, this 'intuition' is acquired during and after the weight loss journey through first tracking foods and experience with what works to stay at maintenance.
But even then, I've read a lot of posts from people who tried maintenance without tracking, but had to start tracking again because they were gaining weight again.
So I think it's one of those things that works for some and not for others.
There are also people who eat intuitively but are underweight.
One of the problems I see with IE is that some people take it to an extreme. The thought process is if you want to eat more food and you end up obese it is because your body wants to be obese.
The part that puzzles me is the separation of brain and body. My brain is a part of my body and my brain knows that being obese again will likely bring back the health issues I have rid myself of by losing weight.
I think that if a person had some natural ability to intuitively eat for a stretch of time before gaining weight they might be able to return to it. Take a person that starts drinking too much gains weight and then later gets the drinking under control. I do not know if that person can resume IE after the loss is over or not but it doesn't seem impossible.
I see no reason to think it is not something that can be learned either.
I still have no interest in it at this time. I can log so quickly and easily I see no benefit to leaving it behind. Perhaps when I am done and I get to year 4 of maintenance I might change my mind. I dunno.
I used to be able to eat intuitively...but then I couldn't and I gained...
I used MFP to lose and logged daily for about 3 or 4 years of maintenance and then tried to eat intuitively and it has worked for maintenance to a "degree" I have maintained my range for a while but know that weight can creep up if I am travelling a lot so I will log to lose that weight...
So jsut confirming that yah after a while you can stop logging if you are willing to learn the lessons...
Makes sense. I have been logging for 2 years. I have a very good sense of calories and portions now with the things that I normally eat. I do believe I could go for 3 months or more without logging and still continue on the same course I am on.
My fear is calorie creeping. I don't know for sure but I think because I have gained weight in the past I am susceptible to my calories gradually increasing past my need and regaining weight. Obviously I could just weigh myself but I keep reminding myself that I allowed my weight to go unchecked for periods of time before and it got way out of control.
I believe logging increases awareness. It keeps my current habit stabilized. I may not feel that way forever. Future me may do all kinds of things (as long as he doesn't gain a bunch of weight) that I do not think he will do. That is for him to decide. For now I am committing myself and near future me to logging all through weight loss and at least 3 years beyond.1
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