What are your thoughts on intuitive eating?

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  • SomeNights246
    SomeNights246 Posts: 807 Member
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    I think a lot of people are confusing intuitive eating with emotional eating or overeating out of boredom. Intuitive eating involves learning true hunger signals. Many people mistake boredom or emotional hunger signals for true hunger signals, and therein lies the problem.
  • Mgypsygirl
    Mgypsygirl Posts: 37 Member
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    Yes-mine is broken too! :)
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
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    Hunger signals can get screwed up. I'll stick to counting calories. :)

    Having said that, I think that you need to change how you think about food. There are no "good" or "bad" foods, but there are "good and "bad" regimens. I can fit treats into my regimen and not feel guilty at all because I meet my calories, macro, and micro goals. Context is important.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    That's how I ended up here in the first place! ;) I cannot rely on feeling full because I never do! Being accountable for all my food and calories burned works for me!

    This.

    I rarely feel hungry or full. Aside from really obvious situations like not eating for 7-8 hours and feeling cranky, or scarfing 3 plates at a buffet and being uncomfortably full...I just feel kind of okay all of the time, or like "yeah I could eat a cookie...not hungry really...but maybe"

    I need some kind of guide to know how many calories to eat. I used to go off other people for cues on how to eat and that did not work well at all, as it was usually men larger than myself (ex husband or my dad for example) or women who were eating 1-2 meals to my 3. So nope.
  • KeshiaBeard
    KeshiaBeard Posts: 63
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    Hunger signals can get screwed up. I'll stick to counting calories. :)

    Having said that, I think that you need to change how you think about food. There are no "good" or "bad" foods, but there are "good and "bad" regimens. I can fit treats into my regimen and not feel guilty at all because I meet my calories, macro, and micro goals. Context is important.

    +1 this.

    I totally agree that there are no good or bad foods, I have learned this recently and that's part of my reason for wanting to give intuitive eating a go.

    Also agree that many people are confusing intuitive eating with emotional eating. A quick definition of intutive eating is:

    "Intuitive eating is a nutrition philosophy based on the premise that becoming more attuned to the body's natural hunger signals is a more effective way to attain a healthy weight, rather than keeping track of the amounts of energy and fats in foods. ..."

    Animals and children know how to do this. As we grow our natural signals become skewed by people around us / media / "health professionals" telling how, when, what, how much to eat. It's about learning to get back to those natural insticts we ignore because we are too busy listening to other people that "know best".

    It won't work for everyone, it will be distasterous for some, but I guess I won't know how it will work for me until I try!
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    they'll name anything these days.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
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    logging calories is a mindtrap for a LOT of people. If you control it, and dont let it control you, then it becomes valuable data to reach your goal. If you let it control you and stress you out it can become an obsessive eating disorder or worse

    "intuitively eating" can be a mindtrap that leads to "overexercising" more to burn calories and undereating after days of overeating. If you do too much to compensate than you're at too big of a deficit.


    Logging leads to weird OCD tendencies. "intuitive eating" leads to binge purge cycles. Any weight loss program can have severe psychological side effects. Do what works for you.

    I choose logging because it allows me more freedom since I know I can "balance the week". Not knowing would annoy me and probably cause me to lose more lean mass while on a cut due to cutting too fast (Ive actually done this years ago).
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    Intuitive eating works about as well for me as intuiting how much money is in my checking account without logging in to the bank website to check my balance. What works for me is to pre-log most of my day in the time the coffee brews in the morning. Eating mostly off of my memory of the list, since I have that food with me, and making minor corrections later. I also look up my bank balance from time to time to avoid overdrawing my account.

    One can log without becoming an obsessive maniac.
  • KeshiaBeard
    KeshiaBeard Posts: 63
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    Intuitive eating works about as well for me as intuiting how much money is in my checking account without logging in to the bank website to check my balance. What works for me is to pre-log most of my day in the time the coffee brews in the morning. Eating mostly off of my memory of the list, since I have that food with me, and making minor corrections later. I also look up my bank balance from time to time to avoid overdrawing my account.

    One can log without becoming an obsessive maniac.

    Good comparison. However, SOME can log without becoming obsessive maniacs... personally I find counting every calorie, macro/micro nutrient, weighing every portion and planning every meal for a the week to be completely and utterly draining after a short while. Glad it works for you though!
  • shmerek
    shmerek Posts: 963 Member
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    OP It is bollocks.
  • shmerek
    shmerek Posts: 963 Member
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    Skinny people have two things going for them: physiology and habits.

    Physiologically, their bodies are very good at telling them when they're full and when they're hungry. They know when they're full and stop eating. Eating too much makes them uncomfortable.

    As far as habits go, they only eat one slice of pizza instead of the entire pizza because that's what they've always eaten. They don't upsize their fries because they've always ordered a small.


    My hunger-fullness cues are broken. I can never get too full and as a result can just keep on eating. Habits I can change. I now know it's perfectly fine to have a slice of pizza. I also know it's dumb to eat the entire pizza. In my weight loss journey I've focussed on making long lasting habits that eventually became second nature. I don't count calories but I am cognizant of the calories in various foods and also can visualize what a decent portion size is. This can work, but you have to be really honest with yourself.
    Wow talk about a bunch of ridiculous generalisations about thin people... Personally I am never full and could continue to eat but I don't because I know I will get fat. I never eat only one slice of pizza and could easily eat a whole pizza (and have) but I don't because I don't want to get fat. Eating never makes me uncomfortable. People of all sizes have the same issues it is just a matter of how they deal with them.
  • aedreana
    aedreana Posts: 979 Member
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    OP, it won't work. If you are serious about weight loss. then count every single calorie.
  • KeshiaBeard
    KeshiaBeard Posts: 63
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    shmerek and aedreana - I'm intrigued as to why you write off intuitive eating yet provide no reasoning?
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
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    That's how I ended up here in the first place! ;) I cannot rely on feeling full because I never do! Being accountable for all my food and calories burned works for me!
    ^^^

    yup what she said if i was doing intuitive eating i would intuitively get back to 358 lbs soon enough

    I'm a lying *&^#% when it comes to what I can do that requires less effort than the alternative. I convinced myself of this twice, I have lost over 30 pound with MFP when I first started I was 165 going on 150/145. started again this year at 181. So NOPE not me. If the schedule is an issue, ditch the schedule. I eat freely while keeping a eye on my protein and micros mainly(I eat some fat in each meal so that's not usually an issue) It's flexible and functional and it works for me. You just have to find what works for you.
  • shmerek
    shmerek Posts: 963 Member
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    shmerek and aedreana - I'm intrigued as to why you write off intuitive eating yet provide no reasoning?
    If it worked this site and those like it wouldn't exist, pus the major proponents of intuitive eating that I have seen have all been overweight.
  • GreatDepression
    GreatDepression Posts: 347 Member
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    shmerek and aedreana - I'm intrigued as to why you write off intuitive eating yet provide no reasoning?
    If it worked this site and those like it wouldn't exist, pus the major proponents of intuitive eating that I have seen have all been overweight.

    Wow, what a judgmental thing to say. As if someone's weight takes away from the value of what he/she has to say.
  • shmerek
    shmerek Posts: 963 Member
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    shmerek and aedreana - I'm intrigued as to why you write off intuitive eating yet provide no reasoning?
    If it worked this site and those like it wouldn't exist, pus the major proponents of intuitive eating that I have seen have all been overweight.

    Wow, what a judgmental thing to say. As if someone's weight takes away from the value of what he/she has to say.
    If someone is a proponent i.e. follows a diet/way of eating and they are overweight you think don't think that has any bearing on the efficacy of said diet/eating style? Hardly judgemental just observational. Is it wrong to say someone is overweight now? The major proponent of intuitive eating is HAES
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
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    I think intuitive eating can work if you don't eat too many quickly released carbs, and don't eat for reasons other than fuel (ie you're not an emotional/ stress/ pleasure eater). I don't think you will lose weight this way unless your appetite has been reduced for some reason, but given the previous conditions I think you could maintain on it.

    When I lose the weight I seek to, I intend to weigh myself daily, or else use a body fat calipers daily, to catch any weight gain early and act accordingly. Even with this though, weight takes several days to go on after you've overeaten, just as it when it comes off it lags behind your efforts that have taken it off, so its not foolproof either.

    Anyway, these are my thoughts.. :)
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    This may help.

    http://www.niashanks.com/stay-lean-without-tracking/
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
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    lol. i don't even know where to start. "Yogic" diet? lolwut? i've practiced yoga for almost 10 years now - i never knew there was a special diet. lol. (read: there's not. that's BS)

    and as for intuitive eating? i think it's a nice little myth. like others have said, that's how many have ended up overweight. i don't think i'll ever be able to just intuitively eat. but, i like the awareness i have when counting and eating deliberately. intuitive eating is a unicorn.

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