What are your thoughts on intuitive eating?

michellemybelll

OP It is bollocks.

yeah, this. for pretty much everything in the OP.

SideSteel

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

I am not overweight and I disagree with your opinion.

That being said, just winging it isn't the right approach to eating intuitively. Look up Georgie Fear and her clients/methods for one example.

yallllah

OP, I can say that I lost (and have kept off) 15lbs+ eating intuitively -- but it was an accident.

Let me explain.

For years as a teenager and college student I weighed anywhere from 140lbs to 135lbs. On my 5"4' frame, that was a bit chunky. I was never dismally unhappy with the way I looked, but I was aware of food to what I would consider an unnatural degree. I tried restriction (ie "dieting") but that failed, eventually, each time.

What worked? When I moved back home after college to save money while doing an internship (mostly from home) and writing. I was comfortably busy, surrounded by foods rich in vitamins/nutrients, and always had something interesting to look forward to doing. I was out of college so drank less and thus had fewer blow-out weekends, but more importantly....I stopped obsessing about food. It was there when I was hungry (since I was mostly working from home or writing), but otherwise I didn't think about it.

In a year and a half I went from ~136lbs to 114lbs. I remember not even really caring -- I only weighed myself out of habit and ease. Completely incidentally, looking back, I probably ate the most healthfully of my whole life during that time, too.

So, intuitive eating...it worked for me. Unfortunately I had a rude shock when I came to Japan -- the pressure to be skeletal here is overwhelming, and others' weight isn't considering off-limits like it is in many western countries. Suddenly I was aware of food again, in all the wrong ways. I put on a few kg (currently 118lbs) and have managed to get it "under control" using restriction, but it's really not a way to live, in my opinion.

I'd do anything to go back to that magical time when the stars aligned and I didn't think the word "calorie" once in 18 months.

Sarauk2sf

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

I ate intuitively for years and stayed lean.

It may not work for everyone, but it definitely works for some.

KeshiaBeard

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.

Generally Yogis that I have spoken to (I.e. people who have extensively studied yoga and would be considered masters in the art) eat a primarily raw food and vegetarian diet. They avoid alcohol, coffee and prepare all food themselves, never reheating anything. This may be an extreme example but it's what happens where I live. Hence why I call this lifestyle a yogic diet.

Personally I don't believe that eating when your body tells you that you are truly hungry (as opposed to bored/scheduled eating time/ eating just cos etc) and eating purely to fuel your body is a myth but we all have our own opinions. That's why I started this post :-)

shmerek

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.

Generally Yogis that I have spoken to (I.e. people who have extensively studied yoga and would be considered masters in the art) eat a primarily raw food and vegetarian diet. They avoid alcohol, coffee and prepare all food themselves, never reheating anything. This may be an extreme example but it's what happens where I live. Hence why I call this lifestyle a yogic diet.

Personally I don't believe that eating when your body tells you that you are truly hungry (as opposed to bored/scheduled eating time/ eating just cos etc) and eating purely to fuel your body is a myth but we all have our own opinions. That's why I started this post :-)

Therein lies the rub because many don't eat only when their body needs fuel. People eat for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with hunger. I don't think anyone would really argue that if you only ate when you were truly hungry there would be too many issues.

VBnotbitter

I think being on this site and others like it can skew your world view that everyone has or has had a weight problem at some point.

Whilst obesity is a growing and significant problem still the majority of people on the planet, even in the west, are not obese or overweight.

The majority of those people do not calorie count or diet.

michellemybelll

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.

Generally Yogis that I have spoken to (I.e. people who have extensively studied yoga and would be considered masters in the art) eat a primarily raw food and vegetarian diet. They avoid alcohol, coffee and prepare all food themselves, never reheating anything. This may be an extreme example but it's what happens where I live. Hence why I call this lifestyle a yogic diet.

Personally I don't believe that eating when your body tells you that you are truly hungry (as opposed to bored/scheduled eating time/ eating just cos etc) and eating purely to fuel your body is a myth but we all have our own opinions. That's why I started this post :-)

maybe you should try to expose yourself to a wider variety of yogis? or perhaps do a little digging online? a raw food and vegetarian diet are just that - raw food and vegetarian diets. i don't know that i've ever known a yogi who only ate raw food. that is an extremely limiting and difficult diet to maintain.
I just find the term "yogic diet" very laughable. in all my reading and years of practice and conversations with other yogis, never have i heard mention of this. in fact, the studio where i first began practicing, the instructors would praise their love of coffee and tout the benefits of enjoying a nice glass of wine or refreshing beer. the yogis in your life kind of sound like downers. lol.

Nojoke81

My 'intuitive eating' is what got me into this mess in the first place.

michellemybelll

I think being on this site and others like it can skew your world view that everyone has or has had a weight problem at some point.

Whilst obesity is a growing and significant problem still the majority of people on the planet, even in the west, are not obese or overweight.

The majority of those people do not calorie count or diet.

regarding the U.S. specifically:
"Percent of adults age 20 years and over who are overweight, including obesity: 69.0% (2011-2012)"**

you were saying about the majority of the population in the west (in the stat above the U.S. specifically) not being overweight and/or obese?

**source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm

_Zardoz_

Isn't 'intuitive eating' just eating and not calorie counting. Which is how most of us got here. Not sure why it needs a special name. It's what people fall back on when they can't be bothered to count calories.

Today I will be 'intuitive walking' or as I like to call it walking

amusedmonkey

Okay let me tell you about my own experience... Yogic stuff aside, I think the only way I got to lose weight is what you call intuitive eating, in the sense that I eat whatever I feel like eating whenever I feel like it by intuition and my plan isn't rigid, it's basically that I can eat whatever I want in whatever quantity I want provided I stay under maintenance calories. Not everyone has the patience to go weeks without losing weight at times, so this isn't for everyone.

A few caveats though.. intuition alone will not help much. You need CONTROLLED intuition. If your intuition tells you to eat a whole box of donuts for breakfast every morning you are not doing your weight loss any favors. You need to set certain boundaries and practice your freedom within them.

The way I'm eating, I happen to have 1000 calories on one day and 2500 on another. I may go 2 weeks without losing weight, then lose 3 pounds in a matter of a week. I may have a week that has both 1000 calorie days and 2500 calorie days, or a week with all days at 1600-ish. It all depends on what is happening around me and what I feel like having, and trust me, once you let go of the stress associated with the diet process you WILL intuitively have some low calorie days without obsessing about food.

Now the thing you do need to obsess about is getting to the point where you can document your calories detached from any kinds of feelings, good or bad. Get to the point where it's an automatic process that is merely there to let you know where you are within the boundary range. A 1000 calorie meal should not produce guilt because it will fuel obsessive tendencies and having a green salad should not produce a sense of accomplishment because it will fuel comparison tendencies, comparing that one healthy meal with other less healthy choices you've made which in turn leads to guilt and again into the obsession hamster wheel making your weight loss a much harder process.

Trust me when I say this, the day I let go of guilt was the day losing weight became easy. Too easy even! Not fast, but not too much different from the way I used to eat in my fat days sans being out of control.

As for exercise, I do resistance training 3 days a week, and yes, that takes discipline and I have yet to turn it into a habit. The cardio portion I have managed to make into a habit, even to the point where I have to restrain myself not to overtrain and talk myself out of another session. The way I did that, I merged my passion for reading with exercise. I buy audio books and only listen to them while I do incline walking. Incline walking burns a lot of calories, but does not require the focus you need for running, so I get to zone out and get lost in my books. I do a 45 minute session every day, and sometimes I lose control and do a second session in the evening, especially if my time is up at a very interesting part of the book. In short, you need to find what you really like and try to integrate that into your exercise somehow.

aedreana

My reasoning, you ask? People who do not want to count calories are looking for an alternative that will allow them to consume MORE calories than if they counted calories.

yallllah

.... It all depends on what is happening around me and what I feel like having, and trust me, once you let go of the stress associated with the diet process you WILL intuitively have some low calorie days without obsessing about food.

Now the thing you do need to obsess about is getting to the point where you can document your calories detached from any kinds of feelings, good or bad. Get to the point where it's an automatic process that is merely there to let you know where you are within the boundary range. A 1000 calorie meal should not produce guilt because it will fuel obsessive tendencies and having a green salad should not produce a sense of accomplishment because it will fuel comparison tendencies, comparing that one healthy meal with other less healthy choices you've made which in turn leads to guilt and again into the obsession hamster wheel making your weight loss a much harder process.

^^^ yes a thousand times. Starting to get rid of guilt surrounding food has already helped me immensely. In a month or so I've gotten much happier by basically practicing & reflecting on intuitive eating* and reminding myself that I can choose to eat whatever I want. Of course, I'm also not in any hurry to lose weight (the weight is slowly coming off incidentally, but it's not a goal) -- I just want to have a better view on food & recreate my intuitive eating. From experience I know that once that happens, my body & weight will sort themselves out.

*...which is not, btw, defined only as "eat what you want when you want". a few ppl on this thread seem to be laboring under that misconception....

dakotababy

For me, Intuitive Eating has its place. I think the concept has some very beneficial aspects when it comes to distinguishing emotional VS real hunger. Prior to starting MFP, I read and followed intuitive eating. I did not lose substantial weight, but I did learn that I often ate when I was anxious, angry/frustrated or lonely. When I combined this new-found awareness with MFP...I basically became unstoppable.

Intuitive Eating has also been very helpful when I go on vacations/times when I am not logging my food/dont have access to log and/or it is difficult to log (buffets, all inclusive resorts, traveling, staying at someones house that I am unable to accurately track). I basically then resort to Intuitive Eating, as well as using my knowledge from tracking for over 2 years (portions, balanced meals, etc)

There is a book...I forget the names of the ladies that wrote it. There is only one book though...if you google "Intuitive Eating". It was a very good read and a book I would highly recommend ANYONE losing weight to read through. I find it was a very helpful 1st step into this entire weight-loss journey for me.

Sarauk2sf

My reasoning, you ask? People who do not want to count calories are looking for an alternative that will allow them to consume MORE calories than if they counted calories.

I do not get this logic at all?

The reason for me to do it, and I expect most people, would be not having to count calories.

Sarauk2sf

Isn't 'intuitive eating' just eating and not calorie counting. Which is how most of us got here. Not sure why it needs a special name. It's what people fall back on when they can't be bothered to count calories.

Today I will be 'intuitive walking' or as I like to call it walking

It really means paying attention to your body/signals so you eat when hungry (actual hunger v perceived hunger).

It is used by many to mean 'not counting calories' though.

KeshiaBeard

My reasoning, you ask? People who do not want to count calories are looking for an alternative that will allow them to consume MORE calories than if they counted calories.

I do not get this logic at all?

The reason for me to do it, and I expect most people, would be not having to count calories.

I don't get this reasoning either... maybe I'm missing something.

I totally agree with others that there needs to be some control, hence learning to only eat until you are satisfied and not completely stuffed. Also, sticking with foods that you prepare yourself and staying away from takeaways/pre-packaged/convenience foods is more or less just a foolproof way to ensure what you are eating is nutritious. Besides, if you truly care about your body wouldn't you only be eating nutritious food, not just whatever is within reach?

maybe you should try to expose yourself to a wider variety of yogis? or perhaps do a little digging online? a raw food and vegetarian diet are just that - raw food and vegetarian diets. i don't know that i've ever known a yogi who only ate raw food. that is an extremely limiting and difficult diet to maintain.
I just find the term "yogic diet" very laughable. in all my reading and years of practice and conversations with other yogis, never have i heard mention of this. in fact, the studio where i first began practicing, the instructors would praise their love of coffee and tout the benefits of enjoying a nice glass of wine or refreshing beer. the yogis in your life kind of sound like downers. lol.

Note I said primarily raw food, they still cook, just not for every meal. Also the yogis I know are incredibly lovely people, not downers at all. They strongly feel that eating meat goes against Ahimsa. Raw food comes into their diet as they feel that cooking food removes many nutrients. Anyway vegetarianism is a controversial subject amongst yogis and not really set in stone. Personally I can see their point and kind of agree, although not enough yet to give up meat myself for other reasons.

msf74

I think intuitive eating can certainly work but the likelihood is, if you had a weight problem in the past, mindful eating is probably a better starting point if you do not wish to progress with calorie counting. Although mindful eating and intuitive eating do have many similarities they are not strictly the same.

Mindful eating is where you do not count calories as such or weigh food etc but are conscious and purposeful the decisions you make when you come to food, portion control and so on. Once these habits become subconsciously ingrained you can transition to intuitive eating where you don't have to think about it any more and you can naturally maintain your weight.

I feel positively about both mindful and intuitive eating in the right context. Incidentally if you have athletic goals based around endurance events you could check out something like "Racing Weight" by Matt Fitzgerald to achieve your goals without the need for calorie counting.

Sarauk2sf

I totally agree with others that there needs to be some control, hence learning to only eat until you are satisfied and not completely stuffed. Also, sticking with foods that you prepare yourself and staying away from takeaways/pre-packaged/convenience foods is more or less just a foolproof way to ensure what you are eating is nutritious. Besides, if you truly care about your body wouldn't you only be eating nutritious food, not just whatever is within reach?

You can care about your body and not *only* eat nutritious food.