Has Anyone Heard of/Tried This?

WhispDoll

So, I recently stumbled upon - quite literally, as I'm addicted to stumbleupon.com lol - an article about "intuitive eating". It presents the idea that listening to your body is the best way to maintain health and reach or maintain a good weight. Instead of dieting, it offers a lifestyle change and attempts to school the people who employ it in listening to their body, eating what they're hungry for, when they're actually hungry for it and stopping when their brain tells them they're full.

To me, it sounds brilliant and so painfully simple: identify what you're hungry for, make whatever you're hungry for, stop when you are no longer hungry and repeat when hunger appears again. It seems so obvious, but I think we all know that at one point or another it obviously was not obvious! I actually heard the other day that it's shockingly common for the average American to mistake thirst for hunger, so it seems plausible that the average American would not be in tune with their body, its needs and how to satisfy those needs.

I was kind of curious to know who else has heard of this and what they think about it.

stonel94

So this is a very nice idea in theory because you're eating what you want when you want and still not eating badly. However, our bodies evolutionarly are like "trained" to want to eat way more fat and carbs and stuff because those were the things that historically were hard to find and when we had them we had to eat a lot of them so we could store it for the long time without them. So that's why it's a lot harder to stop eating that cake instead of an apple or something.
Also, if you are overweight your stomach is enlarged, so that's why the beginning of dieting is the hardest because you have to give your stomach time to shrink so you feel full on the smaller portions that are really fine for your body.
Also, thirst can be mistaken as hunger, so if you don't drink a lot of water you might think you're hungry more often.

Basically, eat healthily, and eat what you want from the healthy options, and keep portions down and every once in a while have a treat and you'll be all good. This diet is not the greatest idea

Evachiquita

I definitely feel that the more in tune you are with your body the happier and healthier you will be. You will learn what makes your body and soul feel good, bad, indifferent, and how to balance all of that out. Being in tune with one's body, and emotions, is often very uncomfortable so it's easier said than done. You may have to confront things like emotional eating and food addictions. You also have to acknowledge that you do get cravings and it's important to satisfy those cravings. This is your body or soul telling you that you need something that you're not getting. Satisfying those needs can be done any number of ways and it's all about finding what works for you. I like to include some aspects of "traditional" or Ayurvedic medicine in my lifestyle. I find it helps me manage physical and emotional cravings and needs. I feel that my emotional eating is in check now and I feel so much better about myself for that. I also find that I have far fewer cravings than before.

innerbetty

Haven't heard of it but rather unwittingly done it. After high school I trained myself to only eat when I was hungry and lost 25 lbs with very little effort (over an extended period of time.) For me the biggest part of it all was actually stopping when I was full regardless of how much was still on the plate or how much I had eaten (for example sometimes 1 out of 3 chicken fingers would have me full so I obviously wasn't that hungry to begin with. Stopping after having less than half took some mental retraining)
My doctor told me I should eat three meals a day and a career change to a job with set breaks forced me to stop listening to my body and I've gained it all back. I'm trying to retrain myself to listen again.

taso42

Newsflash - this is how most normal people eat :laugh:

WhispDoll

Newsflash - this is how most normal people eat :laugh:

If that was true the U.S., as a nation, would not be millions of pounds overweight...

taso42

Newsflash - this is how most normal people eat :laugh:

If that was true the U.S., as a nation, would not be millions of pounds overweight...

I said most normal people.

the obesity epidemic is mainly due to people eating abnormally.

MyOwnSunshine

My counselor focused a lot on intuitive eating and making good eating choices, as opposed to being driven by compulsive eating.

I agree with the previous poster who said that "this is how most normal people eat." Unfortunately, most people who become morbidly obese have never had, or have totally lost touch with this concept. It is something that I really have to focus on and direct conscious energy towards or I easily slip back into my old compulsive eating habits.

Intuitive eating sounds easy, and it has become easier as I've practiced consistently, but I have accepted the fact that I will always be a compulsive overeater to some extent, and managing that psychological tendency is the biggest battle I face in maintaining a normal weight.

etoiles_argentees

I eat when I'm hungry, I drink when I'm dry....

Breeli0519

Gwen Shamblin's book "The Weigh Down Diet" is based on this premise. My BFF lost 150 lbs that way. .

baja572

I think all my body is telling me to eat cupcakes..My body lies .I not going to listen to it.. just the way my body is!!lol

twinketta

Some days I get a craving for chicken so I go eat it,some days I get a craving for cheese so I go eat it but I know the cheese is going to be really high in cals, so I eat in moderation. Some times I get an overwhelming urge to eat some chocolate so I have a teaspoon more of nutella than I would usually have.

What I am trying to say in reply to the OP is that you can eat everything in moderation no matter what your craving.

If we all over indulge in every craving we have then we would all be overweight.

It is learning to manage cravings and hunger (but you are correct in your learning that a lot of the time we can just need to drink instead of eating)

ETA water not alcohol :drinker:

CorvusCorax77

Newsflash - this is how most normal people eat :laugh:

If that was true the U.S., as a nation, would not be millions of pounds overweight...

I said most normal people.

the obesity epidemic is mainly due to people eating abnormally.

truth.

FitbitRed

The BBC had a great program called "The truth about Fat", there was an interesting piece in there about the "hunger" and "fullness" hormones in people of normal weight and people who are overweight

They also had another great program called "The truth about exercise" which was well worth a look

Google is your friend..have a look and let us know what you think

mmapags

I eat when I'm hungry, I drink when I'm dry....

And if whiskey don't kill me, I'll drink 'til I die.

etoiles_argentees

I eat when I'm hungry, I drink when I'm dry....

And if whiskey don't kill me, I'll drink 'til I die.