Intuitive Eating or Calorie Counting

KenosFeoh

My intuition is a sadistic b*stard! It's always telling me "this, now this, some of that, a handful of this other thing." I think I'm giving my hunger what it wants, but it always wants something else.

....

So intuitive eating can bite me! It's monitoring and calorie counting all the way.

Is it even the least bit possible that it wasn't true hunger that was telling you this but instead a mental issue? When you were "listening to your hunger", were you truly letting yourself feel hunger and eating only when hungry and stopping when you were satisfied, or were you listening to the voice that was saying...hmm...I haven't eaten in an hour, a few chips sound good...hmmm....those chips didn't hold me over, maybe I'll have some of these cookies that look good...etc.?

I do think that most people can be successful eating intuitively and listening to their hunger/satisfaction signals, but they do have to be mature about it (which means eating for health as well as enjoyment) and do have to be honest with themselves about their reasons for eating. So many people say "I don't think when I'm eating XYZ, it just happens" when in reality there is usually some thought that accompanies us eating what we do. We just have to put the mental energy in to figuring it out.

Oh, I'm sure there are other mental issues involved. In the end, it doesn't matter. What is true FOR ME is that it's almost impossible to tell the difference between "I'm hungry" and "I want to eat something". Same hollow feeling in the gut, same stomach growling, same drive to find something and eat it now. So logical thinking has taken over to tell me whether or not it's meal time and what I need to eat (salad not cookies - close the cupboard!).

fiberartist219

Intuitive eating works for me, but I did do a few months of calorie counting in 2011. I am glad I did the calorie counting, because I had no idea how my foods were affecting me, and it help me reset the concept of how much food is appropriate for a person my size.

However, I had little patience for it. Logging every bite of food is annoying, and I didn't care to figure out every recipe or ask my friends for nutrition info if I'm eating something they cooked. It was frustrating, and I knew I wouldn't do it forever.

Honestly, when I was counting calories, I wasn't losing as much weight as MFP said I would.

I found that being comfortable and really paying attention to how I feel is more successful than counting calories. Calorie counting made me hungrier, because I was constantly thinking about food and planning my next meal.

With the intuitive eating, I don't think about food until I'm hungry, and I stop thinking about it when I'm not hungry anymore. It seems like the more I think about my food, the more I want it. Intuitive eating is freeing.

jonnythan

Well I know I didn't get fat because I was so intuitive about food. I got fat because I ate too much.

So I decided to actually do things differently to lose weight. I count calories. And it works.

cwolfman13

When it's all said and done, I'm hoping to become an intuitive eater. I actually lost about 10 Lbs before MFP being an intuitive eater...problem was my intuition was still a bit off and I stalled big time. Once I started logging and counting, I could see that my intuition was no good...not only from an energy standpoint, but also from a macro and micro standpoint. Wasn't getting nearly enough protein or heart healthy fats in my diet and tons of carbs.

Counting and logging has really changed my life for the better...I now know how much energy my body needs to lose/maintain/gain...I know what a portion of something looks like and feels like...I now know what foods I need for a balanced, nutritional diet, etc.

In the end, I'll estimate that I will have been counting calories for 9 - 12 months. It's taught me a lot and I'm hoping I can take what I've learned and become an intuitive eater...'cuz I really don't want to count and log for the rest of my life.

T1mH

Today's foods are engineered to make you feel not full and to want more of them. When Lay's potato chips say "You can't eat just one" they mean it because they've made them that way.

ldrosophila

I wish I could eat intuitively but my relationship with food and my body is so F-cked up theres no way I would be successful, maybe one day. Weighing and measuring is working for me now. I do find though that as I eat this way the physiological changes with my hunger and lowered circulating insulin is helping me to listen to my body signals better.

Also, I've accepted that this maybe my reality for the rest of my life. You dont get close to 400lbs cause you eat a couple extra chips.

Proyecto_AN

I do intuitive eating saturdays or sundays. I do not plan to count calories all my life.

Bonny619

Intuitive eating doesn't work for me because I intuitively want to stuff my face.

jonnythan

Intuitive eating doesn't work for me because I intuitively want to stuff my face.

Exactly! None of us got overweight because we have a good, intuitive, healthy relationship with food!

rileamoyer

Intuitive eating doesn't work for me because I intuitively want to stuff my face.

Exactly! None of us got overweight because we have a good, intuitive, healthy relationship with food!

BINGO at least in my case. I would be living on biscuits and piecrusts LOL

jonnythan

Intuitive eating doesn't work for me because I intuitively want to stuff my face.

Exactly! None of us got overweight because we have a good, intuitive, healthy relationship with food!

BINGO at least in my case. I would be living on biscuits and piecrusts LOL

Now I want a good pot pie. Or biscuits in gravy...

Hey, you're in Spearfish! Neat town. I spent a few weeks there some years back.

Bonny619

Mmmm, I'll take a stack of pancakes and some cadbury eggs.

Sharonks

I think for many people they eventually will be able to eat intuitively. For many years I did and did fine. Some other health issues caused some weight gain that I'm now battling to get off. I also was never super big. I think at my heaviest I was about 30 lbs over my ideal weight but I was also 9 months pregnant. So for me to lose weight I need to count. Once I stabilize in my weight I can wean off the counting.

My hubs is obese at this point although he is about 40 lbs lighter than he was at his max. He will never count but he made himself think about how much he was eating. By paying more attention to his body signals he was able to eat the same foods but slow down and not eat until stuffed. He dropped 40 lbs with little effort although he is still about 40 or 50 lbs overweight.

I think what would help my hubs is if he would use mfp so he could understand what he was putting in his body, how many cals and how much nutrition. If he ate less junk food and more veggies he would probably drop another 20 or 30 lbs without having to try too hard. So I think counting is pretty important to really lose weight since if your intuitive eating trigger was working well you wouldn't be overweight. But I think that many people, once pretty set in eating healthy foods in healthy amounts can become intuitive.

BinaryPulsar

Intuitive eating always worked fine for me, which means that I have never been anywhere close to over weight, which also means what worked for me won't necessarily work for other people. I have never had issues with disordered binge eating. And the only time I ever kept a food journal was when I was pregnant, I kept a written food journal only for the purpose of counting my protein intake (I did not count the calories). With intuitive eating and an active/fit lifestyle I also easily lost the baby weight both times, bouncing right back to my pre-pregnancy weight within 7 months after giving birth.

I joined mfp because I've always been interested in furthering my fitness and continuing to learn and explore new options. And I like it. I do not weigh and measure my food (except for a few things), so I use mfp as a guideline, but continue with my intuitive way of eating. I also feel I've learned a lot about the calorie content of food and how much I need, so I could do even better with intuitive eating now.

I don't see any reason why you must do one or the other. You should do what works best for you and what you enjoy doing while still being able to achieve your goals.

fiberartist219

I see a lot of folks saying that they got fat for eating what they wanted.

Personally, I really want to eat healthy foods. The whole biscuits and pie crusts thing doesn't phase me. Most of the time, I seek out fruits and veggies, whole grains, and proteins all on my own. Usually, when I eat junk food, it is because I don't have time to cook or because someone offered it to me. I don't get all giddy over potato chips most of the time.

I think I gained weight not because my eating habits changed, but because my activity level dropped. Due to some health issues, I got really tired, achy, and dizzy, and found all sorts of reasons to sit all day and take a lot of naps. I struggled to get my energy.

I find that when I workout more, my whole metabolism evens out... and most of my health problems are not nearly as bad as they used to be.

Intuitive eating can work. It might not work for everyone, but it is doing alright for me.

mfpcopine

I think that anyone with a history of severe overweight or obesity should probably count calories until he or she has a VERY good idea of the calorie content of food they usually eat. Then, they can try to eat semi-intuitively, sticking to a repertoire of healthy meals with a known calorie content. You also have to be willing to weigh yourself regularly.

I've never been overweight. I am very aware of the calorie content of foods, so I rarely track. I weigh myself several times a week and take action if the number moves in the wrong direction.

meaningful99

1. Yes. The macro ranges are a target, not a cage. It's better to eat something and enjoy it than to not eat it and wish you had - especially if it's in your calorie range.

2. I suspect that most people who wind up turning to calorie-counting wouldn't do well trying intuitive eating. In fact, it may be intuitive eating that got us all here.

mfpcopine

If you're the kind of person who is shocked by the "calorie content shocker" posts intuitive eating is probably not for you right now. People who do this successfully have read and internalized the information in the labels. They know, for example, that coffee creamer has a ton of calories and that EVERYTHING counts. Exercise is real exercise, not cleaning the house.

LBNOakland

Counting calories is what I need. The intuitive eating is coming back but I have a long way to go, baby!! I try to log my day BEFORE I overeat. Planning ahead really helps me stay on track. Knowing I have acheat meal coming helps me eat lightly early in the day. That's intuitive, isn't it? Good luck on tis quest!!

CristinaL1983

I typed a ridiculously long answer to this question with entirely too much personal information. The shorter version is:

Intuitive eating works for me until I become overly stressed or life gets very hectic, which it often does for me. Then I find that I stop caring. There is no accountability (for me) with intuitive eating. I can pretty easily avoid weighing myself. I spent most of my adult life at a healthy weight but when a couple ankle surgeries and a pregnancy put me in a place where it was easy to gain weight, I did. I lost the bulk of it eating intuitively but then when things got stressful, I gained back about 15 (out of 50) lbs and had trouble getting back on the wagon. I found myself going for the cheap and easy meals which involved a lot of fast food and terrible choices.

Right now, I am eating intuitively (also practicing IF which is intuitive for me) but also tracking my calories. Sometimes this puts me a few hundred calories under my goal but sometimes I am a few hundred calories over. At the end of the week, my macros and calories all average out so I don't worry about it.

TL;DR: Counting calories gives me accountability that I need but I also practice intuitive eating.