Are these Golden Rules any good?

reachingforthemoon

1. When you are hungry EAT

2. Eat what you want, not what you think you should

3. Whenever you eat, do it consciously

4. When you think you are full, stop eating

These are from Paul McKenna's book. I'm reading this at random at the moment, he also recommends you chew you food at least 20 times before swallowing.

SweetestLibby

For me I eat until I am no longer hungry not until I am full. I'm no longer hungry long before I am full.

ukgirly01

For me I eat until I am no longer hungry not until I am full. I'm no longer hungry long before I am full.

Exactly this, took me a long time to learn this but there's a big difference between not hungry and full

blu_meanie_ca

If people (animals at all) were good at intutive eating, there would be no weight problems. Heck, a goldfish will eat until it explodes if you let it (my pet frogs are also capable of eating themselves to death). Have you ever watched a dog eat chocolate (toxic to dogs, but they don't care). Cats are lactose intolerant, but will lap up milk like crazy. And humans..... well the nutrional void that is ramen noodles comes to mind.
So no, I don't think those rules are good for any animal - frog, cat, or human.

bcattoes

My opinion:

1. When you are hungry EAT
Me -- for the most part, this is good as long as you can tell the difference between hunger and cravings.

2. Eat what you want, not what you think you should
Me -- this totally depends on what you want

3. Whenever you eat, do it consciously
Me -- absolutley, mindless is eating is usually problematic

4. When you think you are full, stop eating
Me -- good

Mokey41

1. When you are hungry EAT

This assumes you know the difference between hungry and wanting to eat. Most overweight people have a problem with telling the difference.

2. Eat what you want, not what you think you should

Uh no. I may want Big Mac's but that's not going to work out so well.

3. Whenever you eat, do it consciously

Good idea. Not munching mindlessly in front of a TV.

4. When you think you are full, stop eating

Depends if you know what full is and you don't always have to be full. It takes 20 minutes for the brain to register full and you can pack in a lot of food in that time!

TavistockToad

2. Eat what you want, not what you think you should

if i did this i would eat buttery mashed potato, warm chocolate fudge cake, sweet & salty popcorn and coockie dough ice cream all day every day!!!!

pichild

I would say yes...if you are eating because your hungry and think you shouldn't be hungry test yourself...drink a glass of water and said 30 minutes...if you are still hungry then eat...

CoachReddy

1. When you are hungry EAT

2. Eat what you want, not what you think you should

3. Whenever you eat, do it consciously

4. When you think you are full, stop eating

These are from Paul McKenna's book. I'm reading this at random at the moment, he also recommends you chew you food at least 20 times before swallowing.

i mean sort of, but they're vague and easy to break. like... if your diet only consists of "good" whole foods, you can eat when you're hungry, eat as much as you want, and won't have to think twice about it. but if you follow his second rule of eating whatever you want, then some more self restraint is needed. portioning things out so you don't overindulge for instance... I dunno - I mean they're good in theory, but couldn't you also just say that everyone who gets fat in the first place followed those exact rules?? (unless by consciously he MEANS portioning and knowing how much of each thing you're eating)

sunsnstatheart

That book and those recommendations are an complete waste of time and energy. Eating when you're hungry and what you want works well AFTER you have learned how to eat right and to honestly listen to your body. If you're overweight and struggling, that's about the most ridiculous and completely vague advice anyone could offer.

holothuroidea

I think #1 is problematic because many people have a hard time differentiating hunger from cravings. I do think that if you're truly hungry it's important to eat, regardless of what the clock or your calorie log says. Again, though, this means knowing when you're truly hungry.

I have mixed feelings about #2. I think giving yourself permission to eat whatever you want can be a powerful tool to overcome cravings because you eliminate the lure of a "forbidden" food. I would combine this with Michael Pollan's advice, "Food should be good to eat, and also good to think." What that means is that it's important for you to feel good about the food you're eating, because if your food choices cause you emotional distress (guilt, shame, embarrassment), it's not going to be good in the long run for your relationship with food or your relationship with yourself.

#3 is obviously great advice, but if eating while reading or whatever is a source of great comfort after a really bad day and you can do it within your calorie limits then I think it's okay. I don't think all emotional eating is necessarily harmful, especially if you are aware that you are doing it and know when to stop. I guess that would be like consciously eating unconsciously. :P

I don't like #4 at all. I eat until satisfaction, and I don't really like to feel full except on some special occasions.

ldrosophila

For me I eat until I am no longer hungry not until I am full. I'm no longer hungry long before I am full.

Exactly this, took me a long time to learn this but there's a big difference between not hungry and full

Woah! Light bulb! thats it!

sun_cat

If you truly get what the rules mean - I believe they are.

gypsy_spirit

1. When you are hungry EAT

2. Eat what you want, not what you think you should

3. Whenever you eat, do it consciously

4. When you think you are full, stop eating

These are from Paul McKenna's book. I'm reading this at random at the moment, he also recommends you chew you food at least 20 times before swallowing.

1) My brain will sabotage me every time on this one. I can be hungry all the time. I eat the calories to fuel my body every day. Some day I may be able to eat intuitively again - but I seriously doubt it.

2) What I want is chocolate ice cream, birthday cake icing, unlimited mac and cheese (homemade of course) and fresh bread. Although I eat these things within my calories - my body needs other important things.

3) Agree. Mindless eating is not a good thing.

4) Probably not a bad idea, but I rarely just "know" when I'm full. I use moderation of my portions.


ETA - really old thread revival

Rocbola

2. Eat what you want, not what you think you should

if i did this i would eat buttery mashed potato, warm chocolate fudge cake, sweet & salty popcorn and coockie dough ice cream all day every day!!!!

Exactly. Some foods that i have not eaten in years sometimes pop into my head as a random craving. I'll never forget about Lou Malnati's Chicago style deep dish, or Portillo's beef and cheddar croissant. I didn't give that stuff up because i didn't like the taste.

tennisdude2004

In an ideal world and someone was totally in tune with there diet and had their hormones controlling hunger in balance I would say yes these rules are common sense.

That being said - most if not all of us are not in that idyllic state (if we were then MFP wouldn't be needed) - so would say that whilst they are common sense ideas they are possibly a little impractical.

Some of us may be able to do 1 or 2 of these rules subconsciously, but all of them (I doubt it).

Log your food and be accountable to yourself is probably the best way to go for most.

Change your macro separation and control your cravings naturally for some (sadly not for all).

geebusuk

They may work for some people.

For others they may be a terrible idea.

Definitely not ones I would take as 'hard and fast' and much more of a "do what works for you" thing.

Lemonshake

So by those rules I can eat my weight in chocolate as long as I think about it and stop when I think I'm full.

Those rules are no good for me at all