Intuitive Eating - Hmm?
FeelinTheLove
Posts: 30
I have recently been bombarded with messages through various resources (friends, a therapist, emails, etc.) about Intuitive Eating. This is supposed to be one of the solutions for people with eating issues. Has anybody ever tried this? Isn't the whole point of MFP that we couldn't manage the Intuitive Eating and therefore really need to count the calories of what we put in our faces? This concept goes beyond my understanding of how to fix my food issues. Any thoughts?
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I have nothing to offer other than I hope you find the answers you need and find a way to get your health under control. Good luck.-1
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Anne092114 wrote: »I have recently been bombarded with messages through various resources (friends, a therapist, emails, etc.) about Intuitive Eating. This is supposed to be one of the solutions for people with eating issues. Has anybody ever tried this? Isn't the whole point of MFP that we couldn't manage the Intuitive Eating and therefore really need to count the calories of what we put in our faces? This concept goes beyond my understanding of how to fix my food issues. Any thoughts?
I think it's meant as a way to deal with whatever issues your therapist and friends think you have about food, and not so much with controlling your weight as such. Even in people without EDs, calorie counting can invite a bit of an obsessional approach, in the beginning, especially.
I have no idea about how intuitive eating is supposed to work, but the wiki suggests the key is "eating for physical rather than emotional reasons, and reliance on internal hunger/satiety cues." So I would imagine it would involve retraining yourself to attend to and interpret internal cues in a new way, one that aligns more closely with eating for satiety, rather than eating for other reasons.
If that can be done successfully, I can imagine that it wouldn't necessarily be opposed to weight control.0 -
Different things work for different people.
Some people become overweight because they eat for all kinds of reasons other than hunger: boredom, sadness, socializing, etc. When they practice stopping to pay attention to whether they are truly hungry and not eating when they aren't hungry, they might lose weight because they are eating less.
Other people become overweight because they are not able to eyeball portion sizes, don't know enough about what foods are high cal or low cal, or are bad at telling whether they are hungry or not, etc. so counting calories can help them to correct these issues.
For some people, counting calories helps them to feel in control and make smart decisions. For other people, counting calories can become obsessive or cause them to eat too little or feel burdened or punished.
You have to figure out what works for you. Weight loss always comes down to taking in less calories than you burn, but there are several ways to do that. For me, I am a numbers person and a list maker by nature, so logging is interesting and sometimes even fun for me. Best wishes on finding what works for you :drinker:0 -
Reading about it, I can say that it wouldn't work for me, MFP does.0
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Well intuitive eating is what got me to 188lbs. So doesn't work for me.
Actually, that's only partially true. It ONLY worked for me when I was doing 6-7hrs of cardio a week and eating clean. Drop the exercise (or lowered significantly) and gained 10-15lbs on a cycle (would exercise again to lose, then slow it down and gain, and on and on). Drop the clean eating, exercise or not, and I gained way more because of calorie dense foods.
So for me, tracking cals and eating foods I love works the best for me.0 -
Some people do get obsessive about calorie counting, and they may fall into eating disorders.
For me, my intuition tells me to eat as much as possible, as fast as possible, so I need to count calories.0 -
The concept of forever counting calories is foreign to me. Sometimes people gain weight slowly just by not paying attention. A check and evaluation of their diet can reign things in and they can continue on without issue. I feel intuitive eating is most easily accomplished when your diet consists mostly of whole foods, especially vegetables.0
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Intuitive eating is about understanding how your body works, how different food affects you, not eliminating particular foods, using hunger and satiety to guide the amounts that you eat. It actually takes a lot of effort and attention to do intuitive eating right. It is great if calorie counting feeds into disordered thinking and eating.
I don't think it is ideal for weight loss for a few reasons, 1) our bodies actually don't want to lose weight, so hunger/satiety signals will usually guide you to an intake that keeps you overweight, 2) it's hard to stop eating when you are just satisfied and not feeling full yet, 3) it's hard to pay that much attention while eating, especially when out socially, 4) there are lots of conditions and obesity itself that can mess up hunger and satiety signals.
I do pay attention to hunger and satiety and this informs my eating to an extent, but primarily I use calorie counting to lose weight.0 -
It all boils down to "eat less, move more" no matter what else you are using. MFP has helped me tremendously in that area with logging in food eaten and exercises done. If left to my "Intuitive Eating", I would surely be about 300 lbs. by now!0
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MFP has helped me become more mindful about what and when and how much I eat. Seeing in writing what I have eaten and what I am going to eat, and observing that this is more than I'd think if I didn't pay attention, and learning that it is indeed enough to be satiated and happy - sets my mind at ease.0
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I think this does work for some people who are simply eating at maintenance. I know people who don't count calories but have never really had to worry about their weight.0
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herrspoons wrote: »It's a fantastic way for most people who need to lose weight to fail.
I mean think about it: eating intuitively is why you're here in the first place.
Not necessarily. I used to eat mindlessly.
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herrspoons wrote: »It's a fantastic way for most people who need to lose weight to fail.
I mean think about it: eating intuitively is why you're here in the first place.
That's a misunderstanding of what Intuitive Eating is. Intuitive Eating is NOT eating when you aren't hungry. Do you think most people get to be obese, overweight from never eating for non-hunger reasons?
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It's not where I'd start. IMO most people trying to lose weight should probably start by counting calories and accurately logging/measuring their foods. It's far too easy for a lot of people to say "oh this one cookie isn't a big deal" and it might not be...as long as you know the energy content of the cookie. A good cookie for dessert can double the calorie content of a meal : )--note I said *good*
That said, I think most people who count calories eventually get a little burned out. By that point you should have a better idea about what foods you can eat in a day and in what amounts. Then, I think eating intuitively can be a nice break, but as others have indicated, quality becomes a little more important just because less nutrient-dense/higher energy dense foods (some people call them "junk foods") tend to very palatable and easy to over indulge in.0 -
Different things work for different people.
Some people become overweight because they eat for all kinds of reasons other than hunger: boredom, sadness, socializing, etc. When they practice stopping to pay attention to whether they are truly hungry and not eating when they aren't hungry, they might lose weight because they are eating less.
Other people become overweight because they are not able to eyeball portion sizes, don't know enough about what foods are high cal or low cal, or are bad at telling whether they are hungry or not, etc. so counting calories can help them to correct these issues.
For some people, counting calories helps them to feel in control and make smart decisions. For other people, counting calories can become obsessive or cause them to eat too little or feel burdened or punished.
You have to figure out what works for you. Weight loss always comes down to taking in less calories than you burn, but there are several ways to do that. For me, I am a numbers person and a list maker by nature, so logging is interesting and sometimes even fun for me. Best wishes on finding what works for you :drinker:
^^This0 -
Yes. i agree. ^ I've read a few books about Intuitive Eating ,, For example the one i thought was best -- "How to Have Your Cake and Your Skinny Jeans Too: Stop Binge Eating, Overeating and Dieting For Good Get the Naturally Thin Body You Crave From the Inside Out"
It is very interesting. Eating when you are not hungry ? I can blame that on my weight issues to some extent. Which means i am eating for emotional reasons (bored, angry, lonely, happy, etc)
after reading this book my mind was a lot more open about WHY and WHEN i was eating... and "Am i really Hungry?" --- after eating half of my plate, check in again and ask myself " Am i still hungry ?" ....
It's a very interesting concept and worth a read in my opinion.
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I tried it many years ago when there was this british guy touting it as the end all be all of weight loss. You can eat whatever you want, but only when you're hungry and stop when you're full. Didn't work. Now that I'm smaller from counting calories and have learned how to eat better, I have no problem with intuitive eating, but it took a long time to learn it.0
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.. You can eat whatever you want, but only when you're hungry and stop when you're full. Didn't work. ....
lol, yeah. If I relied on just hunger signals, I'd be very overweight by now.
After a lot of experimentation over the years of messing with my calorie goals, macro breakdowns, and meal timing, it seems that unless I'm in a decent surplus, I'm going to be hungry at the end of the day (at least a little bit)--and possibly throughout the day, depending. I can minimize the hunger and make it manageable, but it's always there.
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herrspoons wrote: »girlviernes wrote: »herrspoons wrote: »It's a fantastic way for most people who need to lose weight to fail.
I mean think about it: eating intuitively is why you're here in the first place.
That's a misunderstanding of what Intuitive Eating is. Intuitive Eating is NOT eating when you aren't hungry. Do you think most people get to be obese, overweight from never eating for non-hunger reasons?
I think most people get obese because they ate too much and didn't know when to stop.
Right, they don't stop when no longer hungry. We ignore hunger/satiety all the time due to social effects, emotions, boredom, distracted eating, scarfing things down, etc.
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You don't do Intuitive Eating to lose weight, you do it understand how your body works in relation to food and appetite etc. That's one of the first principles of IE. If weight loss happens, then great, but it's not a given that it will. IE is for when you're ready to stop being so reliant on 'diets' and just eat based on hunger signals and what your body needs.
It's not until much later down the line when you start focussing on nutrition, in the first instance it's all about your issues with food.0 -
Some people can lose weight with Intuitive Eating. My sister certainly did. If its enough to get you into a consistent calorie deficit without having to track, more power to you. I wish I was one of those people.
Unfortunately, after giving Intuitive Eating a go (I did it for a year, so I really did give it a chance), I found that it just won't work for me. I HAVE to count calories to lose/maintain weight. I wish I didn't, but I eventually had to face that truth.0 -
From what I understand intuitive eating is more about listening very carefully to what your body is saying to you. I use MFP to keep track of my weight now but I no longer track calories because it was triggering some very dangerous and obsessive tendencies. It mucked up my relationship with food and I was just not feeling healthy. Intuitive eating isn't just "stuff your face with whatever you like", it's "eat to make yourself feel healthy". As has been mentioned, that might not always translate into weight loss but I can testify that I have never felt healthier and people keep saying that my appearance is so much brighter now.
I think it all depends what your ultimate goal is. I just tend to think if you listen closely to your body, eat clean, well and in moderation and exercise then your body will balance itself out0 -
intuitive eating got me to 250 pounds, so i think ill pass on that LOLOLOL
different things work for different people though...
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girlviernes wrote: »herrspoons wrote: »girlviernes wrote: »herrspoons wrote: »It's a fantastic way for most people who need to lose weight to fail.
I mean think about it: eating intuitively is why you're here in the first place.
That's a misunderstanding of what Intuitive Eating is. Intuitive Eating is NOT eating when you aren't hungry. Do you think most people get to be obese, overweight from never eating for non-hunger reasons?
I think most people get obese because they ate too much and didn't know when to stop.
Right, they don't stop when no longer hungry. We ignore hunger/satiety all the time due to social effects, emotions, boredom, distracted eating, scarfing things down, etc.
Yes I think eating mindlessly is opposite of eating intuitively.0 -
It's a skill like any other. You're generally born with it and lose it over time. There are ways to hone the skill.
But if you don't think you can ever relearn it, you can't. Argue for your limitations and they're yours.
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This has worked very well for me in the past. I lost about 30 lbs quite quickly from eating when hungry, and stopping when full. Simple!
The weight went back on after having kids because I adopted the "stuff as much food in as you can before the baby start crying" method of eating. Also, it doesn't work well if you like a glass of wine with your dinner as your intuition (read inhibition) goes out the window. So, at the moment I am tracking calories for a bit, but I plan to go back to intuitive eating when I get to maintenence. I'll still weight myself so I know when if it stops working.0 -
There are lots of people who do "intuitive" eating. Many are overweight and there are also many who are underweight. This is just another approach that someone is trying to SELL.FeelinTheLove wrote: »I have recently been bombarded with messages through various resources (friends, a therapist, emails, etc.) about Intuitive Eating. This is supposed to be one of the solutions for people with eating issues. Has anybody ever tried this? Isn't the whole point of MFP that we couldn't manage the Intuitive Eating and therefore really need to count the calories of what we put in our faces? This concept goes beyond my understanding of how to fix my food issues. Any thoughts?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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There are lots of people who do "intuitive" eating. Many are overweight and there are also many who are underweight. This is just another approach that someone is trying to SELL.FeelinTheLove wrote: »I have recently been bombarded with messages through various resources (friends, a therapist, emails, etc.) about Intuitive Eating. This is supposed to be one of the solutions for people with eating issues. Has anybody ever tried this? Isn't the whole point of MFP that we couldn't manage the Intuitive Eating and therefore really need to count the calories of what we put in our faces? This concept goes beyond my understanding of how to fix my food issues. Any thoughts?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
That's my only ssue with it...I think intuitive eating is kind of what we strive for in maintenance without calorie counting but the packaging of it is off putting.
Every instinct is promotional these days.0 -
Liftng4Lis wrote: »Reading about it, I can say that it wouldn't work for me, MFP does.
This.
My impression is that people into the concept typically seem to think that intuitive eating is more "natural" and absent something screwing us up human beings would naturally just eat what we need to maintain a healthy weight and thus that doing anything more than listening to hunger signals (or eating/not eating for reasons other than hunger) is unnecessary or wrong.
I not only don't think this works for me, but I'm skeptical of the concept. There has rarely been a time when humans (a) had more than enough food easily available, (b) could as easily acquire food without substantial preparation time like now (even for those of us who mostly cook at home it's super easy these days), and (c) did not have social constraints like social eating times and cultural ideas about the proper way to eat to constrain them. Thus, it seems to me that eating in accordance with external cues like meal times or a planned idea of an amount to eat or way of eating is MORE consistent with human history than any kind of "just follow your hunger" intuitive eating.
Plus, I know quite well that my hunger signals don't work that well and are distorted by all kinds of things, but can easily be trained to follow social cues like meal times and amounts. This was so before I was overweight, when I lost and maintained for 5 years, and when I was losing this time (and now that I'm close to goal). I wish that I could rely on hunger and not bother paying attention to the other things, but that's just not how it is, so be it.
Edit to add: I don't think the choices are intuitive eating vs. calorie counting. There are all sorts of ways to externally monitor how much you eat that don't require calorie counting. I enjoy calorie counting currently, but I think not eating between meals and watching portion sizes and simply eating balanced meals -- really what we did societally until quite recently -- is another way of doing that.0 -
girlviernes wrote: »herrspoons wrote: »It's a fantastic way for most people who need to lose weight to fail.
I mean think about it: eating intuitively is why you're here in the first place.
That's a misunderstanding of what Intuitive Eating is. Intuitive Eating is NOT eating when you aren't hungry. Do you think most people get to be obese, overweight from never eating for non-hunger reasons?
I think most people who get to be overweight and obese have a hard time distinguishing between hunger and non-hunger or feel hungry when there's no reason they should other than something looking really tasty.
Or that, at least, is my deal.0
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